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Africa
*** Shopping-Tip: Africa
see
Africa
{{otheruses}}
{{portal}}
Image:Africa satellite orthographic.jpg thumb|300px|A satellite composite image of Africa
'''Africa''' is the world's second-largest and second-most populous
continent, after
Asia. At about 30,300,000
square kilometre km² (11,700,000
square mile mi²) including adjacent islands, it covers 5.9% of the
Earth's total surface area, and 20.3% of the total land area. With more than 840,000,000 people (as of 2005) in 61 territories, it accounts for more than 12% of the world's
human population.
Etymology
Image:LocationAfrica.png thumb|300px|World map showing location of Africa
The name '''Africa''' came into Western use through the
Ancient Rome Romans, who used the name ''Africa terra'' — "land of the Afri" (plural, or "Afer" singular) — for the northern part of the continent, as the
Africa (province) province of Africa with its capital
Carthage, corresponding to modern-day
Tunisia.
The Afri were a tribe — possibly
Berber — who dwelt in
North Africa in the Carthage area. The origin of ''Afer'' may be connected with
Phoenician languages Phoenician ''`afar'',
dust (also found in most other
Semitic languages). Some other etymologies that have been postulated for the ancient name 'Africa' that are much more debatable include:
:*the
Latin word ''aprica'', meaning "sunny";
:*the
Greek language Greek word ''aphrike'', meaning "without cold" (see also
list of traditional Greek place names). This was proposed by historian
Leo Africanus (
1495-
1554) who suggested the Greek word ''phrike'' (φÏ?ίκη, meaning "cold and horror"), combined with the negating prefix a-, thus indicating a land free of cold and horror. However, as the change of sound from ''ph'' to ''f'' in Greek is datable to about the
10th century, it is unlikely this is the origin.
Ancient Africa lay to the west of
Egypt, while "Asia" was used to refer to
Anatolia and lands to the east. Originally Egypt and the Levant had an indeterminate position between these locations, though as part of the
Persian empire they were sometimes absorbed in the loose concept of "Asia". A definite line was drawn between the two continents by the geographer
Ptolemy (
85 -
165 AD), indicating
Alexandria along the
Prime Meridian and made the
Suez Canal isthmus of Suez and the
Red Sea the boundary between
Asia and Africa. As
Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of ''Africa'' expanded with their knowledge.
Geography
{{main|Geography of Africa}}
Image:The Earth seen from Apollo 17.jpg Blue marble.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|300px|Africa in the [[Blue marble picture, with
Antarctica to the south, and the
Sahara and
Arabian peninsula at the top of the globe..html" title="Meaning of right|300px|Africa in the [[Blue marble">thumb|right|300px|Africa in the [[Blue marble picture, with
Antarctica to the south, and the
Sahara and
Arabian peninsula at the top of the globe.">right|300px|Africa in the [[Blue marble">thumb|right|300px|Africa in the [[Blue marble picture, with
Antarctica to the south, and the
Sahara and
Arabian peninsula at the top of the globe.
Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth's surface. Separated from
Europe by the
Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the
Suez Canal Isthmus of Suez (transected by the Suez Canal), 130 km (80 miles) wide. (
Geopolitically,
Egypt's
Sinai Peninsula east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of Africa, as well.) From the most northerly point,
Cape Blanc (Ra’s al Abyad) in
Tunisia (37°21′ N), to the most southerly point,
Cape Agulhas in
South Africa (34°51′15″ S), is a distance approximately of 8,000 km (5,000 miles); from
Cap-Vert Cape Verde, 17°33′22″ W, the westernmost point, to
Ras Hafun in
Somalia, 51°27′52″ E, the most easterly projection, is a distance (also approximately) of 7,400 km (4,600 miles). The coastline is 26,000 km (16,100 miles) long, and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is shown by the fact that Europe, which covers only
1 E12 m² 9,700,000 km² (3,760,000 square miles), has a coastline of 32,000 km (19,800 miles).
The main structural lines of the continent show both the east-to-west direction characteristic, at least in the eastern hemisphere, of the more northern parts of the world, and the north-to-south direction seen in the southern peninsulas. Africa is thus composed of two segments at right angles, the northern running from east to west, the southern from north to south, the subordinate lines corresponding in the main to these two directions.
History
{{main|History of Africa}}
Image:Afryka 1890.jpg right|thumb|right|300px|Map of Africa 1890
Africa is home to the
cradle of Humankind oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the
human species mitochondrial Eve originating from this continent. During the middle of the 20th century,
Anthropology anthropologists discovered many
fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have
evolved into modern man, such as ''
Australopithecus afarensis'' (
radiometrically dated to 3.9-3.0 million years
Before Christ BC), ''
Paranthropus boisei'' (2.3-1.4 million BC) and ''
Homo ergaster'' (c. 600,000-1.9 million BC) has been discovered.
The
Ishango Bone, dated to about 25,000 years ago, shows
tally stick tallies in
mathematical notation. Throughout humanity's
prehistory, Africa (like all other continents) had no
nation states, and was instead inhabited by groups of
hunter-gatherers such as the
Khoi and
San (formerly known as
bushmen).
Early civilisations and trade
About 3300 BC, the historical record opens in Africa with the rise of literacy in
Egypt, which continued, with varying levels of influence over other areas, until 343 BC. Other prominent
civilizations include
Carthage, the
Kingdom of Aksum, the
Nubian kingdoms, the empires of the
Sahelian kingdom Sahel (
Kanem-Bornu,
Ghana Empire Ghana,
Mali Empire Mali, and
Songhai Empire Songhai), and
Great Zimbabwe.
Apart from the
Nile valley, the
Sahara desert presented a near impenetrable barrier between north and south, until the introduction of the
camel. This beast of burden was first brought to Egypt by the
Persian Empire Persians after 525 BC, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa to establish the
trans-Saharan trade until the seventh century AD. The
Berbers were the first to exploit this, and after the spread of
Islam a steady trade in precious metals, ivory, salt and slaves ensued between the Muslim states in the
Maghreb and the Sahelian kingdoms.
