A frica’s soil is studded with buried treasure. Half the world’s diamonds are mined there. The largest producers of cobalt, manganese and uranium ore are all African countries. Since 2000 more big petroleum discoveries have been made in sub-Saharan Africa than in any other region. Yet Africans are not wrong when they talk of a “resource curse”. The continent’s political elite have squandered or stolen much of the bounty, often aided by unscrupulous private firms. The World Bank predicts that by 2030, 62% of the world’s very poor people will live in resource-rich sub-Saharan countries, up from 12% in 2000. Resource-rich states are more likely to suffer dictatorship or civil war.
弗里卡（Frica）的土壤上镶有埋藏的宝藏。世界一半的钻石在那里开采。钴，锰和铀矿的最大生产商都是非洲国家。自2000年以来，撒哈拉以南非洲的大石油发现比其他任何地区都多。然而，当非洲人谈论“资源诅咒”时并没有错。非洲大陆的政治精英浪费或偷走了大部分赏金，通常在不道德的私营公司帮助下。世界银行预测，到2030年，世界上有62％的人将生活在资源丰富的撒哈拉以南国家，高于2000年的12％。资源丰富的州更有可能遭受独裁统治或内战。
