Portal:Africa
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Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, corruption, colonialism, the Cold War, and neocolonialism. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and a large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. Africa has a large quantity of natural resources and food resources, including diamonds, sugar, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum, natural gas, cocoa beans, and.
Africa straddles the equator and the prime meridian. It is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to the southern temperate zones. The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, the northern tip of Mauritania, and the entire territories of Morocco, Ceuta, Melilla, and Tunisia, which in turn are located above the tropic of Cancer, in the northern temperate zone. In the other extreme of the continent, southern Namibia, southern Botswana, great parts of South Africa, the entire territories of Lesotho and Eswatini and the southern tips of Mozambique and Madagascar are located below the tropic of Capricorn, in the southern temperate zone.
Africa is highly biodiverse; it is the continent with the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. However, Africa also is heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues, including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, and pollution. These entrenched environmental concerns are expected to worsen as climate change impacts Africa. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified Africa as the continent most vulnerable to climate change.
The history of Africa is long, complex, and varied, and has often been under-appreciated by the global historical community. In African societies, the historical process is largely a communal one, with eyewitness accounts, hearsay, reminiscences, and occasionally visions, dreams, and hallucinations, crafted into oral traditions, leading some to term them oral civilisations. Truth is generally viewed as relativist. Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, is widely accepted to be the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade, also known as the great apes. The earliest hominids and their ancestors have been dated to around 7 million years ago, including Sahelanthropus, Australopithecus africanus, A. afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster, the earliest Homo sapiens (modern human) remains, found in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Morocco, date to circa 233,000, 259,000, and 300,000 years ago, respectively, and Homo sapiens is believed to have originated in Africa around 350,000–260,000 years ago. Africa is also considered by anthropologists to be the most genetically diverse continent as a result of being the longest inhabited. (Full article...)
Selected article –
The pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Africa on 14 February 2020, with the first confirmed case announced in Egypt. The first confirmed case in sub-Saharan Africa was announced in Nigeria at the end of February 2020. Within three months, the virus had spread throughout the continent, as Lesotho, the last African sovereign state to have remained free of the virus, reported a case on 13 May 2020. By 26 May, it appeared that most African countries were experiencing community transmission, although testing capacity was limited. Most of the identified imported cases arrived from Europe and the United States rather than from China where the virus originated.
In early June 2021, Africa faced a third wave of COVID infections with cases rising in 14 countries. By 4 July the continent recorded more than 251,000 new Covid cases, a 20% increase from the prior week and a 12% increase from the January peak. More than sixteen African countries, including Malawi and Senegal, recorded an uptick in new cases. The World Health Organization labelled it Africa's 'Worst Pandemic Week Ever'. (Full article...)
Featured pictures –
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Photo: William WarbyPortrait of a Maasai woman, with shaved head, stretched earlobes, and beaded adornments, typical of the Maasai culture. The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known of African ethnic groups, due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa. Their primary language Maa (ɔl Maa) is a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer. -
Banknote design credit: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank; photographed by Andrew ShivaThe rupie was the unit of currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916. During World War I, the colony was cut off from Germany as a result of a wartime blockade and the colonial government needed to create an emergency issue of banknotes. Paper made from linen or jute was initially used, but because of wartime shortages, the notes were later printed on commercial paper in a variety of colours, wrapping paper, and in one instance, wallpaper. This twenty-rupie banknote was issued in 1915, and is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000015-QINU`"' -
Banknote: Swakopmund Bookshop (courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)The South West African mark was a temporary currency issued in South West Africa between 1916 and 1918 as part of the South West Africa campaign. Issued after the conquest of German South West Africa by South Africa, notes were denominated in marks and pfennig, as with the withdrawn German South West African Mark. Many institutions issued banknotes; this two-mark note was issued by the Swakopmund Bookshop. The South-West African mark was replaced in 1918 by the South African pound. -
Male lion and cub eating a cape buffalo in Northern Sabi Sand, South Africa Photo credit: Luca Galuzzi
The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. The lion is the second largest feline species, after the tiger. The male lion, easily recognized by his mane, weighs between 150 and 250 kg (330–500 lb). Females range 120–150 kg (260–330 lb). In the wild, lions live for around 10–14 years, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. Though they were once found throughout much of Africa, Asia and Europe, lions presently exist in the wild only in Africa and India. They enjoy hot climates, and hunt in groups. -
Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimAdansonia digitata is a sub-Saharan African species of baobab tree. The genus, scientifically known as Adansonia, consists of nine species native to Madagascar, Africa, Arabia and Australia, and can reach heights of 5 to 30 m (16 to 98 ft) with trunk diameters of 7 to 11 m (23 to 36 ft). -
