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Soft Drink Travel: Checking Coke Sales in Africa

Speaking of Africa, 36 billion bottles of Coca-Cola are sold on the continent every year. And a correspondent for The Economist says that sales of the soft drink are a great way to figure out if a country is doing well or experiencing economic or political turmoil.

Says journalist Jonathan Ledgard:

It's a pan-African product. It's found in almost every African country... Even in the sort-of sub-villages, some guy on a bicycle will be taking five or six Cokes to a shack in the Congolese jungle or in the backwaters of Ethiopia. And it's kind of amazing that that product can penetrate that far... A drop in the sales of Coke will be reflected in political, cultural, ethnic disturbances.

Seems like a better indicator than the price of loosies.

Related Stories:
· In Africa, No Coke Can Mean No Stability [NPR]
· Africa Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo from Morocco: Ludovic Hirlimann]