The purpose of this paper is to provide a very brief overview of differences and similarities between Africa (West Africa) and Asia (China). The two areas are compared and contrasted on several dimensions including population, origins and early history, religion, and current day economics, government and general global power. The overview clearly demonstrates that while there are many striking differences between West Africa and China there are also a surprising number of similarities.
Similarities and Differences: Population, Origins and Early History, Religion, Economics, Government and Power
Spence (2001) notes that China is the most populous country in the world with a 4,000 mile coast line that fronts the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea. It is an essentially homogenous population with about 92 percent of its population consisting of the Han Chinese (so called for the Han dynasty). ChinaÆs population can immediately be contrasted with the population of West Africa which has less than one million people who represent 23 different ethnic groups. (Mendosa, 2002).
In terms of its history and early origins, both West Africa and China can be said to be cradles of some of the earliest of human civilizations. Fitzgerald (1985), for example, points out that some of the tools that have been found in China date back to more than 1.3 million years ago. Similarly, Mendosa (2002) notes that West Africa has been home to early civilization of a high order with a structured and highly complex system of economics, scholarship, art, religion, and social and political structure.
Religion and religious practices constitute an area of difference between West Africa and China. Islam is the major religion of West Africa and is government supported and encouraged (Mendosa, 2002). The religions that are primarily practiced in China are the traditional religions, consisting o
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