Africa

Africa

Africa is often called the cradle of humanity. It was in Africa that humans first arose long, long ago. From Africa, these people migrated into Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas.

Today, Africa is home to a remarkable variety of people and cultures. It is a land of striking contrasts and wild beauty. It is also a place facing many problems, including war, starvation, poverty, and disease.

A VAST CONTINENT

Africa is the second largest of Earth’s seven continents, after Asia. It accounts for nearly one-quarter of the world’s land. In the northeast, Africa touches Asia in Egypt. In the northwest, Africa almost touches Europe in Morocco. More than 50 nations are found in Africa. They are home to some 800 million people.

STRADDLING THE EQUATOR

Africa is the only continent that truly straddles the equator, the imaginary line that encircles Earth around its middle. Much of Africa is hot and dry. Only central Africa has a tropical rainy season. Yet few areas of the world are as diverse as Africa.

THE MIGHTY NILE

The longest river in the world, the Nile, empties into the Mediterranean in northeastern Africa. Ancient Egypt, one of the world’s first great civilizations, developed along the mighty Nilemore than 5,000 years ago. Today, its magnificent pyramids still tower above the land.

THE SAHARA

The Sahara, the world’s largest desert, reaches across a vast swath of northern Africa. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. In fact, the Saharacovers one-quarter of the entire continent. The Saharais mainly hot, dry, and empty. But people have used teams of camels to carry goods across this giant desert since ancient times.

EQUATORIAL AFRICA

South of the Sahara is equatorial Africa, lying on either side of the equator. Here we find lush tropical rain forests and tropical grasslands called savannas. On Africa’s west coast are the trading ports of West Africa. These ports ship crops such as coffee, cotton, and cacao beans (from which chocolate is made) to the world.

The Congo River, Central Africa’s largest waterway, empties into the Atlantic Ocean near the equator. The Congo drains a vast basin in Central Africa that receives more rainfall than any other part of the continent. It carries more water than any river in the world except the Amazon River in South America.

GREAT RIFT VALLEY

The highlands of Africaare in the east. They run the length of the continent. Between mountain ranges lies the Great Rift Valley. It runs north to south for more than 3,000 miles (4,830 kilometers). The valley actually begins in the Asian country of Syriaand reaches all the way to Mozambiquein southeast Africa. The Great Rift Valley is rich with fossils. Here, scientists have found ancient bones that have helped them understand the mystery of human origins.

KILIMANJARO

Africa’s tallest mountains are found in the towering ranges of the east. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, rises in east central Africa. A dormant volcano, Kilimanjaro climbs to 19,341 feet (5,895 meters).

SOUTHERN AFRICA

In southern Africa is the great Namib Desert. This desert lines the southwest coast, reaching inland about 81 miles (130 kilometers). In the center is the fertile High Veld, a large plateau that slopes down to the Indian Oceanin the east. On the southern tip of the continent is South Africa’s famous Cape of Good Hope. This is the place where the Indian and Atlanticoceans meet.

MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE

The people of Africa may be the most diverse of all the continents. Africa’s 800 million people speak perhaps 2,000 or more languages. Thousands of distinct ethnic groups are found in Africa.

North of the Sahara, people are mainly of Arab origin. South of the Sahara, the people are mostly black Africans. Throughout Africaare scattered people of European ancestry, descendants of colonial settlers.

Most Africans live in rural communities. Many raise livestock or farm. Relatively few people live in cities. But Africadoes have many big cities, and they are growing rapidly. They include Cairo, Egypt; Casablanca, Morocco; Lagos, Nigeria; and Cape Town, South Africa.

From the 1500s to the 1800s, millions of Africans were forcibly removed to North and South Americato work as slaves. Their descendants are still prominent among the people of both of those continents.

A WILD PLACE

Africa is famous for its stunning wildlife. The continent is home to thousands of species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and insects.

South of the Sahara, Africateems with animal life. Wild herds of antelope, zebras, giraffes, and impalas roam across the savanna. Lions, cheetahs, and leopards feed on them. Elephants live in some forests and grasslands. Gorillas live in the rain forests of Central Africa.

