Aerial and Spaceborne Ten-Year Trends
USGS 2008-2018 Africa Remote Sensing Study

Africa is a continent as large as China, India, Argentina, the United States of America and Western Europe combined. With a population of over 922 million (as of 2005 and projected by the United Nations to reach one billion by 2010) Africa has four main regional languages (i.e. English, French, Portuguese and Arabic) and almost 200 local languages. The three largest countries in Africa in terms of population are Nigeria (133 million as of 2006), Egypt (79 million) and Ethiopia (77 million). Africa faces some of the greatest geospatial data needs and issues found anywhere in the world, considering the high levels of poverty, deforestation and desertification, coupled with the political and societal unrest in individual countries. The USGS 2008 Africa Remote Sensing Study received an excellent response rate of 377 respondents from over 30 countries; as compared to a 2005 GIS study in Africa that focused on 600 qualified GIS professionals and resulted in 62 responses from 18 countries. Much of that low response was due to lack of telecommunication infrastructure. The USGS 2008 survey is an excellent sign that wireless technology is making some advances and allowing greater access to the internet and to geospatial data, although infrastructure is still an issue in Africa.