In 1482, the
Portugal Portuguese established the first of many trading stations along the Guinea coast at
Elmina. The chief commodities dealt in were slaves, gold, ivory and spices. The European discovery of the Americas in 1492 was followed by a great development of the
slave trade, which, before the Portuguese era, had been an overland trade almost exclusively, and never confined to any one continent.
Slavery began to be phased out in Europe and America in the early 19th century, resulting in a dramatic shift in the economies of coastal states such as
Dahomey and
Ashante.
Precolonial exploration
In the mid nineteenth century European and particularly British explorers became interested in exploring the heart of the continent and opening the area for trade, mining and other commercial exploitation. In addition, there was a desire to convert the inhabitants to
Christianity. The central area of Africa was still largely unknown to Europeans at this time.
David Livingstone explored the continent between
1852 and his death in
1873, amongst other claims to fame, he was the first European to see the
Victoria Falls. A prime goal for explorers was to locate the source of the
River Nile. Expeditions by
Richard Francis Burton Burton and
John Hanning Speke Speke (
1857-
1858) and Speke and
James Augustus Grant Grant (
1863) located
Lake Tanganyika and
Lake Victoria. The latter was eventually proven as the source of the Nile. With subsequent expeditions by
Samuel Baker Baker and
Henry Morton Stanley Stanley, Africa was well explored by the end of the century and this was to lead the way for the colonisation which followed.
Colonialism and the "scramble for Africa"
In the late 19th century, the European
Imperialism imperial powers staged a major "
scramble for Africa" and occupied most of the continent, creating many
colony colonial nation states, and leaving only two independent nations:
Liberia, the Black American colony, and Orthodox Christian
Abyssinia (Ethiopia). This colonial occupation continued until after the conclusion of
World War II, when all the colonial states gradually obtained formal independence.
Today, Africa is home to over 50 independent countries, which mostly still have the
borders drawn during the era of European
colonialism.
Politics
Image:ColonialAfrica.png World War I.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|300px|''Map showing European claimants to the African continent at the beginning of [[World War I''.html" title="Meaning of right|300px|''Map showing European claimants to the African continent at the beginning of [[World War I">thumb|right|300px|''Map showing European claimants to the African continent at the beginning of [[World War I''">right|300px|''Map showing European claimants to the African continent at the beginning of [[World War I">thumb|right|300px|''Map showing European claimants to the African continent at the beginning of [[World War I''
Precolonial Africa
Precolonial Africa possessed perhaps as many as 10,000 different states and polities [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/01/11/DI2006011101372.html] characterised by different sorts of political organisation and rule. These included small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the
Bushmen San people of southern Africa; larger, more structured groups such as the family clan groupings of the
Bantu-speaking people of central and southern Africa and the heavily-structured clan groups in the
Horn of Africa; wealthy, extensive and socially complex kingdoms such as the ancient empires of
Mali Empire Mali and
Ghana Empire Ghana; and autonomous city-states such as the
Swahili people Swahili coastal trading towns of the
East African coast, whose trade network extended as far as
China.
{{sect-stub}}
Colonial Africa
Colonialism had a destabilizing effect on what had been a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in African politics. Before European influence, national borders were not much of a concern, with Africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world, such as the Arabian peninsula, where a group's territory was congruent with its military or trade influence. The European insistence of drawing borders around territories to isolate them from those of other colonial powers often had the effect of separating otherwise contiguous political groups, or forcing traditional enemies to live side by side with no buffer between them. For example, although the
Congo River appears to be a natural geographic boundary, groups that otherwise shared a
language,
culture or other similarity who resided on both sides. The division of the land between
Belgium and
France along the river isolated these groups from each other. Those who lived in Saharan or
Sub-Saharan Africa and traded across the continent for centuries often found themselves crossing "borders" that existed only on European maps.
In nations that had substantial European populations, for example
Rhodesia and
South Africa, systems of second-class citizenship were often set up in order to give Europeans
political power far in excess of their numbers. However, the lines were not often drawn strictly across racial lines. In
Liberia, the citizens who were descendants of American slaves managed to have a political system for over 100 years that gave ex-slaves and natives to the area roughly equal
legislative power despite the fact the ex-slaves were outnumbered ten to one in the general population. The inspiration for this system was the
United States Senate, which had balanced the power of free and slave states despite the much-larger population of the former.
Europeans often changed the balance of power, created ethnic divides where they did not previously exist, and introduced a cultural dichotomy detrimental to the native inhabitants in the areas they controlled. For example, in what is now
Rwanda and
Burundi, two ethnic groups
Hutus and
Tutsis had merged into one culture by the time Belgian colonists had taken control of the region in the 19th century. No longer divided by ethnicity as intermingling, intermarriage, and merging of cultural practices over the centuries had long since erased visible signs of a culture divide, the Belgians instituted a policy of racial categorization, upon taking control of the region, as racial based categorization and philosophies was a fixture of the European culture of that time. The term
Hutu originally referred to the agricultural-based Bantu-speaking tribes that moved into present day Rwandan and Burundi from the West, and the term
Tutsi referred to Northeastern cattle-based tribes that migrated into the region later. The terms to the indigenous peoples eventually came to describe a person's economic class. Individuals who owned roughly 10 or more cattle were considered Tutsi, and those with fewer were considered Hutu, regardless of ancestral history. This was not a strict line but a general rule of thumb, and one could move from Hutu to Tutsi and vice versa.
The Belgians introduced a racialised system. Individuals who had characteristics the Europeans admired — fairer skin, ample height, narrow noses, etc. — were given power amongst the colonized peoples. The Belgians determined these features were more ideally
Hamitic, and in turn more ideally European and belonged to those people closest to Tutsi in ancestry. They instituted a policy of issuing identity cards based on this philosophy. Those closest to this ideal were proclaimed Tutsi and those not were proclaimed Hutu.
