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AFRICA.Arena
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Overview of Present-day Africa
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| SIZE: |
30 335 000 km² , 20.3% of World Surface
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| POPULATION: |
900 000 000 |
14% of World Population |
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Africa, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Indian Ocean on the east, the Mediterranean Sea on the north, and the Red Sea on the northeast, is the largest of the seven continents after Asia covering with an area of 30,300,000 km² (11,700,000 square miles).
Countries:
Africa is made up of 53 countries (5 in the Maghrib and some countries been disputed), Sudan beign the biggest country (2,505,816 km²). The countries with the largest populations in Africa are Nigeria (107,000,000 people), Egypt (64,800,000 people), and Ethiopia (58,700,000 people).
Highest and Lowest Points:
The tallest point in Africa is Mt. Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania (eastern Africa). Mt. Kilimanjaro is 19,340 feet (5895 meters) tall. Africa has no long mountain chains.
The lowest pont in Africa is Lake Assal, in Djibouti (in eastern Africa near the Horn of Africa); it is 512 feet (156 meters) below sea level.
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Lakes:
Africa's largest lake is Lake Victoria; it covers 26,836 square miles (69,500 square kilometers). Other large lakes in Africa are Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, and Lake Chad.
Rivers:
The longest river in Africa is the Nile River; it is 4,241 miles (6825 kilometers) long. Other long rivers in Africa include the Congo River, the Niger River and the Zambezi River.
Deserts:
Africa has many vast deserts, including the largest hot desert in the world, the Sahara. The Sahara Desert is located in northern Africa and covers 3,500,000 square miles (9,065,000 square kilometers). The Kalahari, in southern Africa, is another large desert.
Islands:
The biggest island off Africa is Madagascar, which is near the coast of southeast Africa. Madagascar covers 226,658 square miles (587,000 square kilometers). Other islands include the Seychelles (a chain of islands north of Madagascar), the Comoros (another chain of islands north of Madagascar), the Canary Islands (a chain of islands off the northwest coast), the Madeira Islands (another chain of islands off the northwest coast), the Cape Verde Islands (off the coast of western Africa), Equatorial Guinea (off the coast of Cameroon), and Sao Tome (southwest of Equatorial Guinea).
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FACTS
| Largest |
SUDAN: 2 505 818 km2 ALGERIA: 2 381 740km2 |
| Smallest |
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE: 964 km2
CAPE VERDE: 403 km2 |
| Most Populated |
NIGERIA: 120 million 927 770 km2
20% Total African Population |
| Least Populated |
Sao Tome and Principe: 125 000;
Cape Vert: 400 000 |
Highest Density
(inhabitants/km2 |
RWANDA: 304/km2
BURUNDI: 250/km2
SAO TOME & PRINCIPE: 130/km2
NIGERIA: 123/km2
MALAWI:118/km2
GAMBIA: 110/km2
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Lowest Density
(inhabitants/km2 |
NAMIBIA: 2/km2 (1.5million, 724 290km2);
MAURITANIA: 2/km2(2.3million, 1 025 520km2);
LYBIA: 3/km2 (4million, 1 759 340km2);
CHAD: 5/km2 (6.4million, 1 284 000km2)
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Most Urban (% of
total populaton) |
DJIBOUTI: 84%; LYBIA: 84% |
Least Urban(% of
total populaton) |
BURUNDI: 7%; RWANDA: 6%; ETHIOPIA: 13% |
| Greatest Ethnic Diversity |
NIGERIA: more than 250 ethnic groups, 400 languages and 2000 dialects: Hausa-Fulani(29%); Ibo(17%); Yoruba(20%). The 3 make up more than 66% of Nigerian population.
TANZANIA: 120 bantus ethnic groups
CAMEROON: 397 ethnic groups
In contrast to Nigeria, neither Cameroon nor Tanzania has large ethnic groups that dominate the other like Nigeria with the 3 ethnic groups cited above.
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| Least Ethnic Diversity |
SWAZILAND: 99% Swazis
ALL MAGHREBIN 90-98% arabs and berbers
SOMALI: 98% Somalis
LESOTHO: 99% Basothos
RWANDA: 90% Hutus
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Longest River
Largest Lake
Largest Island
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Nile, 6 738km from Uganda to Egypt through Sudan
Lake Vicoria, 69 484km² over Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania
Madagascar, 587 040km²
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Annual Growth Rate of Urban Population: 3.5%
Most Poulous City: Lagos(16 million)
Number of Refugees: 15 million (3.3 fled their countries, 12 million displaced)
Number of Languages: Over 2 000
Number of Muslims: 358 million
Number of Christians: 400 million
Population dependent on Agric: 66%
Number of firearms: 30 million
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