Facts about Africa
15. There are 54 countries and one “non-self governing territory”, the Western Sahara, in Africa.
14. The African continent has the second largest population in the world, at about one billion people.
13. The continent of Africa covers nearly 12 million square miles (31 million sq. km).
12. While Africa makes up about 16% of the world’s population, fully one quarter of the world’s languages are spoken only in Africa.
11. The East African Rift zone, which divides the Somalian and Nubian tectonic plates, is the location of several important discoveries of human ancestors by anthropologists. The discovery of the partial skeleton of "Lucy" in 1974 in Ethiopia sparked major research in the region.
10. Before colonial rule Africa comprised up to 10,000 different states and autonomous groups with distinct languages and customs.
9. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with a population of up to 145 million people. The second most populous country is Egypt, home to more than 76 million people.
8. The African continent has approximately 3,000 distinct ethnic groups while Nigeria alone has about 370 of these tribes that have been officially recognized.
7. The earliest pre-human fossils were found in Kenya and Tanzania.
6. The Pharaonic civilization of ancient Egypt is one of the world’s oldest and longest-lasting civilizations.
5. The largest religion in Africa is Islam, followed by Christianity.
4. Africa could hold the land occupied by China, India, Europe, Argentina, New Zealand and the continental United States, with room to spare.
3. The most populated city in Africa is the Egyptian capital of Cairo with an estimated 17 million residents in the metropolitan area.
2. The Nile which is also the longest river in the world. It runs from Uganda all the way to Egypt for 4,132 miles (6650 km).
1. The largest country in Africa – is Sudan. Its total area is 2, 5 million km². The smallest country in Africa is the Seychelles, whose total area is 453 km².
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