Explaining African Ethnic Diversity

Africa is widely noted for its high levels of ethnic diversity. Indeed, numerous scholars have suggested that many of the continent’s problems such as authoritarian rule, civil wars and low levels of public goods provision are a result of its ethnic diversity. These results, however, beg the question of why Africa is so diverse, and why the continent exhibits such a wide range of variation in levels of diversity from Liberia and Uganda at the upper spectrum to countries like Burundi and Lesotho at the lower end.