Africa is a continent that stretches over 30 million square kilometres, home to some 1.2 billion people. Said to be the cradle of life, humans have evolved there for over four million years.
Given that there are 54 different countries within its borders, viewing it in this form can sometimes be a little reductive. And yet it is hard not to marvel at the sheer amount of life – human and other – that exists within this incredible landmass.
Rich and varied habitats. Diverse insect and bird populations. Endangered animals. And human culture spanning millennia.
Below are some interesting facts about Africa, its populations and its people. We’ve counted 50 here – see how many you already knew!
Africa fact 1: There are an estimated 3,000 different tribes in Africa…
Africa fact 2: …and some 2,000 different languages
Africa fact 3: Rwanda has more women in government than any other country in the world
Africa fact 4: Morocco is home to the world’s largest concentrated solar farm. It produces enough electricity to power a city the size of Prague
Africa fact 5: Roughly 40% of Africans have access to the Internet
Africa fact 6: In Cameroon, you can buy a spaghetti-omelette-sandwich (which apparently isn’t as bad as it sounds)
Africa fact 7: Giraffes can be found across Africa. Incredibly, they only sleep for 30 minutes a night – the shortest sleep requirement in the entire animal kingdom
Africa fact 8: Niger has the fastest growing population on the continent; Nigeria has the largest
Africa fact 9: Lemurs are primates native only to the island of Madagascar
Africa fact 10: Ivory Coast is the largest producer of cocoa in the world
Africa fact 11: Nigeria’s film industry, fondly known as Nollywood, produces a whopping 2,500 films per year. Only Bollywood produces more
Africa fact 12: Africa has the highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world
Africa fact 13: However, sub-Saharan Africa also has the highest small-business discontinuance rate
Africa fact 14: By 2050 it is estimated that 85% of French speakers worldwide will live in Africa
Africa fact 15: Many people have heard of Moroccan tajine but tanjia is also a popular dish (and vessel). While the former is cooked over charcoal or a wood fire, the latter relies on the low heat of smouldering ashes.
Africa fact 16: Lac Assal in Djibouti is the lowest point in Africa, some 155 metres below sea level
Africa fact 17: The film Black Panther features the fictional utopia of Wakanda. It was filmed across six countries, including three on the African continent – South Africa, Zambia and Uganda
Africa fact 18: The floating village of Ganvie in Benin is nicknamed “The Venice of Africa”
Africa fact 19: The Sahara Desert stretches across eleven African countries and spans some 8,600,00 square kilometres. In fact, it’s so vast it almost covers an entire third of the continent
Africa fact 20: Africa has over 25% of the world’s bird species
Africa fact 21: Burkina Faso’s citizens are called ‘Burkinabe’, which refers to both the singular and the plural
Africa fact 22: The equator runs through seven African nations. Its climate is unique because, unlike other parts of the world, it stays almost the same all year – either warm and dry or warm and wet
Africa fact 23: Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, was first scaled in 1889 by a German, an Austrian and a local Tanzanian
Africa fact 24: Bunny Chow is a South African dish that sees curry (often mutton) served in a hollowed-out loaf of white bread. It was invented by Indian labourers, although its precise origin is disputed. Some say the bread was utilised as a way of transporting their lunch to work
Africa fact 25: Africa accounts for almost 10% of the world’s output of oil. The top 5 producers are Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Libya and Egypt
Africa fact 26: Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world
Africa fact 27: Hippos are the world’s deadliest large land mammal. It is estimated that they kill an estimated 500 people every year in Africa
Africa fact 28: Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt
Africa fact 29: In Nigeria, there is a subculture that keeps hyenas as pets
Africa fact 30: In Ethiopia, the culinary practice of spris, meaning mix, is rife. Expect to find tea mixed with coffee, red wine mixed with Coca-Cola and, in Addis Ababa, a cocktail called Turbo. This heady mix of wine, beer and sprite is not for the fainthearted
Africa fact 31: Africa has 145 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Africa fact 32: Africa’s largest national park is the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania which covers an incredible 55,000 square kilometres
Africa fact 33: Somalia has the longest coastline on mainland Africa
Africa fact 34: Tunisia is home to the Amphitheatre of El Jem. It is thought to have been built by the Roman sometime around 238 AD
Africa fact 35: Animals such as giraffe, zebra, gorilla, hippopotamus, chimpanzee and wildebeest are unique to the African continent
Africa fact 36: Two of the seven Ancient Wonders of the World were located on the African continent – the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Lighthouse of Alexandria
Africa fact 37: Coffee originates from modern-day Ethiopia. Today, the country is the fifth-biggest producer and eighth biggest consumer of the stuff
Africa fact 38: Mansa Musa, the tenth emperor of the Mali Empire, is considered one of the richest people to have ever lived
Africa fact 39: The Seychelles is the smallest African country by area; Angola is the largest
Africa fact 40: The city of Fez, in Morocco, is not only home to the world’s oldest medina but also the oldest university. The Madrasa (or University) of al-Qarawiyyin dates back to 859
Africa fact 41: With over 1000 different varieties, Lake Malawi is home to more species of fish than any other lake in the world. This makes sense when you realise it holds 7% of the world’s available surface freshwater
Africa fact 42: The largest rough diamond ever found, the Cullinan diamond, was discovered in 1905 at the Premier No.2 Mine, near Pretoria
Africa fact 43: Piton de la Fournaise is an active volcano on Réunion Island that has erupted more 100 times since 1640
Africa fact 44: Goliath frogs, the world’s largest frog species, can be found in both Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. They can grow up to 32 centimetres in length
Africa fact 45: There are 17 landlocked countries on the African continent (the largest is Chad, the smallest is Lesotho)
Africa fact 46: Water is so highly prized in Botswana that their currency is called the pula. This means ‘rain’ or ‘blessing’ in Setswana, the national language
Africa fact 47: By 2050, the population of Africa is predicted to swell to 2.3 billion
Africa fact 48: Virunga National Park was one of the first protected areas established in Africa. It is home to one-third of the world’s mountain gorillas. The ranger’s daily battle to look after the features in the 2014 documentary Virunga (now on Netflix)
Africa fact 49: America, China, India and all of Eastern Europe could fit within the borders of Africa
Africa fact 50: The Great Green Wall is a tree planting initiative that aims to prevent desertification. Once complete, it will stretch from Senegal to Djibouti and will be the largest living structure on the planet – three times the size of the Great Barrier Reef
That’s your lot! How many of these Africa facts did you *not* know?