Post-colonial Africa
{{npov-section}}
Since colonialism, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and
authoritarianism. The vast majority of African nations are
republics that operate under some form of the
presidential system of rule. Few nations in Africa have been able to sustain
Democracy democratic governments, and many have instead cycled through a series of brutal
Coup d'état coups and
military dictatorships. A number of Africa's post-colonial political leaders were military generals who were poorly educated and ignorant on matters of governance. Great instability, however, was mainly the result of marginalization of other ethnic groups and graft under these leaders. Many politicians used the positions of power to ignite ethnic conflicts that had been exacerbated, or even created, by colonial rule. In many countries, the
Armed force military was perceived as being the only group that could effectively maintain order, and it ruled many nations in Africa during the
1970s and early
1980s. During the period from the early
1960s to the late 1980s, Africa had more than 70 coups and 13 presidential
assassinations.
Cold War conflicts between the
United States and the
Soviet Union, as well as the policies of the
International Monetary Fund, also played a role in instability. When a country became independent for the first time, it was often expected to align with one of the two
superpowers. Many countries in
Northern Africa received Soviet military aid, while many in Central and Southern Africa were supported by the
United States,
France or both of the latter. The 1970s saw an escalation, as newly independent
Angola and
Mozambique aligned themselves with the
Soviet Union and the West and
South Africa sought to contain Soviet influence. Border and territorial disputes have also been common, with the European-imposed borders of many nations being widely contested through armed conflicts.
Failed government policies and political corruption have also resulted in many widespread
famines, and significant portions of Africa remain with distribution systems unable to disseminate enough food or water for the population to survive. What had before colonialism been the source for 90% of the world's gold had become the poorest continent on earth, its former riches enjoyed by those on other continents. The spread of
disease is also rampant, especially the spread of the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the associated
acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which has become a deadly
epidemic on the continent. Despite numerous hardships, there have been some signs the continent has hope for the future.
Democracy Democratic governments seem to be spreading, though they are not yet the majority (The
National Geographic Society claims 13 African nations can be considered truly democratic{{fact}}). As well, many nations have recognized basic
human rights for all
citizens (though in practice these are not always recognized) and have created reasonably independent
judiciary judiciaries.
There are clear signs of increased networking among African organisations and states. In the civil war in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (former
Zaire), rather than rich, non-African countries intervening, about half a dozen neighbouring African countries became involved (see also
Second Congo War). Since the conflict began in 1998, the estimated death toll has reached 3.5 million.{{fact}} This might play a role similar to that of
World War II for Europe, after which the people in the neighbouring countries decided to integrate their societies in such a way that war between them becomes as unthinkable as a war between, say,
France and
Germany would be today. Political associations such as the
African Union are also offering hope for greater co-operation and peace between the continent's many countries. Extensive human rights abuses still occur in several parts of Africa, often under the oversight of the state. Most of such violations occur for political reasons, often as a side effect of civil war. Countries where major human rights violations have been reported in recent times include the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Sierra Leone,
Liberia,
Sudan, and
Côte d'Ivoire.
Economy
{{main|Economy of Africa}}
Africa is the world's poorest inhabited continent: the
United Nations' [http://hdr.undp.org/ Human Development Report]
2003 (of 175 countries) found that positions 151 (
The Gambia Gambia) to 175 (
Sierra Leone) were taken up entirely by African nations.
It has had (and in some ways is still having) a shaky and uncertain transition from
colonialism, with increases in
political corruption corruption and
despotism being major contributing factors to its poor economic situation. While rapid growth in
China and now
India, and moderate growth in
Latin America, has lifted millions beyond subsistence living, Africa has gone backwards in terms of foreign
trade,
investment, and
per capita income. This
poverty has widespread effects, including lower
life expectancy,
violence, and
instability -- factors intertwined with the continent's poverty.
Major economic successes are
Botswana and
South Africa, which is developed to the extent that it has its own mature
Johannesburg Stock Exchange stock exchange. This is partly due to its wealth of
natural resources, being the world's leading producer of both
gold and
diamonds, and partly due to its well-established legal system. South Africa also has access to financial capital, numerous markets and skilled labor. Other African countries are making comparable progress, such as
Ghana, and some, like Egypt, have a longer history of commercial and economic success.
Nigeria sits on one of the largest proven oil reserves in the world and has the highest population among nations in Africa, with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
From 1995 to 2005, economic growth picked up, averaging 5% in 2005. However some countries experienced much higher growth (10+%) in particular,
Angola,
Sudan and
Equatorial Guinea, all three of which have recently begun extracting their petroleum reserves.
Demographics
Africans may be grouped according to whether they live north or south of the
Sahara Desert; these groups are called
North Africa North Africans and
Sub-Saharan Africans, respectively.
Afro-Asiatic languages Afro-Asiatic speaking peoples predominate in North Africa, while Sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by a number of populations grouped according to their language —
Niger-Congo languages Niger-Congo predominantly in West Africa,
Nilo-Saharan languages Nilo-Saharan in the Eastern highlands and
Khoisan in the south.
Speakers of
Bantu languages (part of the Niger-Congo family) are the majority in southern, central and east Africa proper. But there are also several Nilotic groups in East Africa, and a few remaining
Indigenous peoples of Africa indigenous Khoisan ('
Bushmen San' or '
Bushmen') and Pygmy peoples in southern and central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon and southern Somalia. In the
Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "
Khoikhoi Hottentots") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other Africans and are the indigenous people of southern Africa.
Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of central Africa.
The peoples of
North Africa comprise two main groups;
Berber people Berber and
Arabic language Arabic-speaking peoples in the west, and
Demographics of Egypt#People Egyptians in the east. The Arabs who arrived in the seventh century introduced the
Arabic language and
Islam to North Africa. The Semitic
Phoenicians, the European
Ancient Greece Greeks and
Ancient Rome Romans settled in North Africa as well. Berbers still make up the majority in
Morocco, while they are a significant minority within
Algeria. They are also present in
Tunisia and
Libya. The
Tuareg and other often-nomadic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa.
