Information
Continent: AfricaAfrica, Continent
Overview
Africa is the world’s second-largest continent and home to the second-biggest population, with cultures, languages, landscapes, and histories as varied as the colors in a bustling Marrakech market.It spans about 30.37 million square kilometers-roughly 11.7 million square miles-covering nearly a fifth of all the land on Earth.Here’s a quick look at what makes it unique: when it comes to geography and climate, the continent is typically split into five regions-North, West, Central, East, and Southern Africa-stretching from the dry Sahara to lush equatorial forests.The Sahara-the largest hot desert on Earth-stretches across most of North Africa, its dunes glowing gold in the sun, while the Kalahari and Namib spread over parts of Southern Africa.In the heart of Central Africa, the Congo Basin holds the world’s second-largest rainforest, where the air hums with the sound of distant birds.In East and Southern Africa, the wide-open savannas stretch under a blazing sun, home to lions, elephants, and tall giraffes.Mountains and rivers shape Africa’s landscape-Kilimanjaro rises higher than any other peak on the continent, its snowy summit gleaming in the sun, while the Nile, the longest river on Earth, winds north through the east and into the northeast.In ancient times, Egypt, Nubia, and Carthage rose early, building great cities where the air smelled of baked clay and incense.In Ethiopia, the Kingdom of Aksum thrived on bustling trade routes, while far to the west, the Mali Empire grew rich from caravans laden with gold and salt.In the late 19th century, European powers swarmed into Africa during the so‑called "Scramble for Africa," redrawing borders and reshaping societies, sometimes with a single ink stroke on a map.Beginning with Libya’s independence in 1951, one African nation after another broke free from colonial rule, until their voices joined in the African Union - a continent-wide body working for unity and progress.Africa is home to roughly 1.4 billion people, speaking in the voices of more than 3,000 distinct ethnic groups, from desert traders to coastal fishermen.Africa speaks in more than 2,000 tongues, making it the most linguistically diverse continent-a place where you might hear drums echo alongside whispered greetings in dozens of dialects.The major language families are Afroasiatic, spoken in tongues like Arabic and Amharic; Nilo-Saharan; Niger-Congo, which includes Swahili and Yoruba; and the distinctive clicks of Khoisan.Islam and Christianity are the dominant faiths, yet many people still follow indigenous traditions, from ancestral rituals to small offerings of food or flowers.Africa’s land holds extraordinary wealth-glittering diamonds, heavy bars of gold, deep wells of oil, and rare minerals hidden in the rock.Still, that wealth has often sparked economic troubles and even conflict, like markets seizing up overnight.Countries like Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia have surged ahead economically, driven by thriving farms, booming energy projects, fast-growing tech hubs, and bustling tourist spots.Despite real progress, the country still wrestles with poverty, aging roads that rattle with every passing truck, and an economy too dependent on shipping out raw materials.Africa teems with life, from the mighty “Big Five”-lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros-to countless other species that roam its sunlit plains and dense forests.The Serengeti, Kruger, and Virunga National Parks are famous worldwide for protecting wildlife, yet poaching and shrinking habitats still threaten their herds and open plains.Desertification, deforestation, and climate change-bringing shifts in rain patterns and long dry spells-are putting growing pressure on ecosystems and making farming harder to sustain.Music and Dance: Africa’s rich musical heritage spans Afrobeat, highlife, and Mbalax, rhythms that echo far beyond the continent and shape sounds from jazz clubs in New Orleans to pop hits worldwide.Art and literature in Africa burst with life, from intricate beadwork and carved masks to bold modern sculptures, powerful novels, and films celebrated across the globe.Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka left their mark on African literature, their words still carrying the scent of red dust and market streets.Fashion blends the rich patterns of Kente cloth and the bold colors of Ankara with the fresh vision of rising African designers, and together they’re catching eyes around the world.Africa has one of the youngest populations on the planet, a youthful energy that could drive growth if schools expand, jobs open up, and clinics have enough medicine.Sustainability meets innovation as renewable energy-especially solar panels gleaming in the midday sun-gains ground, and new ideas in farming steadily take root.
