Africa - Wikipedia

Africa - Wikipedia
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Continent
For other uses, see
Africa (disambiguation)
Africa
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Area
30,370,000 km
(11,730,000 sq mi) (
2nd
Population
1,393,676,444
(2021;
2nd
Population density
46.1/km
(119.4/sq mi) (2021)
GDP
PPP
10.77 trillion (2025 est; 4th)
GDP (nominal)
$2.82 trillion (2025 est;
5th
GDP per capita
$1,920 (Nominal; 2025 est;
6th
Religions
Christianity
(49%)
Islam
(42%)
Traditional faiths
(8%)
[A]
Others
(1%)
Demonym
African
Countries
54 recognised states, 2 partially recognised states, 4 dependent territories
Dependencies
External
(4)
Bouvet Island
, Norway
French Southern Territories
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Internal
(3+1 disputed)
Mayotte
and
Réunion
, France
Southern Provinces
, Morocco
Zanzibar
, Tanzania
Socotra
, Yemen
Languages
1250–3000 native languages
Time zones
UTC-1
to
UTC+4
Largest cities
Largest urban areas
Cairo
Lagos
Kinshasa
Johannesburg
Luanda
Khartoum
Accra
Durban
Dar es Salaam
Abidjan
Alexandria
Kigali
Nairobi
Algiers
Cape Town
Kano
Dakar
Casablanca
Addis Ababa
Kampala
Bamako
A:
African people often
combine
the practice of their traditional beliefs with the practice of
Abrahamic religions
Africa
is the world's second-largest and second-most populous
continent
after
Asia
. At about 30.3 million km
(11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers around 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;
10
11
the
median
age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4.
12
Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will exceed 3.8 billion people by 2100.
13
Africa is the least wealthy inhabited continent
per capita
and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of
Oceania
. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including
geography
climate
14
corruption
14
colonialism
, the
Cold War
15
16
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, and Africa has a large quantity of
natural resources
Africa straddles the
equator
and the
prime meridian
. The continent is surrounded by the
Mediterranean Sea
to the north, the
Arabian Plate
and the
Gulf of Aqaba
to the northeast, the
Indian Ocean
to the southeast and the
Atlantic Ocean
to the west.
France
Italy
Portugal
Spain
, and
Yemen
have parts of their
territories located on African geographical soil
, mostly in the form of islands.
The continent includes
Madagascar
and various
archipelagos
. It contains
54 fully recognised sovereign states
, eight
cities and islands that are part of non-African states
, and two
de facto
independent
states with limited or no recognition
. This count does not include
Malta
and
Sicily
, which are geologically part of the African continent.
Algeria
is Africa's largest country by area, and
Nigeria
is its largest by population. African nations cooperate through the establishment of the
African Union
, which is headquartered in
Addis Ababa
Africa is highly
biodiverse
17
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 is also
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
18
19
The
history of Africa
is long, complex, and varied, and has often been under-appreciated by the global
historical community
20
In
African societies
the
oral word
is revered, and they have generally recorded their history via
oral tradition
, which has led
anthropologists
to term them "oral civilisations"
contrasted with "literate civilisations" which pride the
written word
23
: 142–143
African culture
is rich and diverse both within and between the continent's regions, encompassing
art
cuisine
music
and
dance
religion
, and
dress
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, and
Homo sapiens
(modern human) are believed to have originated in Africa 350,000 to 260,000 years ago.
In the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE
Ancient Egypt
Kerma
Punt
, and the
Tichitt Tradition
emerged in
North
East
and
West Africa
, while from 3000 BCE to 500 CE the
Bantu expansion
swept from modern-day Cameroon through
Central
East
, and
Southern Africa
, displacing or absorbing groups such as the
Khoisan
and
Pygmies
. Some
African empires
include
Wagadu
Mali
Songhai
Sokoto
Ife
Benin
Asante
, the
Fatimids
Almoravids
Almohads
Ayyubids
Mamluks
Kongo
Mwene Muji
Luba
Lunda
Kitara
Aksum
Ethiopia
Adal
Ajuran
Kilwa
Sakalava
Imerina
Maravi
Mutapa
Rozvi
Mthwakazi
, and
Zulu
. Despite the predominance of states, many societies were
heterarchical
and
stateless
Slave trades
created various
diasporas
, especially
in the Americas
. From the late 19th century to early 20th century, driven by the
Second Industrial Revolution
, most of Africa was
rapidly conquered and colonised
by
European nations
, save for Ethiopia and
Liberia
32
European rule had
significant impacts on Africa's societies
, and colonies were maintained for the purpose of economic exploitation and
extraction
of natural resources. Most present states emerged from
a process of decolonisation
following
World War II
, and established the
Organisation of African Unity
in 1963, the predecessor to the African Union.
33
The nascent countries decided to keep their colonial borders, with
traditional power structures
used in governance to varying degrees.
Etymology
Afri
was a
Latin
name used to refer to the inhabitants of what was then known as
northern Africa
, located west of the
Nile
river, and in its widest sense referring to all lands south of the
Mediterranean
, also known as
Ancient Libya
34
35
This name seems to have originally referred to a native Libyan tribe, an ancestor of modern
Berbers
36
see
Terence
for discussion. The name had usually been connected with the
Phoenician
word
ʿafar
meaning "dust",
37
but a 1981 hypothesis
38
has asserted that it stems from the
Berber
word
ifri
(plural
ifran
) meaning "cave", in reference to cave dwellers.
39
The same word
39
may be found in the name of the
Banu Ifran
from
Algeria
and
Tripolitania
, a Berber tribe originally from
Yafran
(also known as
Ifrane
) in northwestern
Libya
40
as well as the city of
Ifrane
in
Morocco
Under
Roman
rule,
Carthage
became the capital of the province then named
Africa Proconsularis
, following the Roman victory over the
Carthaginians
in the
Third Punic War
in 146 BC, which also included the coastal part of modern
Libya
41
The Latin suffix
-ica
can sometimes be used to denote a land (e.g., in
Celtica
from
Celtae
, as used by
Julius Caesar
). The later Muslim region of
Ifriqiya
, following its conquest of the
Byzantine (Eastern Roman)
Empire's
Exarchatus Africae
, also preserved a form of the name.