Karnak Credit: David Roberts RA and Louis Hahge
Karnak is a vast conglomeration of ruined temples, chapels, pylons and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. This was ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut ("The Most Selected of Places"), the main place of worship of the Theban Triad with Amun as its head, in the monumental city of Thebes. This tinted lithograph depicts the hypostyle hall of the Precinct of Amun-Re, as it appeared in 1838. -
Photograph credit: Charles James SharpThe roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) is a species of savanna antelope found in western, central and southern Africa. Named for its reddish-brown coat, it has a black face with white patches around the eyes and the mouth, and a short erect mane of greyish brown hair extending from the back of the neck to the rump. This roan antelope, of the subspecies H. e. koba, was photographed in Senegal; the subspecies's range extends from Senegal to Benin in western Africa. -
Bird of paradise flower Credit: USDAStrelitzia is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. It belongs to the plant family Strelitziaceae. The genus is named after Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom. A common name of the genus is bird of paradise flower, because of a resemblance of its flowers to birds-of-paradise. In South Africa, it is commonly known as a crane flower and is featured on the reverse of the 50 cent coin. -
A Nodding Pincushion Flower Bud Photo credit: Mila Zinkova
Leucospermum (Pincushion or Pincushion Protea) is a genus of about 50 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to Zimbabwe and South Africa, where they occupy a variety of habitats, including scrub, forest, and mountain slopes. -
A Kirby's Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi) in Tsumeb, Namibia Photo credit: User:Lycaon
Trithemis kirbyi is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae found across most of Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, rivers, and inland karsts. -
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The government is an absolute monarchy, the last of its kind in Africa, and the country has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. One of the country's important cultural events is Umhlanga, the reed-dance festival, held in August or September each year. This photograph shows Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini, the eldest daughter of Mswati III, at the 2006 festival. -
Photograph: Sathyan VelumaniThe Larabanga Mosque was built in the Sudanese architectural style in the village of Larabanga, Ghana. It is the oldest mosque in the country and one of the oldest in West Africa, and has been called the "Mecca of West Africa". It has undergone restoration several times since it was founded. The World Monuments Fund has contributed substantially to its restoration, and lists it as one of the 100 most endangered sites. -
Photo credit: LaitcheThe Rose Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) is a plant indigenous to various parts of southern Africa, and in particular South Africa. This specific species has great importance in the perfume industry. Its cultivars have a wide variety of smells, including rose, citrus, mint, coconut and nutmeg, as well as various fruits. -
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia Photo credit: American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Dept., photographer
Haile Selassie I (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975), born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. The heir to a dynasty that traced its origins to the 13th century, and from there by tradition back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Haile Selassie is a defining figure in Ethiopian and African history. -
Photograph: Poco a pocoPanoramic view of the Amphitheatre of El Jem, an archeological site in the city of El Djem, Tunisia. The amphitheatre, one of the best-preserved Roman ruins and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, was built around 238 AD, when modern Tunisia belonged to the Roman province of Africa. It is the third-biggest amphitheatre in the world, with axes of 148 m (486 ft) and 122 m (400 ft) and a seating capacity of 35,000, unique in Africa. -
A Senegal Wattled Plover in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya Photo credit: John O'Neill
The dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) is a large even-toed ungulate native to northern Africa and western Asia. It is often referred to as the one-humped camel, Arabian camel, or simply as the "dromedary". -
Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpThe sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) is an antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in eastern and southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separate population in Angola. The species is sexually dimorphic, with the male heavier and about one-fifth taller than the female. It has a compact and robust build, characterized by a thick neck and tough skin, and both sexes have ringed horns which arch backward. The sable antelope has four subspecies.
This picture shows an adult male common sable antelope (H. n. niger) in the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa. -
Photograph credit: Alexander SavinDallol is a cinder-cone volcano in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range in Ethiopia. The area lies up to 120 m (390 ft) below sea level, and has been repeatedly flooded in the past when waters from the Red Sea have inundated it. The Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places on Earth, and the evaporation of seawater after these flooding episodes produced thick deposits of salt, as seen in this landscape. The deposits at Dallol include significant quantities of the carbonate, sulfate and chloride salts of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Hot springs discharge brine to form the blueish ponds, and small, temporary geysers produce cones of salt. -
Photo: NASAA composite satellite image of the geography of Africa, the Earth's second-largest continent, and its adjacent islands. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from much of Asia by the Red Sea, Africa is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez. For geopolitical purposes, the Sinai Peninsula – east of the Suez Canal – is often considered part of Africa, although geographically it belongs in Asia. Africa can be divided into a number of geographic zones: The Atlas Mountains in the north, the Sahara, the coastal plains, and the inner plateaus.