Nubians are a
Nilo-Saharan-speaking group (though many also speak Arabic), who developed an ancient civilization in northeast Africa.
During the past century or so, small but economically important colonies of
Demographics of Lebanon#The Lebanese Diaspora Lebanese and
Overseas Chinese Chinese have also developed in the larger coastal cities of
West Africa West and
East Africa, respectively.
Some
Ethiopian and Eritrean groups (like the
Amhara people Amhara and
Tigray people Tigrayans, collectively known as "
Habesha") have some
Sabaeans Sabaean (Semitic-speaking) ancestry mixed with
Cushitic. The
Oromo and
Somali peoples speak Cushitic languages, but most Somali clans can trace some Arab ancestry as well.
Sudan and
Mauritania are divided between a mostly Arabized north and a native African south (although the "Arabs" of Sudan clearly have a predominantly native African ancestry themselves). Some areas of East Africa, particularly the island of
Zanzibar and the Kenyan island of Lamu, received Arab Muslim and
Southwest Asian settlers and merchants throughout the
Middle Ages and in antiquity.
Beginning in the
16th century, Europeans such as the
Portugal Portuguese and
Netherlands Dutch began to establish
trading posts and
Fortification forts along the coasts of western and southern Africa. Eventually, a large number of Dutch augmented by French
Huguenots and
German settled in what is today
South Africa. Their descendants, the
Afrikaners and the
Coloureds, are the largest European-descended groups in Africa today. In the
19th century, a second phase of colonization brought a large number of French and
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland British settlers to Africa. The Portuguese settled mainly in Angola, but also in Mozambique. The French settled in large numbers in
Algeria where they became known collectively as ''
Pied-noir pieds-noirs'', and on a smaller scale in other areas of North and West Africa as well as in Madagascar. The British settled chiefly in South Africa as well as the colony of
Rhodesia, and in the highlands of what is now
Kenya. Germans settled in what is now
Tanzania and
Namibia, and there is still a population of German-speaking white Namibians. Smaller numbers of European soldiers, businessmen, and officials also established themselves in administrative centers such as
Nairobi and
Dakar. Decolonization during the 1960s often resulted in the mass emigration of European-descended settlers out of Africa — especially from Algeria, Angola, Kenya and Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe). However, in South Africa and Namibia, the white minority remained politically dominant after independence from Europe, and a significant population of white Africans remained in these two countries even after
liberal democracy democracy was finally instituted at the end of the
Cold War. South Africa has also become the preferred destination of white Anglo-Zimbabweans, and of migrants from all over southern Africa.
European colonization also brought sizeable groups of
Asians, particularly people from the
Indian subcontinent, to British colonies. Large
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin Indian communities are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and east African countries. The large Indian community in
Uganda was expelled by the dictator
Idi Amin in 1972, though many have since returned. The islands in the
Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans. The
Malagasy people of
Madagascar are a
Malay people, but those along the coast are generally mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. Malay and Indian ancestries are also important components in the group of people known in South Africa as
Coloureds (people with origins in two or more races and continents).
Languages
{{main|African languages}}
Image:African language families.png Afro-Asiatic languages right|300px|thumb|Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic extends from the
Sahel to
Southwest Asia.
Niger-Congo languages Niger-Congo is divided to show the size of the
Bantu languages Bantu sub-family..html" title="Meaning of Afro-Asiatic.html" title="Meaning of right|300px|thumb|Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic">right|300px|thumb|Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic extends from the
Sahel to
Southwest Asia.
Niger-Congo languages Niger-Congo is divided to show the size of the
Bantu languages Bantu sub-family.">Afro-Asiatic.html" title="Meaning of right|300px|thumb|Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic">right|300px|thumb|Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic extends from the
Sahel to
Southwest Asia.
Niger-Congo languages Niger-Congo is divided to show the size of the
Bantu languages Bantu sub-family.
By most estimates, Africa contains well over a thousand
languages. There are four major
language family language families native to Africa.
* The
Afro-Asiatic languages ''Afro-Asiatic'' languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout
East Africa, North Africa, the Sahel, and
Southwest Asia.
* The
Nilo-Saharan languages ''Nilo-Saharan'' language family consists of more than a hundred languages spoken by 30 million people. Nilo-Saharan languages are mainly spoken in
Chad,
Ethiopia,
Kenya,
Sudan,
Uganda, and northern
Tanzania.
* The
Niger-Congo languages ''Niger-Congo'' language family covers much of Sub-Saharan Africa and is probably the largest language family in the world in terms of different languages. A substantial number of them are the
Bantu languages Bantu languages spoken in much of sub-Saharan Africa.
* The
Khoisan languages ''Khoisan'' languages number about 50 and are spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 120 000 people. Many of the Khoisan languages are
endangered language endangered. The
Khoikhoi Khoi and
Bushmen San peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa.
With a few notable exceptions in
East Africa, nearly all African countries have adopted
official languages that originated outside the continent and spread through
colonialism or
human migration. For example, in numerous countries
English language English and
French language French are used for communication in the public sphere such as government, commerce, education and the media.
Arabic language Arabic,
Portuguese language Portuguese,
Afrikaans and
Malagasy are other examples of originally non-African languages that are used by millions of Africans today, both in the public and private spheres.
Culture
Africa has a number of overlapping cultures. The most conventional distinction is that between sub-Saharan Africa and the northern countries from
Egypt to
Morocco, who largely associate themselves with
Arabic culture. In this comparison, the nations to the south of the
Sahara are considered to consist of many cultural areas, in particular that of the
Bantu languages Bantu linguistic group.
Divisions may also be made between
French Africa#Africa Francophone Africa and the rest of Africa, in particular the former British colonies of
southern Africa southern and
East Africa. Another cultural fault-line is that between those Africans living traditional lifestyles and those who are essentially modern. The traditionalists are sometimes subdivided into
pastoralism pastoralists and
agriculture agriculturalists.
