Compare and contrast the economies of coastal countries in Africa. Choose two to three countries, and write a short paragraph that explains the influence of government on the structure of economies. How are free market and non-free market economies represented in Africa?

Kenya

Tourism is the main source of income, although it has the most diversified industry in East Africa. Coffee and tea stand out in crops (30% of GDP). The main port of the country is Mombasa. The European Union is the main trading partner of Kenya. According to the studies on the HDI of 2006 it was the country where there is less wage differentiation between sexes (0.83). Kenya presents a free market economy with little state intervention.

South Africa

South Africa's economy is the most powerful and important in the African continent, as it accounts for almost 25% of all continent's GDP, and plays an important role in the development of the region. It is considered as a medium-high income economy by the World Bank. The South African economy has a large volume of national capital - public and private - in close relationship with the major world economies. Despite this, unemployment is extremely high and South Africa is among the ten countries with the most social inequality according to the Gini coefficient, about a quarter of the population is unemployed and the same proportion lives on less than 1.25 dollars per day. Like most African economies, this is a free market with little intervention from the state.