According to the Romans, Africa lies to the west of Egypt, while "Asia" was used to refer to
Anatolia
and lands to the east. A definite line was drawn between the two continents by the geographer
Ptolemy
(85–165 CE), indicating
Alexandria
along the
Prime Meridian
and making the
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.
Other etymological hypotheses have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":
The 1st-century Jewish historian
Flavius Josephus
Ant. 1.15
) asserted that it was named for
Epher
, grandson of
Abraham
according to
Gen.
25:4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya.
Isidore of Seville
in his 7th-century
Etymologiae
XIV.5.2. suggests "Africa" comes from the Latin
aprica
, meaning "sunny".
Massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian
af-rui-ka
, meaning "to turn toward the opening of the Ka." The
Ka
is the energetic double of every person and the "opening of the Ka" refers to a womb or birthplace. Africa would be, for the Egyptians, "the birthplace."
42
Michèle Fruyt in 1976 proposed
43
linking the Latin word with
africus
"south wind", which would be of Umbrian origin and mean originally "rainy wind".
Robert R. Stieglitz of
Rutgers University
in 1984 proposed: "The name Africa, derived from the Latin
*Aphir-ic-a
, is cognate to Hebrew
Ophir
['rich']."
44
Ibn Khallikan
and some other historians claim that the name of Africa came from a
Himyarite
king called Afrikin ibn Kais ibn Saifi ("Afrikus son of Abraham") who subdued
Ifriqiya
45
46
47
Arabic
afrīqā
(feminine noun) and
ifrīqiyā
, now usually pronounced
afrīqiyā
(feminine) 'Africa', from
afara
[' =
ain
, not
alif
] 'to be dusty' from
afar
'dust, powder' and
afir
'dried, dried up by the sun, withered' and
affara
'to dry in the sun on hot sand' or 'to sprinkle with dust'.
48
Possibly Phoenician
faraqa
in the sense of 'colony, separation'.
49
The terms "North Africa" and "Sub-Saharan Africa" has been subject to recent criticism from some scholars due to its historical root in
colonialist discourse
which arbitrarily separated Africa into a white "northern" Africa and black "southern" Africa, overlooking
common genetic links
and regional
diversity
across the continent.
50
51
52
History
Main article:
History of Africa
See also:
History of North Africa
History of West Africa
History of Central Africa
History of East Africa
History of Southern Africa
, and
List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history
History in Africa
In accordance with
African cosmology
, African historical consciousness viewed historical change and continuity, order and purpose within the framework of man and his environment, the gods, and his ancestors, and he believed himself part of a
holistic
spiritual entity.
53
In African societies, the historical process is largely a
communal
one, with eyewitness accounts,
hearsay
, reminiscences, and occasionally
visions
, dreams, and hallucinations crafted into narrative
oral traditions
which are performed and transmitted through generations.
54
: 12
: 48
In oral traditions time is sometimes
mythical
and social, and ancestors were considered historical actors.
55
: 43–53
Mind and memory shapes traditions, as events are condensed over time and crystallise into
clichés
56
: 11
Oral tradition can be
exoteric
or
esoteric
. It speaks to people according to their understanding, unveiling itself in accordance with their aptitudes.
57
: 168
In
African epistemology
, the epistemic subject "experiences the epistemic object in a sensuous, emotive, intuitive, abstractive understanding, rather than through abstraction alone, as is the case in
Western epistemology
" to arrive at a "complete knowledge", and as such oral traditions,
music
proverbs
, and the like were used in the preservation and transmission of knowledge.
58
Prehistory
Main article:
Prehistoric Africa
See also:
Recent African origin of modern humans
African humid period
, and
Sahara pump theory
Africa is considered by most
paleoanthropologists
to be the
oldest inhabited territory
on Earth, with the Human species originating from the continent.
59
During the mid-20th century,
anthropologists
discovered many
fossils
and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as seven million years ago ("
Before Present
"; BP). Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have
evolved
into modern humans, such as
Australopithecus afarensis
radiometrically dated
to approximately 3.9–3.0 million years BP,
60
Paranthropus boisei
(c. 2.3–1.4 million years BP)
61
and
Homo ergaster
(c. 1.9 million–600,000 years BP) have been discovered.
After the evolution of
Homo sapiens
approximately 350,000 to 260,000 years BP in Africa, the continent was mainly populated by groups of
hunter-gatherers
62
63
These first modern humans left Africa and populated the rest of the
globe
during the
Out of Africa II
migration dated to approximately 50,000 years BP, exiting the continent either across
Bab-el-Mandeb
over the
Red Sea
64
65
the
Strait of Gibraltar
in Morocco,
66
67
or the
Isthmus of Suez
in Egypt.
68
Other migrations of modern humans within the African continent have been dated to that time, with evidence of early human settlement found in Southern Africa, Southeast Africa, North Africa, and the
Sahara
69
At the end of the
Ice ages
, estimated to have been around 10,500
BC, the Sahara had again become a green fertile valley, and its African populations returned from the interior and coastal highlands in
Africa
, with
rock art paintings
depicting a fertile Sahara and large populations discovered in
Tassili n'Ajjer
dating back perhaps 10 millennia.
70
However, the warming and drying climate meant that by 5,000
BC, the Sahara region was becoming increasingly dry and hostile. Around 3500
BC, due to a tilt in the Earth's
orbit
, the Sahara experienced a period of rapid desertification.
71
The domestication of cattle in Africa preceded agriculture and seems to have existed alongside hunter-gatherer cultures. It is speculated that by 6,000
BC, cattle were domesticated in North Africa.
72
In West Africa, a wet phase ushered in an expanding
rainforest
and wooded savanna from Senegal to Cameroon. Between 9,000 and 5,000
BC,
Niger–Congo speakers
domesticated the
oil palm
and
raffia palm
Black-eyed peas
and
voandzeia
(African groundnuts), were domesticated, followed by
okra
and
kola nuts
. Since most of the plants grew in the forest, the Niger–Congo speakers invented polished stone axes for clearing forest.
73
: 82–4
Pygmies
are thought to have inhabited Central Africa for many millennia, splitting into eastern and western groups around 5,000
BP.
74
Over 150,000 BP, there was an early dispersal of
anatomically modern humans
to Southern Africa, equated with the modern-day
Khoisan
who have preserved their traditional
hunter-gatherer
way of life.
76
4th millennium
BC – 6th century
AD
See also:
Ancient Africa
and
History of Africa § 4th millennium BC – 6th century AD
Northeast Africa
Map of
Ancient Egypt
, showing its major cities and sites,
c.