African art reflects the diversity of African cultures. The oldest existing art from Africa are 6,000-year old carvings found in
Niger, while the
Great Pyramid of Giza in
Egypt was the world's tallest architectural accomplishment for 4,000 years until the creation of the
Eiffel Tower. The Ethiopian complex of
monolithic churches at
Lalibela, of which the
Church of St. George is representative, is regarded as another marvel of engineering.
The
music of Africa is one of its most dynamic art forms. Egypt has long been a cultural focus of the Arab world, while remembrance of the rhythms of sub-Saharan Africa, in particular west Africa, was transmitted through the
Atlantic slave trade to modern
blues,
jazz,
reggae,
rap music rap, and
rock and roll. Modern music of the continent includes the highly complex choral singing of southern Africa and the dance rhythms of
soukous, dominated by the
music of the Democratic Republic of Congo. A recent development of the 21st century is the emergence of
African hip hop. In particular, a form from
Senegal is blended with traditional
mbalax. Recently in South Africa, a form of music related to
house music known under the name
Kwaito has developed, although the country has been home to its own form of
South African jazz for some time, while
Afrikaans music is completely distinct and composed mostly of traditional
Boere musiek, and forms of
Folk music folk and
Rock and roll rock music.
Religion
Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, with
Christianity and
Islam being the most widespread. Approximately 40 percent of all Africans are Christians and another 40% Muslims. Roughly 20 percent of Africans primarily follow indigenous
African religions. A small number of Africans also have beliefs
African Jew from the Judaic tradition, such as the
Beta Israel and
Lemba tribes.
The indigenous African religions tend to revolve around
animism and
ancestor worship. A common thread in traditional belief systems was the division of the
spiritual world into "helpful" and "harmful". Helpful
Spiritual being spirits are usually deemed to include ancestor spirits that help their descendants, and powerful spirits that protect entire communities from natural disaster or attacks from enemies; whereas harmful spirits include the
souls of murdered victims who were buried without the proper
Funeral funeral rites, and spirits used by hostile spirit
Medium (spirituality) mediums to cause illness among their enemies. While the effect of these early forms of worship continues to have a profound influence, belief systems have evolved as they interact with other religions.
The formation of the
Old Kingdom of
Egypt in the
third millennium BCE marked the first known complex religious system on the continent. Around the
ninth century BCE,
Carthage (in present-day
Tunisia) was founded by the Phoenicians, and went on to become a major cosmopolitan center where
deity deities from neighboring Egypt,
Ancient Rome Rome and the
Etruscan civilization Etruscan city-states were worshipped.
The
Ethiopian Orthodox Church officially dates from the
fourth century, and is thus one of the first established
Christianity Christian churches anywhere. At first, Christian Orthodoxy made gains in modern-day Sudan and other neighbouring regions. However, after the spread of Islam, growth was slow and restricted to the highlands.
Islam entered Africa as Muslims conquered North Africa between 640 and 710, beginning with Egypt. They established Mogadishu, Melinde, Mombasa, Kilwa, and Sofala, following the sea trade down the coast of
East Africa, and diffusing through the Sahara desert into the interior of Africa -- following in particular the paths of Muslim traders. Muslims were also among the Asian peoples who later settled in British-ruled Africa.
Many Africans were converted to
Western Christianity West European forms of Christianity during the colonial period. In the last decades of the 20th century, various sects of
charismatic movement Charismatic Christianity rapidly grew. A number of Roman Catholic African bishops were even mentioned as possible
Pope papal candidates in 2005. African Christians appear to be more socially conservative than their co-religionists in much of the industrialized world, which has quite recently led to tension within
Religious denomination denominations such as the
Anglican Communion Anglican and
Methodism Methodist Churches.
The
African Initiated Churches have experienced significant growth in the
20th century 20th and
21st century 21st centuries.
Territories and regions
Image:Africa-regions.png thumb|200px|[[subregion|Regions of Africa:
{{legend|#0000ff|
North Africa Northern Africa}}
{{legend|#00ff00|
West Africa Western Africa}}
{{legend|#ff00ff|
Central Africa Middle Africa}}
{{legend|#ffa500|
East Africa Eastern Africa}}
{{legend|#ff0000|
Southern Africa}}]]
Image:AfricaCIA-HiRes.jpg thumb|200px|Political Map of Africa.
Image:topography_of_africa.jpg thumb|200px|Physical map of Africa.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse"
|- bgcolor="#ECECEC"
! Name of territory,
with
flag
!
List of countries by area Area(km²)
!
List of countries by population Population(
1 July 2002 est.)
!
List of countries by population density Population density(per km²)
!
Capital
|-
| colspan=5 style="background:#eee;" | '''
Eastern Africa[Continental regions as per :Image:United Nations geographical subregions.png UN categorisations/map.]