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that British communist leader Trevor Carter was the stage manager for the first British-Caribbean carnival, held in St Pancras Town Hall?
- ... that in 1890 Cornelius N. Dorsette, often referred to as the first African-American physician in Alabama, founded Hale Infirmary, a hospital for Black patients and staff in Montgomery?
- ... that during the First World War the East African Mounted Rifles sometimes painted stripes on their horses to camouflage them as zebras?
- ... that the Octavius V. Catto Memorial, unveiled in 2017, contains the first statue on Philadelphia public property of a specific African American?
- ... that actress Dorothy Van Engle starred in the 1935 movie Murder in Harlem with a "proto-feminist role" that was then a primary source of positive representation for African Americans in film?
- ... that after failing to establish a colony for black Americans at Abeokuta, Robert Campbell founded the first newspaper in Lagos?
Categories
Selected biography –
Samia Yusuf Omar or Samiyo Omar (Somali: Saamiya Yuusuf Cumar; Arabic: سامية يوسف عمر; 25 March 1991 – April 2012) was a sprinter from Somalia. She was one of two Somali athletes who competed for their nation at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Omar had grown up in Mogadishu, and trained there during the Somali Civil War despite receiving harassment from local militia groups. Her story at the Olympics was covered by the media, and her performance was well received by the crowd.
Following the Games, she hid away from athletics following threats by militant group Al-Shabaab. She ended up in a Hizbul-Islam displacement camp, and in pursuit of competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics, she crossed the border to Ethiopia looking for a safe place to train. She was trafficked north into Libya, where she was imprisoned. During the 2012 Games, it was revealed that Omar had drowned off the coast of Libya while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. (Full article...)
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Côte d'Ivoire (officially the République de Côte d'Ivoire), formerly known as Ivory Coast, is a country in West Africa. It borders Liberia and Guinea to the west, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.
From independence in 1960 until 1993, it was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny and was closely associated economically and politically with its West African neighbors and maintained close ties to the West, which helped its economic development and political stability. Following the end of Houphoët-Boigny's rule, this stability was destroyed by two coups (1999 and 2001) and the Ivorian Civil War.
Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with strong executive power personified in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the official language is French. The economy is largely market-based and relies heavily on agriculture, with smallholder cash crop production being dominant. (Read more...)
Selected city –
Asmara (/æsˈmɑːrə/ əs-MAHR-ə), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of 2,325 metres (7,628 ft), making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The city is located at the tip of an escarpment that is both the northwestern edge of the Eritrean Highlands and the Great Rift Valley in neighbouring Ethiopia. In 2017, the city was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved modernist architecture. According to local traditions, the city was founded after four separate villages unified to live together peacefully after long periods of conflict. Asmara had long been overshadowed by nearby Debarwa, the residence of the Bahr Negash or the governor of the coastal province, however it still existed as a major settlement for over half a millennium and enjoyed some importance as it stood on the trade route to Massawa. Asmara first rose to prominence during the 20th century, when it became capital of Italian Eritrea. Under Italian rule the city of Asmara experienced rapid urbanization and modernization. (Full article...)