3150 BC to 30 BC
From 3500
BC,
nomes
(ruled by
nomarchs
) coalesced to form the kingdoms of
Lower Egypt
and
Upper Egypt
in
northeast Africa
. Around 3100
BC Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt to unify
Egypt
under the
1st dynasty
, with the process of consolidation and assimilation completed by the time of the
3rd dynasty
who formed the
Old Kingdom of Egypt
in 2686
BC.
77
: 62–63
The
Kingdom of Kerma
emerged around this time to become the dominant force in
Nubia
, controlling territory as large as Egypt between the 1st and 4th
cataracts of the Nile
78
79
The height of the Old Kingdom saw the construction of many
great pyramids
, though under the
6th dynasty
power gradually decentralised to the nomarchs, culminating in the
disintegration of the kingdom
, exacerbated by drought and famine. Around 2055
BC, the
11th dynasty
, based in
Thebes
, conquered the others to form the
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
, and the
12th dynasty
expanded into
Lower Nubia
at the expense of Kerma.
77
: 68–71
Around 1700
BC, the Middle Kingdom
fractured in two
, and the
Hyksos
(a militaristic people from
Palestine
) invaded and conquered Lower Egypt, while Kerma coordinated invasions deep into Egypt to reach its greatest extent.
80
In 1550
BC, the
18th dynasty
expelled the Hyksos, and established the
New Kingdom of Egypt
. The New Kingdom conquered the
Levant
from the
Canaanites
Mittani
Amorites
, and
Hittites
, and extinguished Kerma, incorporating Nubia into the empire, and sending the Egyptian empire into its golden age.
77
: 73
Internal struggles, drought, famine, and invasions by a
confederation of seafaring peoples
contributed to the New Kingdom's
collapse
in 1069
BC.
77
: 76–77
The New Kingdom's collapse liberated the
Kingdom of Kush
in Nubia, which manoeuvred into power in Upper Egypt and conquered Lower Egypt in 754
BC to form the Kushite Empire. The Kushites ruled for a century and oversaw a
revival in pyramid building
, until they were
driven out of Egypt by the Assyrians
in 663
BC in reprisal for their expansion towards the
Assyrian Empire
81
The Assyrians installed a
puppet dynasty
that later gained independence and once more
unified Egypt
, until it was conquered by the
Achaemenid Empire
in 525
BC.
77
: 77
Egypt briefly regained independence from the Achaemenids under the
28th dynasty
from 404 to 343
BC. The conquest of
Achaemenid Egypt
by
Alexander the Great
in 332
BC marked the beginning of
Hellenistic rule
and the installation of the
Macedonian
Ptolemaic dynasty
in Egypt.
82
: 119
The Ptolemaics lost their holdings outside of Africa to the
Seleucids
in the
Syrian Wars
, expanded into
Cyrenaica
, and briefly occupied
part of Kush
in the 3rd century BC.
83
: 384–93
In the 1st century BC, Ptolemaic Egypt became entangled in a
Roman civil war
, leading to its conquest by the
Romans
in 30
BC.
84
Kush persisted as a major regional power until, having been weakened from internal rebellion amid worsening climatic conditions, invasions by
Aksum
and the
Noba
caused their disintegration into
Makuria
Alodia
, and
Nobatia
around the 5th century
AD.
85
Horn of Africa
In the
Horn of Africa
, there was the
Land of Punt
, a kingdom on the
Red Sea
which was a close trading partner of Ancient Egypt in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC.
Rodolfo Fattovich
equated it to the
Gash Group
in the Sudanese-Eritrean lowlands, and some scholars have hypothesised modern-day Somalia, while
Kenneth Kitchen
and
Felix Chami
locate it on
Zanzibar Island
86
87
: 680
In the
Eritrean
Ethiopian Highlands
, the kingdom of
dʿmt
rose c. 980 BC as the region was incorporated into global trading networks,
88
and it exhibited
Sabaean
influences which most scholars attribute to a small migration of Sabaeans and their assimilation.
89
Several scholars consider there to have been other contemporaneous states,
90
91
: 39–40
and
dʿmt
's collapse in the mid-1st century BC saw the region inhabited by small
polities
92
Modern-day Somalia was inhabited by
nomadic pastoralists
, and along the Horn's coast there were many
ancient Somali city-states
that thrived off of the
wider Red Sea trade
, and enjoyed a lucrative
monopoly
on cinnamon from
Ancient India
due to their freedom from Roman interference.
93
: 24–5, 33
In the 1st century AD, the
Kingdom of Aksum
rose from a city-state to rule much of the northern Ethiopian-Eritrean Highlands and the
Red Sea
port of
Adulis
. Aksum was described as one of the four
great powers
by Persian prophet
Mani
in the 3rd century.
94
95
: 174
Aksum's king
converted from
traditional religion
to
Christianity
in the 4th century, gradually followed by the population. In the 6th century, Aksum
conquered South Arabia
, though struggled to maintain control over it, and began to gradually lose its dominance over Red Sea trade to Persians and Arabs.
94
Northwest Africa
Northwest Africa (the
Maghreb
) was inhabited by
Berber
semi-
nomadic pastoralists
. In the 1st millennium BC,
Phoenician migration and settlement
came in search for precious metals in the
Gulf of Tunis
96
: 442
This grew into
Ancient Carthage
after gaining independence from
Phoenicia
in the 6th century BC, and they built an
extensive trading empire
with a strict
mercantile
network.
97
Carthage's collapse and conquest by Rome in the
Punic Wars
(3rd and 2nd centuries BC) saw
Numidia
and
Mauretania
become major powers in the Maghreb. Towards the end of the 2nd century BC Mauretania fought alongside Numidia's
Jugurtha
against the Romans in the
Jugurthine War
after he had usurped the Numidian throne from a Roman ally. Together they inflicted heavy casualties, with the war only ending inconclusively when Mauretania's
Bocchus I
sold out Jugurtha to the Romans. Around the turn of the millennium, both came under direct Roman rule.