Today, many of these animals are endangered. Farms and cities have replaced much of the land they called home. They have been hunted for trophies, meat, and sport. Many countries in Africatry to protect endangered animals, but their numbers continue to dwindle.

MANY CHALLENGES

Today, Africa faces many challenges. The majority of its people remain poor. Droughts are frequent in many areas, leading to terrible starvation. Wars within and between countries have killed millions of people and forced millions of others to leave their homes and live elsewhere as refugees.

Diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria kill millions of Africans each year. In recent years, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has spread rapidly, especially south of the Sahara. It has infected millions of people and devastated some regions.

Despite these troubles, Africaremains a magnificent place. Perhaps no other part of Earth is as varied in its geography, wildlife, and people.

Countries of Africa
Country	Capital	Population (2008 estimate)	Area (square miles)	Area (square kilometers)
Algeria	Algiers	33,700,000	920,000	2,380,000
Angola	Luanda	12,500,000	481,000	1,250,000
Benin	Porto-Novo	8,290,000	43,500	113,000
Botswana	Gaborone	1,840,000	225,000	582,000
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou	14,800,000	106,000	274,000
Burundi	Bujumbura	8,690,000	10,700	27,800
Cameroon	Yaoundé	18,500,000	184,000	475,000
Cape Verde	Praia	426,000	1,560	4,030
Central African Republic	Bangui	4,430,000	240,000	622,000
Chad	N'Djamena	10,110,000	496,000	1,280,000
Comoros	Moroni	732,000	720	1,860
Congo	Brazzaville	3,900,000	132,000	342,000
Côte d'Ivoire	Yamoussoukro	18,400,000	125,000	322,000
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	68,000,000	905,000	2,340,000
Djibouti	Djibouti	506,000	8,960	23,200
Egypt	Cairo	81,700,000	385,000	998,000
Equatorial Guinea	Malabo	562,000	10,800	28,100
Eritrea	Asmara	5,030,000	46,800	121,000
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	78,300,000	438,000	1,130,000
Gabon	Libreville	1,480,000	103,000	268,000
The Gambia	Banjul	1,740,000	4,360	11,300
Ghana	Accra	23,400,000	92,100	239,000
Guinea	Conakry	10,210,000	94,900	246,000
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	1,500,000	13,900	36,100
Kenya	Nairobi	38,000,000	225,000	583,000
Lesotho	Maseru	2,130,000	11,700	30,400
Liberia	Monrovia	3,330,000	38,200	99,100
Libya	Tripoli	6,170,000	678,000	1,760,000
Madagascar	Antananarivo	20,000,000	227,000	587,000
Malawi	Lilongwe	13,900,000	45,700	118,000
Mali	Bamako	12,300,000	479,000	1,240,000
Mauritania	Nouakchott	3,360,000	398,000	1,030,000
Mauritius	Port Louis	1,260,000	790	2,040
Morocco	Rabat	34,300,000	175,000	454,000
Mozambique	Maputo	21,300,000	309,000	799,000
Namibia	Windhoek	2,060,000	318,000	824,000
Niger	Niamey	13,300,000	489,000	1,270,000
Nigeria	Abuja	138,000,000	357,000	924,000
Rwanda	Kigali	10,190,000	10,200	26,300
São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé	206,000	390	1,000
Senegal	Dakar	12,900,000	76,000	197,000
Seychelles	Victoria	82,200	180	450
Sierra Leone	Freetown	6,290,000	27,700	71,700
Somalia	Mogadishu	9,380,000	246,000	638,000
South Africa	Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial)	43,800,000	471,000	1,220,000
Sudan	Khartoum	40,200,000	967,000	2,510,000
Swaziland	Mbabane	1,130,000	6,700	17,400
Tanzania	Dar es Salaam (current capital); Dodoma (future capital)	40,200,000	365,000	945,000
Togo	Lomé	5,860,000	21,900	56,800
Tunisia	Tunis	10,380,000	63,500	164,000
Uganda	Kampala	31,400,000	93,100	241,000
Zambia	Lusaka	11,700,000	291,000	753,000
Zimbabwe	Harare	12,400,000	151,000	391,000