''':
|-
| {{flagicon|Burundi}}
Burundi
| align="right" | 27,830
| align="right" | 6,373,002
| align="right" | 229.0
|
Bujumbura
|-
| {{flagicon|Comoros}}
Comoros
| align="right" | 2,170
| align="right" | 614,382
| align="right" | 283.1
|
Moroni, Comoros Moroni
|-
| {{flagicon|Djibouti}}
Djibouti
| align="right" | 23,000
| align="right" | 472,810
| align="right" | 20.6
|
Djibouti City Djibouti
|-
| {{flagicon|Eritrea}}
Eritrea
| align="right" | 121,320
| align="right" | 4,465,651
| align="right" | 36.8
|
Asmara
|-
| {{flagicon|Ethiopia}}
Ethiopia
| align="right" | 1,127,127
| align="right" | 67,673,031
| align="right" | 60.0
|
Addis Ababa
|-
| {{flagicon|Kenya}}
Kenya
| align="right" | 582,650
| align="right" | 31,138,735
| align="right" | 53.4
|
Nairobi
|-
| {{flagicon|Madagascar}}
Madagascar
| align="right" | 587,040
| align="right" | 16,473,477
| align="right" | 28.1
|
Antananarivo
|-
| {{flagicon|Malawi}}
Malawi
| align="right" | 118,480
| align="right" | 10,701,824
| align="right" | 90.3
|
Lilongwe
|-
| {{flagicon|Mauritius}}
Mauritius
| align="right" | 2,040
| align="right" | 1,200,206
| align="right" | 588.3
|
Port Louis
|-
| {{flagicon|Mayotte}}
Mayotte (
France)
| align="right" | 374
| align="right" | 170,879
| align="right" | 456.9
|
Mamoudzou
|-
| {{flagicon|Mozambique}}
Mozambique
| align="right" | 801,590
| align="right" | 19,607,519
| align="right" | 24.5
|
Maputo
|-
| {{flagicon|Réunion}}
Réunion (France)
| align="right" | 2,512
| align="right" | 743,981
| align="right" | 296.2
|
Saint-Denis, Réunion Saint-Denis
|-
| {{flagicon|Rwanda}}
Rwanda
| align="right" | 26,338
| align="right" | 7,398,074
| align="right" | 280.9
|
Kigali
|-
| {{flagicon|Seychelles}}
Seychelles
| align="right" | 455
| align="right" | 80,098
| align="right" | 176.0
|
Victoria, Seychelles Victoria
|-
| {{flagicon|Somalia}}
Somalia
| align="right" | 637,657
| align="right" | 7,753,310
| align="right" | 12.2
|
Mogadishu
|-
| {{flagicon|Tanzania}}
Tanzania
| align="right" | 945,087
| align="right" | 37,187,939
| align="right" | 39.3
|
Dodoma
|-
| {{flagicon|Uganda}}
Uganda
| align="right" | 236,040
| align="right" | 24,699,073
| align="right" | 104.6
|
Kampala
|-
| {{flagicon|Zambia}}
Zambia
| align="right" | 752,614
| align="right" | 9,959,037
| align="right" | 13.2
|
Lusaka
|-
| {{flagicon|Zimbabwe}}
Zimbabwe
| align="right" | 390,580
| align="right" | 11,376,676
| align="right" | 29.1
|
Harare
|-
| colspan=5 style="background:#eee;" | '''
Middle Africa''':
|-
| {{flagicon|Angola}}
Angola
| align="right" | 1,246,700
| align="right" | 10,593,171
| align="right" | 8.5
|
Luanda
|-
| {{flagicon|Cameroon}}
Cameroon
| align="right" | 475,440
| align="right" | 16,184,748
| align="right" | 34.0
|
Yaoundé
|-
| {{flagicon|Central African Republic}}
Central African Republic
| align="right" | 622,984
| align="right" | 3,642,739
| align="right" | 5.8
|
Bangui
|-
| {{flagicon|Chad}}
Chad
| align="right" | 1,284,000
| align="right" | 8,997,237
| align="right" | 7.0
|
N'Djamena
|-
| {{flagicon|Republic of the Congo}}
Republic of the Congo Congo
| align="right" | 342,000
| align="right" | 2,958,448
| align="right" | 8.7
|
Brazzaville
|-
| {{flagicon|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
Democratic Republic of the Congo
| align="right" | 2,345,410
| align="right" | 55,225,478
| align="right" | 23.5
|
Kinshasa
|-
| {{flagicon|Equatorial Guinea}}
Equatorial Guinea
| align="right" | 28,051
| align="right" | 498,144
| align="right" | 17.8
|
Malabo
|-
| {{flagicon|Gabon}}
Gabon
| align="right" | 267,667
| align="right" | 1,233,353
| align="right" | 4.6
|
Libreville
|-
| {{flagicon|São Tomé and PrÃncipe}}
São Tomé and PrÃncipe
| align="right" | 1,001
| align="right" | 170,372
| align="right" | 170.2
|
São Tomé
|-
| colspan=5 style="background:#eee;" | '''
Northern Africa''':
|-
| {{flagicon|Algeria}}
Algeria
| align="right" | 2,381,740
| align="right" | 32,277,942
| align="right" | 13.6
|
Algiers
|-
| {{flagicon|Egypt}}
Egypt[Egypt is generally considered a transcontinental nation transcontinental country in Northern Africa (UN region) and Western Asia; population and area figures are for African portion only, west of the Suez Canal.]
| align="right" | 1,001,450
| align="right" | 70,712,345
| align="right" | 70.6
|
Cairo
|-
| {{flagicon|Libya}}
Libya
| align="right" | 1,759,540
| align="right" | 5,368,585
| align="right" | 3.1
|
Tripoli
|-
| {{flagicon|Morocco}}
Morocco
| align="right" | 446,550
| align="right" | 31,167,783
| align="right" | 69.8
|
Rabat
|-
| {{flagicon|Sudan}}
Sudan
| align="right" | 2,505,810
| align="right" | 37,090,298
| align="right" | 14.8
|
Khartoum
|-
| {{flagicon|Tunisia}}
Tunisia
| align="right" | 163,610
| align="right" | 9,815,644
| align="right" | 60.0
|
Tunis
|-
| {{flagicon|Western Sahara}}
Western Sahara (
Morocco)
[Western Sahara is claimed and mostly occupied by Morocco.]
| align="right" | 266,000
| align="right" | 256,177
| align="right" | 1.0
|
El Aaiún
|-
| colspan=5 | ''Southern Europe dependencies in Northern Africa'':
|-
|
image:Flag of the Canary Islands.png 20px Canary Islands (
Spain)
[The Spain Spanish Canary Islands, of which Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are Santa Cruz de Tenerife are co-capitals, are often considered part of Northern Africa due to their relative proximity to Morocco and Western Sahara; population and area figures are for 2001.]
| align="right" | 7,492
| align="right" | 1,694,477
| align="right" | 226.2
|
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria,
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
|-
| {{flagicon|Ceuta}}
Ceuta (Spain)
[The Spain Spanish exclave of Ceuta is surrounded on land by Morocco in Northern Africa; population and area figures are for 2001.]