96
: 460–2
While
traditional religion
predominated among Berbers, some people converted to Christianity. In the 5th century AD the
Vandals conquered Roman Africa
before the
fall of Rome
, though the province was
reconquered
by the
Byzantines
a century later. Large swathes of indigenous peoples regained self-governance in
Masuna
and its
numerous successor polities
in the Maghreb, including the kingdoms of
Ouarsenis
Aurès
, and
Altava
98
: 495–7, 500–8
West Africa
The
Ghana Empire
In the western
Sahel
the rise of settled communities occurred largely as a result of the domestication of
millet
and of
sorghum
, and cattle
pastoralism
began c. 2500 BC. Extensive east-west belts of
deserts
grasslands
, and
forests
from north to south were crucial for the moulding of their respective societies and meant that symbiotic trade relations developed in response to the differing environments.
99
100
: 79–80
Beginning around 4000
BC, the
Tichitt culture
in modern-day Mauritania and Mali is the oldest known
complexly organised society
in West Africa,
101
while others included the
Kintampo culture
in modern-day Ghana, the
Nok culture
in modern-day Nigeria, and the
Daima culture
around
Lake Chad
102
: 603–12
Towards the end of the 3rd century AD, a
wet period
in the Sahel created areas for human habitation and exploitation that had not been habitable for the best part of a millennium. The
Ghana Empire
(also called
Wagadu
) rose out of the Tichitt culture, growing wealthy following the introduction of the
camel
to the western Sahel, which revolutionised the
trans-Saharan trade
that linked their capital and
Aoudaghost
with
Tahert
and
Sijilmasa
in North Africa.
103
Soninke
tradition holds that the final founding of Wagadu occurred after
Dinga
did a deal with
Bida
fr
, a serpent deity who was guarding a well, to sacrifice one maiden a year in exchange for assurance regarding plenty of rainfall and gold supply.
104
Based on
large tumuli
scattered across West Africa dating to this period, several scholars have speculated that there were further simultaneous and preceding states relative to Wagadu.
105
101
Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa
See also:
Bantu expansion
In the
Grasslands
of northwestern Cameroon,
Bantu
-speaking agriculturalists started to gradually
migrate
south sometime between 5000 BC and 3000 BC. Despite intensive research, the cause of the migrations, and that of the directions taken, is still unclear,
however there is consensus that there were multiple dispersal events. Around 1500 BC, Bantu speakers reached central Cameroon. The 'Western Stream' likely followed the coast and the major rivers of the
Congo
system southwards to reach the southern fringe of the
Congolian Rainforest
around 500 BC (some may have used the sea to circumvent the rainforest). Their arrival coincided with the spread of
iron metallurgy
through Central Africa. Meanwhile, the 'Eastern Stream' travelled either the northern fringe of the rainforest or the
Ubangi River
eastwards, and reached just west of
Lake Victoria
around 500 BC. While there, Bantu speakers adopted iron metallurgy from
Cushitic
speakers already present, and coexisted with them.
107
106
: 23–5
Dispersal from the Great Lakes region occurred in two more streams. One went west to meet the Western Stream in the DR Congo and Angola, while the other went south and spread across Eastern and Southern Africa.
106
: 26
Around the turn of the millennium, Bantu speakers reached central modern-day Tanzania and near
Dar es Salaam
, before rapidly moving southwards along the coast to reach modern-day
Kwazulu Natal
in South Africa around the 3rd century AD.
107
Throughout this, Bantu speakers displaced, replaced, or intermarried with and absorbed
hunter-gatherer
and agricultural groups.
108
106
: 32
109
: 636
7th to 18th centuries
Main article:
Medieval and early modern Africa
The intricate 9th century bronzes from
Igbo-Ukwu
, in
Nigeria
displayed a level of technical accomplishment that was notably more advanced than European bronze casting of the same period.
110
Pre-colonial Africa possessed as many as 10,000 different states and polities.
111
These included small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the
San people
of southern Africa; larger, more structured groups such as the family clan groupings of the
Bantu peoples
of central, southern, and eastern Africa; heavily structured clan groups in the
Horn of Africa
; the large
Sahelian kingdoms
; and autonomous city-states and kingdoms, such as those of the
Akan
Edo
Yoruba
, and
Igbo people
in West Africa; and the
Swahili
coastal trading towns of Southeast Africa.
By the 9th century AD, a string of dynastic states, including the earliest
Hausa
states, stretched across the sub-Saharan savannah from the western regions to central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were
Ghana
Gao
, and the
Kanem-Bornu Empire
Ghana
declined in the eleventh century, but was succeeded by the
Mali Empire
, which consolidated much of western Sudan in the thirteenth century. Kanem accepted Islam in the eleventh century.
In the forested regions of the West African coast, independent kingdoms grew with little influence from the Muslim north. The
Kingdom of Nri
, which was ruled by the
Eze Nri
, was established around the ninth century, making it one of the oldest kingdoms in present-day Nigeri. The Nri kingdom is famous for its elaborate
bronzes
, found at the town of
Igbo-Ukwu
112
Ruins of
Great Zimbabwe
, which flourished in the eleventh to fifteenth centuries
The
Kingdom of Ife
, historically the first of these Yoruba city-states or kingdoms, established government under a priestly
oba
('king' or 'ruler' in the
Yoruba language
), called the
Ooni of Ife
. Ife was noted as a major religious and cultural centre in West Africa and for its unique naturalistic tradition of bronze sculpture. The Ife model of government was adapted by the
Oyo Empire
, whose obas, called the
Alaafins of Oyo
, controlled many other Yoruba and non-Yoruba city-states and kingdoms including the
Fon
Kingdom of
Dahomey
The
Almoravids
were a
Berber
dynasty from the Sahara that spread over northwestern Africa and the Iberian peninsula during the eleventh century.
113
The
Banu Hilal
and
Banu Ma'qil
were a collection of
Arab
Bedouin
tribes from the
Arabian Peninsula
who migrated westwards via Egypt between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Their
migration
resulted in the fusion of the Arabs and Berbers, where the locals were
arabised
114
and
Arab
culture absorbed elements of the local culture, under the unifying framework of Islam.
115
Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named
Sonni Ali
(1464–1492) founded the
Songhai Empire
in the region of middle
Niger
and the western
Sudan
and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized
Timbuktu
in 1468 and
Jenne
in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor
Askia Mohammad I
(1493–1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought to Gao Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship.
116
By the eleventh century, some
Hausa
states – such as
Kano
Jigawa
Katsina
, and
Gobir
– had developed into walled towns engaging in trade, servicing
caravans
, and the manufacture of goods. Until the fifteenth century, these small states were on the periphery of the major Sudanic empires of the era, paying tribute to Songhai to the west and Kanem-Borno to the east.
