Lesson 17 — Activity 2: What Goods Do Countries Produce?


Warm Up


You learned previously that many goods are produced in different parts of the world.

In this activity, you will look closely at a particular country to learn about the goods that that country produces.


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Goods that a country makes to sell to other countries are called exports. Goods that we don't make in our own country but buy from other countries are called imports. Canada exports many goods and resources, including oil and gas, lumber, and wheat. Canada also imports many products, including food and clothing.


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In this Activity, you are going to research a country and find out what this country exports. Three countries are listed below. Click on the nation's name to learn about it. Then follow the directions on the Self-check activity to make a report about one of the countries.




Source: Wikimedia commons

Source: Wikimedia commons

Background

Nigeria is a country found on the continent of Africa. Nigeria is on the coast of western Africa, very close to the equator. Nigeria is bigger than Alberta, but not as big as Ontario. The population of Nigeria is nearly 134 million people. When you compare this to Canada's population of 33 million people, you can see that it is much higher. Even though Nigeria has lots of oil and gas, most people in the country are very poor and work as farmers. Many people cannot read or write. English is the official language of Nigeria, but many people speak African languages like Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Fulani. The capital of Nigeria is Abuja.

Geography (Land and Climate)

In the south of Nigeria, there are lowlands that turn into hills and plateaus. The southeast of the country has mountains while the north of the country is made up of flat plains. Since Nigeria is close to the equator, much of the country has a hot and humid (wet) climate. The plains in the north are quite hot and dry.

Exports

Most of Nigeria's exports are petroleum or petroleum products (95%). Nigeria also exports cocoa and rubber. Although Nigeria makes a lot of money from petroleum (oil and gas), most of this money is never seen by the citizens of the country. This is because past governments have mismanaged and taken money. Nigeria is trying to expand the amount and variety of exports they send to other countries so they don't need to rely on oil. Nigeria's biggest trading partner is the United States, followed by Brazil and Spain.




Source: Wikimedia commons

Background

Argentina is a country located on the continent of South America. It is a long country that runs down the east coast of South America to the southern tip of the continent. Argentina is about four times as big as Alberta.

Indian people were the only ones to live in Argentina until Europeans from Spain arrived about 500 years ago. Today, nearly 39 million people live in Argentina, and most of them speak Spanish. People in Argentina are employed in many areas including agriculture (ranching and raising crops), mining, manufacturing (factories), and oil and gas production.

Geography (Land and Climate)

Argentina has plains with rich soil in the northern half of the country, flat and rolling plateaus in the south, and mountains all along the western border. Most parts of Argentina have a temperate climate, which means the temperature stays between about 5° and 30°, much like the Okanagan in B.C. The very south of the country is much cooler and drier.

Exports

Argentina has begun to export a lot more products over the last 10 years. It is now one of the leading world producers of soybean and other vegetable oils. It also exports corn, wheat, and cereal products. Argentina has many natural resources and exports minerals (from mining) and oil and gas. Argentina also makes cars for export. Most of Argentina's exports go to Brazil, the United States, and Chile.