| align="right" | 20
| align="right" | 71,505
| align="right" | 3,575.2
| —
|-
|
image:MadeiraFlag.png 20px Madeira Islands (
Portugal)
[The Portugal Portuguese Madeira Islands are often considered part of Northern Africa due to their relative proximity to Morocco; population and area figures are for 2001.]
| align="right" | 797
| align="right" | 245,000
| align="right" | 307.4
|
Funchal
|-
| {{flagicon|Melilla}}
Melilla (Spain)
[The Spain Spanish exclave of Melilla is surrounded on land by Morocco in Northern Africa; population and area figures are for 2001.]
| align="right" | 12
| align="right" | 66,411
| align="right" | 5,534.2
| —
|-
| colspan=5 style="background:#eee;" | '''
Southern Africa''':
|-
| {{flagicon|Botswana}}
Botswana
| align="right" | 600,370
| align="right" | 1,591,232
| align="right" | 2.7
|
Gaborone
|-
| {{flagicon|Lesotho}}
Lesotho
| align="right" | 30,355
| align="right" | 2,207,954
| align="right" | 72.7
|
Maseru
|-
| {{flagicon|Namibia}}
Namibia
| align="right" | 825,418
| align="right" | 1,820,916
| align="right" | 2.2
|
Windhoek
|-
| {{flagicon|South Africa}}
South Africa
| align="right" | 1,219,912
| align="right" | 43,647,658
| align="right" | 35.8
|
Bloemfontein,
Cape Town,
Pretoria[Bloemfontein is the judicial capital of South Africa, while Cape Town is its legislative seat, and Pretoria is the country's administrative seat.]
|-
| {{flagicon|Swaziland}}
Swaziland
| align="right" | 17,363
| align="right" | 1,123,605
| align="right" | 64.7
|
Mbabane
|-
| colspan=5 style="background:#eee;" | '''
Western Africa''':
|-
| {{flagicon|Benin}}
Benin
| align="right" | 112,620
| align="right" | 6,787,625
| align="right" | 60.3
|
Porto-Novo
|-
| {{flagicon|Burkina Faso}}
Burkina Faso
| align="right" | 274,200
| align="right" | 12,603,185
| align="right" | 46.0
|
Ouagadougou
|-
| {{flagicon|Cape Verde}}
Cape Verde
| align="right" | 4,033
| align="right" | 408,760
| align="right" | 101.4
|
Praia
|-
| {{flagicon|Côte d'Ivoire}}
Côte d'Ivoire
| align="right" | 322,460
| align="right" | 16,804,784
| align="right" | 52.1
|
Abidjan,
Yamoussoukro[Yamoussoukro is the official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while Abidjan is the ''de facto'' seat.]
|-
| {{flagicon|Gambia}}
The Gambia Gambia
| align="right" | 11,300
| align="right" | 1,455,842
| align="right" | 128.8
|
Banjul
|-
| {{flagicon|Ghana}}
Ghana
| align="right" | 239,460
| align="right" | 20,244,154
| align="right" | 84.5
|
Accra
|-
| {{flagicon|Guinea}}
Guinea
| align="right" | 245,857
| align="right" | 7,775,065
| align="right" | 31.6
|
Conakry
|-
| {{flagicon|Guinea-Bissau}}
Guinea-Bissau
| align="right" | 36,120
| align="right" | 1,345,479
| align="right" | 37.3
|
Bissau
|-
| {{flagicon|Liberia}}
Liberia
| align="right" | 111,370
| align="right" | 3,288,198
| align="right" | 29.5
|
Monrovia
|-
| {{flagicon|Mali}}
Mali
| align="right" | 1,240,000
| align="right" | 11,340,480
| align="right" | 9.1
|
Bamako
|-
| {{flagicon|Mauritania}}
Mauritania
| align="right" | 1,030,700
| align="right" | 2,828,858
| align="right" | 2.7
|
Nouakchott
|-
| {{flagicon|Niger}}
Niger
| align="right" | 1,267,000
| align="right" | 10,639,744
| align="right" | 8.4
|
Niamey
|-
| {{flagicon|Nigeria}}
Nigeria
| align="right" | 923,768
| align="right" | 129,934,911
| align="right" | 140.7
|
Abuja
|-
| {{flagicon|Saint Helena}}
Saint Helena (Britain) Saint Helena (
United Kingdom UK)
| align="right" | 410
| align="right" | 7,317
| align="right" | 17.8
|
Jamestown, Saint Helena Jamestown
|-
| {{flagicon|Senegal}}
Senegal
| align="right" | 196,190
| align="right" | 10,589,571
| align="right" | 54.0
|
Dakar
|-
| {{flagicon|Sierra Leone}}
Sierra Leone
| align="right" | 71,740
| align="right" | 5,614,743
| align="right" | 78.3
|
Freetown
|-
| {{flagicon|Togo}}
Togo
| align="right" | 56,785
| align="right" | 5,285,501
| align="right" | 93.1
|
Lomé
|- style=" font-weight:bold; "
| Total
| align="right" | 30,305,053
| align="right" | 842,326,984
| align="right" | 27.8
|}
''Notes:''
See also
{{sisterlinks|Africa}}
* {{wikitravel}}
*
2005 in Africa -
2006 in Africa
*
31st G8 summit
*
AIDS in Africa
*
African Anarchism
*
African philosophy
*
African slave trade
*
African Union
*
Cuisine of Africa African cuisine
*
Confederation of African Football
*
Congo craton
*
Ecology of Africa
*
Economy of Africa
*
Education in Africa
*
History of Africa
*
Human rights in Africa
*
Regions of Africa
*
Sub-Saharan Africa
*
Universities in Africa
*
Heart of Africa (game)
*
List of African countries by population density
*
List of African countries by population
*
List of African countries by GDP
*
African cinema
*
List of African musicians African musicians
*
List of African writers African writers
*
Afrology
References
* "Africa". ''[http://www.columbiagazetteer.org/ The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online]''. 2005. New York: Columbia University Press.
External links
;News
-
allAfrica.com current news, events and statistics
-
BBC News In Depth - Africa 2005: Time for Change?