Height of the slave trade
See also:
Trans-Saharan slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
Indian Ocean slave trade
, and
Red Sea slave trade
Major slave trading regions of Africa between the 15th and 19th centuries
Slavery
had long been practiced in Africa.
117
118
Between the 15th and the 19th centuries, the Atlantic slave trade took an estimated 7–12 million slaves to the New World.
119
120
121
In addition, more than 1 million Europeans were captured by
Barbary pirates
and sold as slaves in North Africa between the 16th and 19th centuries.
122
The
Trans-Saharan slave trade
contributed to a mass movement of Africans across North Africa and wider Near East over several millennia.
123
Islamic
caliphs
with Sub-Saharan African ancestry include
Abu al-Misk Kafur
124
Al-Mustansir Billah
125
Yaqub al-Mansur
126
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman
, Sultan of the
Marinid dynasty
127
and
Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif
128
In West Africa, the decline of the Atlantic slave trade in the 1820s caused dramatic economic shifts in local polities. The gradual decline of slave-trading, prompted by a lack of demand for slaves in the
New World
, increasing
anti-slavery
legislation in Europe and America, and the
British Royal Navy
's increasing presence off the West African coast, obliged African states to adopt new economies. Between 1808 and 1860, the British
West Africa Squadron
seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard.
129
Action was also taken against African leaders who refused to agree to British treaties to outlaw the trade, for example against "the usurping King of
Lagos
", deposed in 1851. Anti-slavery treaties were signed with over 50 African rulers.
130
The largest powers of West Africa (the
Asante Confederacy
, the
Kingdom of Dahomey
, and the
Oyo Empire
) adopted different ways of adapting to the shift. Asante and Dahomey concentrated on the development of "legitimate commerce" in the form of
palm oil
cocoa
, timber and gold, forming the bedrock of West Africa's modern export trade. The Oyo Empire, unable to adapt, collapsed into civil wars.
131
Colonialism
Main article:
Colonial Africa
Further information:
Scramble for Africa
These paragraphs are an excerpt from
Scramble for Africa
edit
The
Scramble for Africa
was the invasion, conquest, and
colonisation
of most of Africa by seven
Western European
powers which were driven by the
Second Industrial Revolution
during the late 19th century and early 20th century during the era of "
New Imperialism
".
Belgium
France
Germany
Italy
Portugal
Spain
and the
United Kingdom
were the contending powers.
The 1884
Berlin Conference
regulated
European colonisation
and trade in Africa, and is seen as emblematic of the "scramble".
132
In the last quarter of the 19th century, there were considerable political rivalries between the
European empires
, which provided the impetus for the colonisation.
133
The later years of the 19th century saw a transition from "
informal imperialism
" – military influence and economic dominance – to direct rule.
134
135
With the decline of the European colonial empires in the wake of the two world wars, most African colonies
gained independence
during the
Cold War
, and decided to keep their colonial borders in the
Organisation of African Unity
conference of 1964 due to fears of civil wars and regional instability, placing emphasis on
pan-Africanism
136
Independence struggles
European colonial presence in Africa as of 1939
Imperial rule by Europeans continued until after the conclusion of
World War II
, when almost all remaining colonial territories gradually obtained formal independence.
Independence movements in Africa
gained momentum following World War II, which left the major European powers weakened. In 1951, Libya, a former Italian colony, gained independence. In 1956,
Tunisia
and
Morocco
won their independence from France.
137
Ghana
followed suit the next year (March 1957),
138
becoming the first of the sub-Saharan colonies to be granted independence. Over the next decade, waves of
decolonisation
took place across the continent, culminating in the 1960
Year of Africa
and the establishment of the
Organisation of African Unity
in 1963.
33
Portugal's overseas presence in
sub-Saharan Africa
(most notably in
Angola
, Cape Verde,
Mozambique
Guinea-Bissau
, and São Tomé and Príncipe) lasted from the 16th century to 1975, after the
Estado Novo
regime was overthrown in
a military coup in Lisbon
Rhodesia
unilaterally declared independence
from the United Kingdom in 1965, under the
white minority
government of
Ian Smith
, but was not internationally recognised as an independent state (as
Zimbabwe
) until 1980, when black nationalists gained power after a
bitter guerrilla war
. Although South Africa was one of the first African countries to gain independence, the state remained under the control of the country's white minority, initially through qualified voting rights and from 1956 by a system of
racial segregation
known as
apartheid
, until 1994.
Post-colonial Africa
Main article:
Postcolonial Africa
See also:
Decolonisation of Africa
Neocolonialism
Status of forces agreement
, and
Non-Aligned Movement
As of 2025, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries.
139
Since independence, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of the
presidential system
of rule. However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic governments on a permanent basis—per the criteria laid out by Lührmann et al. (2018), only
Botswana
and
Mauritius
have been consistently democratic for the entirety of their post-colonial history. Most African countries have experienced several
coups
or periods of
military dictatorship
. Between 1990 and 2018, though, the continent as a whole has trended towards more democratic governance.
140
Upon independence an overwhelming majority of Africans lived in
extreme poverty
. The continent suffered from the lack of infrastructural or industrial development under
colonial
rule, along with political instability. With limited financial resources or access to global markets, relatively stable countries such as
Kenya
still experienced only very slow economic development. Only a handful of African countries succeeded in obtaining rapid economic growth prior to 1990. Exceptions include Libya and Equatorial Guinea, both of which possess large oil reserves.
Instability throughout the continent after decolonisation resulted primarily from
marginalisation of ethnic groups
, and
corruption
. In pursuit of personal
political gain
, many leaders deliberately promoted ethnic conflicts, some of which had originated during the colonial period, such as from the grouping of multiple unrelated ethnic groups into a single colony, the splitting of a distinct ethnic group between multiple colonies, or existing conflicts being exacerbated by colonial rule (for instance, the preferential treatment given to ethnic
Hutus
over
Tutsis
in Rwanda during German and Belgian rule).
