From this page, you can download a large number of interactive infrastructure atlases that allow you to easily create your own customized infrastructure maps ready for use in documents and presentations. For the more technical user, the public domain GIS data underlying these atlases can also be downloaded in the form of shape files for further analysis.
The AICD work program emphasized spatial modeling as an integral input to the infrastructure analysis. To support this analysis, an African GIS database has been collated from diverse sources to permit the overlay of geophysical, agro-ecological, demographic, and economic features together with geo-referenced data on the location, type, capacity and condition of various infrastructure networks, primarily relating to the ICT, power and transport sectors. The specific layers available for each sector are listed in the table below.
- ICT: International gateways, Backbone networks, and GSM coverage
- Power: Power plants and Transmission network
- Transport: Airports and air traffic, Ports and sea traffic, Roads (condition and traffic), and Railways
Interactive Infrastructure Atlases
The interactive infrastructure atlases are pre-assembled PDF files that contain some features that require version 9.x of Adobe Reader. The latest version of Adobe Reader may be downloaded at http://get.adobe.com/reader/
Each map contains a large number of infrastructure layers that can be switched on and off in any desired combination to create a map customized to the user’s interest. For example, the user could create a map showing ICT and power transmission infrastructure only, or a map showing the location of road and rail networks. These maps can be created at the click of a button and can then be pasted directly into Word documents or Powerpoint presentations.
Separate maps are available for each country and region as well as for the continent as a whole. The precise data layers available in each of these different maps differs, with regional and continental maps focusing more on backbone infrastructure relevant to regional integration.
A number of different variations of each map are available that show the infrastructure data against a variety of different backgrounds focusing on demographic, economic, geographic, or poverty features of the relevant countries or regions. While all maps contain the same infrastructure layers, depending on user interest, one background may be more relevant than another. For example, a user interested in understanding the extent to which ICT services reach the population would choose the map with a demographic background, while a user interested in understanding whether the road network serves the needs of agriculture would choose the map with an economic background.
GIS Data Files
In addition to the maps, ArcGIS files have been placed on the website. They are suitable for GIS professionals or other interested parties who can use the underlying data to inform their own analysis and create their own maps. Only public domain data has been placed on the site, hence not all of the layers available in the interactive infrastructure atlases are available in ArcGIS form.