Please refer to the information and talk about the reasons why the economy of ethnic minority areas is relatively backward at present.

(1) The natural environment is harsh. In China's economically backward ethnic minority areas, the natural environment on which people live and develop is mostly very bad, and there are unfavorable factors such as inconvenient transportation and frequent natural disasters, such as cold and lack of oxygen in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, drought and water shortage in the northwest, and poor soil quality in a large area of karst areas in the southwest. These are innate factors that restrict the economic development in ethnic areas.

(2) The traffic is inconvenient and the infrastructure is backward. According to estimates, the per capita GDP growth rate will increase by 0.82 percentage points for every one percentage point increase in road mileage owned by one million people. However, at present, there is a prominent problem of "two lows, two differences and two deficiencies" in the transportation facilities in the western region. "two lows": first, the density of road network is low, and second, the access level is low; "two differences": first, the road grade and quality are poor, and second, the sea conditions are poor; "Two deficiencies": one is the lack of construction funds, and the other is the lack of self-development ability. All these have seriously restricted the economic development of the western region.

(3) The level of science, technology and culture is relatively backward. Due to historical reasons, the level of science and technology in ethnic areas is low, and the influence of scientific and technological progress on economic progress in western ethnic areas is low. Due to the backwardness of culture and education, the quality of workers is relatively low, which hinders the entry of high-tech industries and makes the economy in ethnic areas run at a low level and with low efficiency.

(4) The industrial structure is unreasonable and it is difficult to adjust. Most ethnic minority areas are remote and the social development is relatively backward. The local economy is dominated by traditional agriculture and animal husbandry, the industry is dominated by primary processing, and the tertiary industry has developed. However, the current situation of this industrial structure and economic structure is not attractive enough, which also leads to insufficient motivation to attract external funds. Therefore, it is falling into a bad cycle of "insufficient accumulated funds, slow technological progress, low labor productivity, low income level of residents and insufficient capital supply capacity".

(5) Serious short-term behaviors in economic activities. The model of "resources for growth" still exists. The only criterion for measuring political achievements in many places is to use land and preferential policies as indicators to attract investment, giving priority to those things that can be "quick success and instant benefit".