Faced with increasingly frequent and severe violence, military rule was widely accepted by the population of many countries as means to maintain order, and during the 1970s and 1980s a majority of African countries were controlled by
military dictatorships
. Territorial disputes between nations and rebellions by groups seeking independence were also common in independent African states. The most devastating of these was the
Nigerian Civil War
, fought between government forces and an
Igbo
separatist republic
, which resulted in a famine that killed 1–2 million people. Two
civil wars
in Sudan,
the first
lasting from 1955 to 1972 and
the second
from 1983 to 2005, collectively killed around 3 million. Both were fought primarily on ethnic and religious lines.
Cold War
conflicts between the United States and the
Soviet Union
also contributed to instability. Both the Soviet Union and the United States offered considerable incentives to African political and military leaders who aligned themselves with the superpowers' foreign policy. As an example, during the
Angolan Civil War
, the Soviet and Cuban aligned
MPLA
and the American aligned
UNITA
received the vast majority of their military and political support from these countries. Many African countries became highly dependent on foreign aid. The sudden loss of both Soviet and American aid at the end of the Cold War and
fall of the USSR
resulted in severe economic and political turmoil in the countries most dependent on foreign support.
There was a
major famine in Ethiopia
between 1983 and 1985, killing up to 1.2 million people, which most
historians
attribute primarily to the forced relocation of farmworkers and seizure of grain by the communist
Derg
government, further exacerbated by the
civil war
141
142
143
144
In 1994 a
genocide in Rwanda
resulted in up to 800,000 deaths, added to
a severe refugee crisis
and fueled the rise of militia groups in neighbouring countries. This contributed to the outbreak of the
first
and
second
Congo Wars, which were the most devastating military conflicts in modern Africa, with up to 5.5 million deaths,
145
making it by far the deadliest conflict in modern African history and one of the
costliest wars in human history
146
An animated map shows the order of
independence of African nations
, 1950–2011.
Africa's wars and conflicts, 1980–96
Major wars/conflicts (>100,000 casualties)
Minor wars/conflicts
Other conflicts
Political map of Africa in 2021
Various conflicts between various insurgent groups and governments continue. Since 2003, there has been an ongoing
conflict in Darfur
(Sudan), which peaked in intensity from 2003 to 2005 with notable spikes in violence in 2007 and 2013–15, killing around 300,000 people total. The
Boko Haram Insurgency
primarily within Nigeria (with considerable fighting in Niger, Chad, and Cameroon as well) has killed around 350,000 people since 2009. Most African conflicts have been reduced to low-intensity conflicts as of 2022. However, the
Tigray War
from 2020 to 2022 killed an estimated 300,000–500,000 people, primarily due to
famine
Overall though, violence across Africa has greatly declined in the 21st century, with the end of civil wars in Angola,
Sierra Leone
, and
Algeria
in 2002,
Liberia
in 2003, and
Sudan
and
Burundi
in 2005. The Second Congo War, which involved 9 countries and several insurgent groups, ended in 2003. This decline in violence coincided with many countries abandoning communist-style command economies and opening up for market reforms, which over the course of the 1990s and 2000s promoted the establishment of permanent, peaceful trade between neighbouring countries (see
Capitalist peace
).
Improved stability and economic reforms have led to a great increase in foreign investment into many African nations, mainly from China,
147
which further spurred economic growth. Between 2000 and 2014, annual GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa averaged 5.02%, doubling its total GDP from $811 billion to $1.63 trillion (constant 2015
USD
).
148
North Africa experienced comparable growth rates.
149
A significant part of this growth can also be attributed to the facilitated diffusion of information technologies and specifically the mobile telephone.
150
While several individual countries have maintained high growth rates, since 2014 overall growth has considerably slowed, primarily as a result of falling commodity prices, continued lack of
industrialisation
, and epidemics of
Ebola
and
COVID-19
151
152
Geography
Main article:
Geography of Africa
Topography of Africa
Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the largest
landmass
of the Earth. Separated from Europe by the
Mediterranean Sea
, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the
Isthmus of Suez
(transected by the
Suez Canal
), 163 km (101 mi) wide.
153
Geopolitically
, Egypt's
Sinai Peninsula
east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of Africa as well.
154
The size of Africa compared to other continents
Africa seen from the
Moon
on
The Blue Marble
photograph, 1972
The coastline is 26,000 km (16,000 mi) long, and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is illustrated by the fact that Europe, which covers only 10,400,000 km
(4,000,000 sq mi) – about a third of the surface of Africa – has a coastline of 32,000 km (20,000 mi).
155
From the most northerly point,
Ras ben Sakka
in Tunisia (37°21' N), to the most southerly point,
Cape Agulhas
in South Africa (34°51'15" S), is a distance of approximately 8,000 km (5,000 mi).
156
Cape Verde
, 17°33'22" W, the westernmost point, is a distance of approximately 7,400 km (4,600 mi) to
Ras Hafun
, 51°27'52" E, the most easterly projection that neighbours
Cape Guardafui
, the tip of the Horn of Africa.
155
Africa's largest country is Algeria, and its smallest country is
Seychelles
, an
archipelago
off the east coast.
157
The smallest nation on the continental mainland is
The Gambia
African plate
This section is an excerpt from
African plate
edit
The
African plate
, also known as the Nubian plate, is a
major tectonic plate
that includes most of the
continent
of Africa (except for its
easternmost part
) and the adjacent oceanic crust to the west and south. It also includes a narrow strip of
Western Asia
along the
Mediterranean Sea
, including much of
Palestine
and
Lebanon
. It is bounded by the
North American plate
and
South American plate
to the west (separated by the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
); the
Arabian plate
and
Somali plate
to the east; the
Eurasian plate
Aegean Sea plate
and
Anatolian plate
to the north; and the
Antarctic plate
to the south.
Between
60
million years ago
and
10
million years ago
, the
Somali plate
began
rifting
from the African plate along the
East African Rift
158
Since the continent of Africa consists of crust from both the African and the Somali plates, some literature refers to the African plate as the
Nubian plate
to distinguish it from the continent as a whole.
159
Today, the African Plate is moving over Earth's surface at a speed of 0.292° ± 0.007° per million years, relative to the "average" Earth (NNR-MORVEL56).
Climate
Main article:
Climate of Africa
The climate of Africa ranges from
tropical
to
subarctic
on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily
desert
, or
arid
, while its central and southern areas contain both
savanna
plains and dense
jungle
(rainforest) regions. In between, there is a convergence, where vegetation patterns such as
sahel
and
steppe
dominate. Africa is the hottest continent on Earth and 60% of the entire land surface consists of drylands and deserts.