-
Guardian Unlimited - Special Report: Hear Africa 05
-
Yale Economic Review Africa:Failed Economic History
;Photos and Information
-
'''L'Afrique''' '''Hundreds of photographs of Rwanda, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Burundi. Also articles in French and English.'''
-
''Jungle Photos'' Jungle Photos Africa provides images and information on various countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
-
Africam - African Wildlife Webcams
-
Afrika.no News
-
News- African News Agency
-
Inter Press Service-Africa
;Directories
-
Africa Homepage
-
Contemporary Africa Database
-
AfricaResource.com Africaresource.com is an educational portal that develops and distributes content.
-
Columbia University - African Studies
-
The Index on Africa directory from The Norwegian Council for Africa
-
Library of Congress - African & Middle Eastern Reading Room
-
Open Directory Project - Africa directory category
-
Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara
-
University of Chicago - Joseph Regenstein Library: African Studies
-
University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center
;Politics
-
''Africa Action'' Africa Action is the oldest organization in the United States working on African affairs. It is a national organization that works for political, economic and social justice in Africa.
-
African Anarchism: The History of a Movement
-
An Irish anarchist in Africa, western Africa from anarchist perspective.
-
Commission for Africa
-
African Unification Front
-
Working class history in Africa -- people's and grassroots histories
;Sports
-
Confederation of African Football; in English and French
;Tourism
* {{wikitravel}}
{{Africa}}
{{Continent}}
{{Region}}
Category:Africa *
Category:Continents
af:Afrika
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nl:Afrika
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th:ทวีปà¹?à¸à¸Ÿà¸£à¸´à¸?า
vi:Châu Phi
to:Aferika
tk:Afrika
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zh:é?žæ´²
zh-yue:é?žæ´²
so:Afrika
{|width="90%" align="center" border="1px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse:collapse;margin-bottom:1em;border:1px solid #999999;background:#CCCCCC;"
|- bgcolor="#c8d8FF"
| align="center" colspan="4" | '''
List of countries Countries and territories of
Africa'''
|-align="center" style="background:#FFFFFF;font-size:90%;"
| width="15%" | '''
North Africa Northern Africa'''
Image:LocationNorthernAfrica.png 50px
| width="35%" |
Algeria ·
Egypt ·
Libya ·
Morocco ·
Sudan ·
Tunisia ·
Western Sahara
| width="15%" | '''
West Africa Western Africa'''
Image:LocationWesternAfrica.png 50px
| width="35%" |
Benin ·
Burkina Faso ·
Cape Verde ·
Côte d'Ivoire ·
The Gambia Gambia ·
Ghana ·
Guinea ·
Guinea-Bissau ·
Liberia ·
Mali ·
Mauritania ·
Niger ·
Nigeria ·
Senegal ·
Sierra Leone ·
Togo
|-align="center" style="background:#FFFFFF;font-size:90%;"
|'''
Central Africa'''
Image:LocationCentralMiddleAfrica.png 50px
|
Angola ·
Cameroon ·
Central African Republic ·
Chad ·
Democratic Republic of the Congo ·
Equatorial Guinea ·
Gabon ·
Republic of the Congo ·
São Tomé and PrÃncipe
|'''
East Africa Eastern Africa'''
Image:LocationEasternAfrica.png 50px
|
Burundi ·
Comoros ·
Djibouti ·
Eritrea ·
Ethiopia ·
Kenya ·
Madagascar ·
Malawi ·
Mauritius ·
Mozambique ·
Rwanda ·
Seychelles ·
Somalia ·
Tanzania ·
Uganda ·
Zambia ·
Zimbabwe
|-align="center" style="background:#FFFFFF;font-size:90%;"
|'''
Southern Africa'''
Image:LocationSouthernAfrica.png 50px
|
Botswana ·
Lesotho ·
Namibia ·
South Africa ·
Swaziland
|'''
List of dependent territories Dependencies''' and other territories:
| | '''
United Kingdom UK''':
British Indian Ocean Territory Indian Ocean Territory ·
Saint Helena St. Helena · '''
France''':
Mayotte ·
Réunion · '''
Portugal''':
Madeira Islands Madeira · '''
Spain''':
Canary Islands ·
Plaza de soberanÃa Plazas de soberanÃa
|}
als:Vorlage:Land in Afrika
cs:Å ablona:Afrika
es:Plantilla:Ã?frica
fr:Modèle:Pays d'Afrique
rmy:Template:Afrika
zh:Template:Africa
Image:Africa_satellite_plane.jpg 100px|right|A composite satellite image of Africa.
{|
|
{{portal}}
'''Africa''' is the world's second-largest
continent in both
area and
population, after
Asia. At c. 30,244,050
square kilometre km2 (11,677,240
square mile mi2) including its adjacent islands, it covers 20.3% of the total land area on Earth, and with over 800 million human inhabitants, it accounts for about one seventh of Earth's human population.
{{catmore}}
| {{sisterlinkswp|Category:Africa}}
{{commonscat|Africa}}
|}
Category:Continents
Category:Geography
af:Kategorie:Afrika
ar:تصنيÙ?:Ø£Ù?ريقيا
an:Category:Africa
ast:Category:Ã?frica
bg:КатегориÑ?:Ð?фрика
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be:КатÑ?горыÑ?:Ð?фрыка
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cs:Kategorie:Afrika
cy:Category:Affrica
da:Kategori:Afrika
de:Kategorie:Afrika
et:Kategooria:Aafrika
el:ΚατηγοÏ?ία:ΑφÏ?ική
es:CategorÃa:Ã?frica
eo:Kategorio:Afriko
eu:Category:Afrika
fo:Bólkur:Afrika
fr:Catégorie:Afrique
gl:Category:Ã?frica
ko:분류:아프리카
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xh:Category:Afrika
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kw:Category:Afrika
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lb:Category:Afrika
li:Kategorie:Afrika
ln:Category:Afrika
hu:Kategória:Afrika
mk:Категорија:Ð?фрика
