Getting to Know Africa.
50 Interesting Facts About Africa.
There are 54 countries and one “non-self governing territory”, the Western Sahara, in Africa.
All of Africa was colonized by foreign powers during the “scramble for Africa”, except Ethiopia and Liberia.
Before colonial rule Africa comprised up to 10,000 different states and autonomous groups with distinct languages and customs.
The Pharaonic civilization of ancient Egypt is one of the world’s oldest and longest-lasting civilizations.
African continent is the world’s oldest populated area.
Arabic is spoken by 170 million people on the continent, followed in popularity by English (130 million), Swahili (100), French (115), Berber (50), Hausa (50), Portuguese (20) and Spanish (10).
Over 25% all languages are spoken only in Africa with over 2,000 recognised languages spoken on the continent.
Africa is the second most populous continent with about 1.1 billion people or 16% of the world’s population. Over 50% of Africans are under the age of 25.
The continent’s population will more than double to 2.3 billion people by 2050.
Africa is the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped continent with a continental GDP that accounts for just 2.4% of global GDP.
Almost 40% of adults in Africa are illiterate – two-thirds are women. Adult literacy rates are below 50% in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Over 25 million people are HIV-positive on the continent and over 17 million have died of the disease already.
The Second Congo War claimed over 5.4 million lives and is the deadliest worldwide conflict since World War II.( The european tribal war)
There are fewer people with internet connections in Africa than there are in just New York City.
Approximately 90% of all cases of malaria worldwide occur in Africa, accounting for 24% of all child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.
Africa is the world’s second largest continent covering about over 30 million square kilometers
The Sahara is the largest desert in the world and is bigger than the continental USA.
Africa is the world’s hottest continent with deserts and drylands covering 60% of land surface area (e.g. Kalahari, Sahara and Namib).
Africa is the world’s second driest continent (after Australia).
Africa has approximately 30% of the earth’s remaining mineral resources.
Nigeria is fourth largest oil exporter in the world, and Africa’s biggest oil producer with about 2.2 million barrels produced every day. Top 10 oil producers in order of total exports: Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Congo, Gabon, South Africa.
The continent has the largest reserves of precious metals with over 40% of the gold reserves, over 60% of the cobalt, and 90% of the platinum reserves.
China is Africa’s top trade partner with Sino-African trade volumes now nearing $200 billion per year.
China’s direct investment in Africa exceeds $50 billion. Just look at the “Forum on China Africa Cooperation”.
Neocolonialism is a real threat with over 1 million Chinese citizens on the African continent. Angola alone has a population of over 350,000 Chinese.
Over 55% of Africa’s labour force working in food production with vast areas of arable and pastoral lands supporting agricultural economies.
Over 90% of soils are unsuitable for agriculture and only 0.25% has moderate to low potential for sustainable farming.
Rainfall variability is very high – from 0 mm/year in the Sahara to 9,500 mm/year near Mount Cameroon.
Over 240 million Africans suffer from chronic undernourishment.
Water scarcity impacts the lives of over 300 million Africans, of whom approximately 75% of Africans rely on groundwater as their primary source of drinking water. Global warming is aggravating the situation.
Limited groundwater represents only 15% of the continent’s total renewable water resources. Discoveries of groundwater reserves in large sedimentary basins in Libya, Algeria, and Chad may slack Africa’s growth.
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