160
The record for the highest-ever recorded temperature, in
Libya
in 1922 (58 °C (136 °F)), was discredited in 2013.
161
162
Climate change
This section is an excerpt from
Climate change in Africa
edit
Graph showing
temperature change
in Africa between 1901 and 2021, with red colour being warmer and blue being colder than average (The average temperature during 1971–2000 is taken as the reference point for these changes.)
Climate change in Africa
is a serious threat as Africa is one of the most
vulnerable
regions to the
effects of climate change
, despite contributing the least to causing it. Climate change is causing increasingly erratic rainfall patterns, more frequent
extreme weather
events including
droughts
floods
, and rising
sea surface temperatures
in Africa. These changes threaten
food
and
water security
biodiversity
public health
, and
economic development
163
164
Africa is currently warming faster than the rest of the world on average.
165
Climate change intensifies existing socioeconomic vulnerabilities. Large segments of the African population depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods such as agriculture (55 - 62% of the workforce in sub-Saharan Africa)
166
and already live in poverty, heightening their exposure to shocks. Health outcomes worsen as
heat stress
vector-borne diseases
(such as
malaria
and
dengue
), and
malnutrition
become more prevalent. Over half (56%) of the over 2,000 recorded public health incidents in Africa between 2001 and 2021 were connected to climate change.
167
Resource scarcity
contributes to
displacement
and conflict, particularly in fragile regions.
Urban areas
, often characterized by informal settlements, face heightened risks from flooding and extreme heat.
163
Ecology and biodiversity
See also:
Afrotropical realm
and
Palearctic realm
The main biomes in Africa
Africa has over 3,000
protected areas
, with 198 marine protected areas, 50 biosphere reserves, and 80 wetlands reserves. Significant habitat destruction, increases in human population and poaching are reducing Africa's biological diversity and
arable land
. Human encroachment, civil unrest and the introduction of non-native species threaten biodiversity in Africa. This has been exacerbated by administrative problems, inadequate personnel and funding problems.
160
Deforestation
is affecting Africa at twice the world rate, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (
UNEP
).
168
The deforestation rate of 4.08 million hectares in 2000–2015 declined to 3.45 million ha per year in 2015–2025.
169
According to the University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center, 31% of Africa's pasture lands and 19% of its forests and woodlands are classified as degraded, and Africa is losing over four million hectares of forest per year, which is twice the average deforestation rate for the rest of the world.
160
Some sources claim that approximately 90% of the original, virgin forests in West Africa have been destroyed.
170
Over 90% of
Madagascar
's original forests have been destroyed since the arrival of humans 2000 years ago.
171
About 65% of Africa's agricultural land suffers from
soil degradation
172
Fauna
Main article:
Fauna of Africa
The
savanna
of
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
in
Tanzania
Africa boasts perhaps the world's largest combination of density and "range of freedom" of
wild animal
populations and diversity, with wild populations of large
carnivores
(such as lions,
hyenas
, and cheetahs) and
herbivores
(such as
buffalo
, elephants, camels, and giraffes) ranging freely on primarily open non-private plains. It is also home to a variety of "jungle" animals including snakes and
primates
and
aquatic life
such as crocodiles and
amphibians
. In addition, Africa has the largest number of
megafauna
species, as it was least affected by the
extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna
Environmental issues
This section is an excerpt from
Environmental issues in Africa
edit
African environmental problems
are problems caused by the direct and indirect
human impacts on the natural environment
and affect humans and nearly all forms of life in Africa. Issues include
deforestation
soil degradation
air pollution
, water pollution,
coastal erosion
, garbage pollution,
climate change
Oil spills
Biodiversity loss
, and
water scarcity
(resulting in problems with access to safe
water supply and sanitation
).
173
These issues result in
environmental conflict
and are connected to broader social struggles for
democracy
and
sovereignty
174
The scarcity of climate adaptation techniques in Africa makes it the least resilient continent to climate change.
Politics
See also:
Elections in Africa
Democracy in Africa
, and
List of political parties in Africa by country
African Union
Main article:
African Union
Regions of the
African Union
Northern
Western
Southern
Eastern
Central
Democracy in Africa
according to 2026
V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index
175
The
African Union
(AU) is a
continental union
consisting of 55
member states
. The union was formed, with
Addis Ababa
, Ethiopia, as its headquarters, on 26 June 2001. The union was officially established on 9 July 2002
176
as a successor to the
Organisation of African Unity
(OAU). In July 2004, the African Union's
Pan-African Parliament
(PAP) was relocated to
Midrand
, in South Africa, but the
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
remained in Addis Ababa.
The African Union, not to be confused with the
AU Commission
, is formed by the
Constitutive Act of the African Union
, which aims to transform the
African Economic Community
, a federated commonwealth, into a state under established international conventions. The African Union has a parliamentary government, known as the
African Union Government
, consisting of legislative, judicial and executive organs. It is led by the African Union President and Head of State, who is also the President of the
Pan-African Parliament
. A person becomes AU President by being elected to the PAP, and subsequently gaining majority support in the PAP. The powers and authority of the President of the African Parliament derive from the Constitutive Act and the
Protocol of the Pan-African Parliament
, as well as the inheritance of presidential authority stipulated by African treaties and by international treaties, including those subordinating the Secretary General of the
OAU
Secretariat (AU Commission) to the PAP. The government of the AU consists of all-union, regional, state, and municipal authorities, as well as hundreds of institutions, that together manage the day-to-day affairs of the institution.
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
Zimbabwe
, and
Ivory Coast
Boundary conflicts
Further information:
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885
and
List of conflicts in Africa
This section is an excerpt from
Military history of Africa § Post-colonial
edit
African nations have made great efforts to respect international borders as inviolate for a long time. For example, the
Organization of African Unity
(OAU), which was established in 1963 and replaced by the
African Union
in 2002, set the respect for the territorial integrity of each country as one of its principles in OAU Charter.
177
Indeed, compared with the formation of European countries, there have been fewer international conflicts in Africa for changing the borders, which has influenced country formation there and has enabled some countries to survive that might have been defeated and absorbed by others.
178
Yet international conflicts have played out by support for proxy armies or rebel movements. Many states have experienced civil wars: including Rwanda, Sudan, Angola, Sierra Leone, Congo, Liberia, Ethiopia and Somalia.