In the news
- 12 February 2024 –
- Two boats collide on the Congo River near Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; with the death toll remains unclear. (AP)
- 11 February 2024 – 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
- In association football, hosts Ivory Coast win their third Africa Cup of Nations by defeating Nigeria 2–1 in the final. Sébastien Haller scores the winning goal in the 81st minute. (The Guardian)
- 10 February 2024 – Somali civil war
- Four Emirati soldiers and a Bahraini military officer are killed, while ten other people are injured, when a soldier opens fire at a military base in Mogadishu, Somalia, before being killed in the ensuing shootout. Al-Shabaab claims responsibility. (AP)
- 10 February 2024 –
- A Eurocopter EC130 helicopter crashes near Nipton, California, United States, killing all the six people on board, including Nigerian banker Herbert Wigwe. (CBS News)
- 10 February 2024 – 2023–2024 Senegalese protests
- Violent protests occur in Senegal following an announcement by President Macky Sall that presidential elections have been delayed from February 25 to December 15. (Sky News)
- 9 February 2024 –
- At least 18 people are killed during a collision between a bus and a truck on a road in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (AP)
Updated: 16:33, 14 February 2024
General images -
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The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Africa) -
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Ruby, Egyptian singer performing (from Culture of Africa) -
The Almoravid empire in the 12th century. (from History of Africa) -
The Kilwa Sultanate in 1310 (from History of Africa) -
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Traditional male dancers from Northern Nigeria (from Culture of Africa) -
Evolution of the Fatimid Caliphate (from History of Africa) -
The Kingdom of Aksum in the 6th century AD. (from History of Africa) -
Sudan basket-tray, tabar of weaved natural plant fiber, in different colors (from Culture of Africa) -
traditional pearl using for differents pearl in the religion. (from Culture of Africa) -
Ancient Kano City Walls, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa) -
Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, one of the most iconic singers in African history (from Culture of Africa) -
Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional folklore dance (from Culture of Africa) -
A Yombe sculpture (Louvre, Paris) (from Culture of Africa) -
Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performing Adumu, a traditional dance (from Culture of Africa) -
A terra-cotta head sculpture (1100-1500) of the Yoruba, showing extraordinary naturalism. This head represents the oni or king of Ife. (from Culture of Africa) -
Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of paintings in Tanzania, Kenya and neighbouring countries (from Culture of Africa) -
Potjiekos is a traditional Afrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots. (from Culture of Africa) -
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9th-century bronze staff head in form of a coiled snake, Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria (from History of Africa) -
Carthaginian Empire in 323 BC (from History of Africa) -
DISPLAY OF AFRICAN CULTURAL APPAREL (SMOCK) (from Culture of Africa) -
Nok sculpture (from History of Africa) -
The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (from Culture of Africa) -
Dates of independence of African countries (from History of Africa) -
1 = 2000–1500 BC origin
2 = c. 1500 BC first dispersal
2.a = Eastern Bantu
2.b = Western Bantu
3 = 1000–500 BC Urewe nucleus of Eastern Bantu
4–7 = southward advance
9 = 500–1 BC Congo nucleus
10 = AD 1–1000 last phase (from History of Africa) -
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Fufu (right) is a staple meal in West Africa and Central Africa. It is usually served with some peanut soup. (from Culture of Africa) -
Gateway to the Castle of Good Hope in South Africa (from Culture of Africa) -
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Map of ancient Egypt, showing major cities and sites of the Dynastic period (c. 3150 BC to 30 BC) (from History of Africa) -
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An Ethiopian woman preparing Ethiopian coffee at a traditional ceremony. She roasts, crushes, and brews the coffee on the spot. (from Culture of Africa) -
Major pre–colonial states in Africa, (excluding East African states such as Ajuran, Adal, Buganda, Rwanda, Nkore, Kilwa, Imerina, and Iboina,
Central African ones such as Kuba, Kasanje, Mbunda, and Utetera, and Southern African ones such as Mapungubwe, Rozvi, Maravi, Mutapa, Uukwanyama, Mthethwa, Mthwakazi, and Zulu) (from History of Africa) -
Areas controlled by European powers in 1939. British (red) and Belgian (marroon) colonies fought with the Allies. Italian (light green) with the Axis. French colonies (dark blue) fought alongside the Allies until the Fall of France in June 1940. Vichy was in control until the Free French prevailed in late 1942. Portuguese (dark green) and Spanish (yellow) colonies remained neutral. (from History of Africa) -
Map of the western Sahel and Sudan (northern West Africa) c. 1200, including some successor states of Ghana. (Songhai is Gao)
Kingdoms in this era were centred around cities and cores, with variations of influence radiating out from these points, meaning there weren't fixed borders. (from History of Africa) -
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Pre-Neolithic and Neolithic migration events in Africa. (from History of Africa) -
The Mali Empire in 1337 CE, with major gold fields, of Bambuk, Bure, Lobi (tended by the Gan and later Lobi people), and Akan, and trade routes, outlined. The desert should extend further south to Koumbi. The Mossi Kingdoms are located north of Lobi. (from History of Africa) -
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Africa topics
More did you know –
- ...that Rukwanzi Island, an island in Lake Albert, one of the African Great Lakes, is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda?
- ...that Oumarou Sidikou, vice-governor of the Central Bank of West African States from 1988 to 1993, was a minister in the government of Nigerien Prime Minister Hama Amadou, which was ousted by a military coup in 1996?
- ...that Jason Dunford, an All-Africa Games gold medalist and runner-up for the 2006 Kenyan Sportsman of the Year award, has a younger brother who was selected "most promising sportsman" at the same awards?
- ...that Sam Mbakwe, governor of Imo State from 1979 to 1983, served in the army of the Republic of Biafra, an Igbo secessionist state in southeastern Nigeria, during the Nigerian Civil War?
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Major Religions in Africa
North Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa
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