Africa

Africa is the second largest continent in size and the second largest continent in population and is located mainly in the Eastern Hemisphere and the major part in the Northern Hemisphere.

There are 54 countries in Africa and 9 dependent territories. More than 1.3 billion people live on the African continent which is 17% of the world’s total population live in Africa. Over 50% of Africans are under the age of 25.
The largest country is Algeria and is among the ten largest countries in the world. The most populous country in Africa, however, is Nigeria, with more than 219 million people, but the country is only a third of the size of Algeria.

The largest city is Lagos in Nigeria. With more than 22 million inhabitants. Lagos is also one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the world and is estimated to become the world’s largest city by 2100 with more than 100 million inhabitants.
The smallest country is Seychelles, an archipelago (nation of islands) in the Indian Ocean. On the African mainland, the smallest country is The Gambia.

The biggest island is Madagascar located in the Indian Ocean. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo.
The longest river is the Nile (6,852 km/ 4,258 miles). The Nile is the longest river in the world and passes through eleven countries. The Nile has two sources: The White Nile coming from Lake Victoria in Tanzania and the Blue Nile coming from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. The river mouth is in Egypt.

The highest mountain is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Mount Kilimanjaro has three volcanic cones and the highest volcanic cone of them is called ‘Kibo’. The highest peak is called ‘Uhuru Peak’ with 5,895 m/ 19,340 ft. The mountain is located in the Tanzanian highlands at the border with Kenya. Mount Kilimanjaro can only be climbed from the Tanzanian side but can even be seen from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

The biggest lake is Lake Victoria bordering Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya) is also the world’s second-largest freshwater lake.
The driest place is the Sahara in northern Africa is the largest hot desert in the world. The climate is extremely dry (arid) in this region.
 
There are sixteen landlocked countries in Africa. These countries are all located in the interior of the continent and have neither access to the Atlantic Ocean nor to the Indian Ocean. Two of these landlocked countries, the tiny countries of Eswatini and Lesotho are located within South Africa. 

Africa is the ‘cradle of humankind’, the place where the first hominids, human beings and their closest relatives the gorilla and chimpanzees, evolved. Fossils found in Africa, show that the modern human evolved there about 5 to 10 million years ago and spread from this continent. One of the earliest evidences of human life were found in South Africa. ‘Mrs Ples and the Taung Child are among the most important fossils.

Many powerful kingdoms existed on the African continent in the early history and the Middle Ages. Between the 5th and 15th century, African slaves were traded mainly by Arab traders and later sent overseas. In the late 19th century Europeans started conquering Africa which was then colonised in the 19th and 20th century mainly from Portugal, Britain and France, but also from the Dutch, Italian, Germans and Belgians.

There are more than 3,000 different groups of indigenous people living in Africa. They all have their own language and culture. As Africa was colonised and suppressed until the last century, the majority of Africans is still poor. Most African countries only gained independence after World War II in the 1950s and 1960s. The poorest countries in Africa are Malawi, the Central African Republic and Burundi. Among the most developed and richest countries are the Seychelles, Libia, Mauritius, Algeria, Egypt, Botswana, South Africa and Nigeria.

It is estimated that about 3,000 different languages are spoken on the African continent. There are over 3000 languages spoken in Africa. Amharic, Arabic, English, French, Hausa, Oromo, Swahili and Yoruba are among the languages widely spoken. Many Africans speak several African languages and also often another ‘European’ language. In many countries, people speak English, French or Portuguese as an additional language, as these languages are often used in official communication and business.

English is widely spoken in Africa as many countries were formerly British colonies. Arabic, spoken in northern Africa, is also used in many North African countries as official language. Swahili, spoken in many East African countries has the most native speakers in Africa.

Most of the African people are either Christians or Muslims. In North Africa and many West African countries, people follow mainly the Islam, while in southern and eastern Africa the Christian faith dominates. About 10% of the African people follow traditional religious rituals which means they have traditional healing rituals such as bone-throwing, herbal medicine and celebrating the spirit of the ancestors.

The most populous city in Africa is Lagos with more than 22 million people (2021). Cairo in Egypt is the second largest city in Africa with 21 million people.
Other large cities in Africa are: Cape Town (South Africa), Algiers (Algeria), Kinshasa-Brazzaville (DR Congo), Johannesburg (South Africa), Casablanca (Morocco), Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), Nairobi (Kenya).