179
Wars of national liberation also often took up a Marxist, Marxist–Leninist, or Maoist character in ideological terms, where the independence of African nations was raised in Marxian terms. Early examples included the
Union of the Peoples of Cameroon
armed movement against French colonialism, a Marxist–Leninist insurgency, followed by similar movements in Congo (the
Simba Rebellion
).
Che Guevara
participated in the latter, and opined in 1967 that Africa was not ready for revolution. Despite this, in
Zanzibar
before and after unification with Tanzania, forms of socialism took hold. In Sudan under
Gaafar Nimeiry
, in Somalia under
Siad Barre
, in Ethiopia under the Dergue and
Mengistu Haile Mariam
, in Congo Brazzaville under various administration from the 1960s onwards including that of
Denis Sassou-Nguesso
, in Benin under
Mathieu Kerekou
, in the Seychelles under
France-Albert René
, in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau before Portugal's 1974 Carnation Revolution, Marxism–Leninism was fashionable. Even after 1990, there are some examples of Military Marxism, such as a militia established by
Ernest Wamba-dia-Wamba
in Eastern Congo in the 1990s.
180
List of states and territories
Main article:
List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa
Algeria
Togo
Benin
Botswana
Cameroon
Cent Afr Rep
Chad
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Cape*
Verde
Libya
Mali
Ghana
Sierra
Leone
Ivory
Coast
Burkina
Faso
Mauritania
Morocco
São Tomé
and Príncipe*
Gabon
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Congo
Somalia
Somaliland
South Africa
Sudan
South Sudan
Tunisia
Western
Sahara
Senegal
The Gambia
Guinea-
Bissau
Guinea
Kenya
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mozambique
Burundi
Rwanda
Uganda
Tanzania
Angola
Saint Helena (UK)
Lesotho
Eswatini
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Mauritius*
Réunion*
*Comoros
Seychelles
Atlantic
Ocean
Atlantic
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
Strait of Gibraltar
Mediterranean Sea
Red
Sea
The countries in this table are categorised according to the
scheme for geographic subregions
used by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated.
Arms
Flag
Name of region
and
territory, with
flag
Area
(km
Population
181
Year
Density
(per km
Capital
Name(s) in official language(s)
ISO 3166-1
North Africa
Algeria
2,381,740
46,731,000
2022
17.7
Algiers
الجزائر (al-Jazāʾir)/Algérie
DZA
Egypt
1,001,450
82,868,000
2012
83
Cairo
مِصر (Miṣr)
EGY
Libya
1,759,540
6,310,434
2009
Tripoli
ليبيا (Lībiyā)
LBY
Morocco
446,550
35,740,000
2017
78
Rabat
المغرب (al-maḡrib)/ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ (lmeɣrib)/Maroc
MAR
Sudan
1,861,484
30,894,000
2008
17
Khartoum
Sudan/السودان (as-Sūdān)
SDN
Tunisia
163,610
10,486,339
2009
64
Tunis
تونس (Tūnis)/Tunest/Tunisie
TUN
Western Sahara
266,000
405,210
2009
El Aaiún
الصحراء الغربية (aṣ-Ṣaḥrā' al-Gharbiyyah)/Taneẓroft Tutrimt/Sáhara Occidental
ESH
East Africa
Burundi
27,830
8,988,091
2009
323
Gitega
Uburundi/Burundi/Burundi
BDI
Comoros
2,170
752,438
2009
347
Moroni
Komori/Comores/جزر القمر (Juzur al-Qumur)
COM
Djibouti
23,000
828,324
2015
22
Djibouti
Yibuuti/جيبوتي (Jībūtī)/Djibouti/Jabuuti
DJI
Eritrea
121,320
5,647,168
2009
47
Asmara
Eritrea
ERI
Ethiopia
1,127,127
84,320,987
2012
75
Addis Ababa
ኢትዮጵያ (Ītyōṗṗyā)/Itiyoophiyaa/ኢትዮጵያ/Itoophiyaa/Itoobiya/ኢትዮጵያ
ETH
French Southern Territories
(France)
439,781
100
2019
Saint Pierre
Terres australes et antarctiques françaises
FRA-TF
Kenya
582,650
39,002,772
2009
66
Nairobi
Kenya
KEN
Madagascar
587,040
20,653,556
2009
35
Antananarivo
Madagasikara/Madagascar
MDG
Malawi
118,480
14,268,711
2009
120
Lilongwe
Malaŵi/Malaŵi
MWI
Mauritius
2,040
1,284,264
2009
630
Port Louis
Mauritius/Maurice/Moris
MUS
Mayotte
(France)
374
223,765
2009
490
Mamoudzou
Mayotte/Maore/Maiôty
MYT
Mozambique
801,590
21,669,278
2009
27
Maputo
Moçambique/Mozambiki/Msumbiji/Muzambhiki
MOZ
Réunion
(France)
2,512
743,981
2002
296
Saint Denis
La Réunion
FRA-RE
Rwanda
26,338
10,473,282
2009
398
Kigali
Rwanda
RWA
Seychelles
455
87,476
2009
192
Victoria
Seychelles/Sesel
SYC
Somalia
637,657
9,832,017
2009
15
Mogadishu
𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖 (Soomaaliya) /الصومال (aṣ-Ṣūmāl)
SOM
Somaliland
176,120
5,708,180
2021
25
Hargeisa
Soomaaliland/صوماليلاند (Ṣūmālīlānd)
South Sudan
619,745
8,260,490
2008
13
Juba
South Sudan
SSD
Tanzania
945,087
44,929,002
2009
43
Dodoma
Tanzania/Tanzania
TZA
Uganda
236,040
32,369,558
2009
137
Kampala
Uganda/Yuganda
UGA
Zambia
752,614
11,862,740
2009
16
Lusaka
Zambia
ZMB
Zimbabwe
390,580
11,392,629
2009
29
Harare
Zimbabwe
ZWE
Central Africa
Angola
1,246,700
12,799,293
2009
10
Luanda
Angola
AGO
Cameroon
475,440
18,879,301
2009
40
Yaoundé
Cameroun/Kamerun
CMR
Central African Republic
622,984
4,511,488
2009
Bangui
Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka/République centrafricaine
CAF
Chad
1,284,000
10,329,208
2009
N'Djamena
تشاد (Tšād)/Tchad
TCD
Republic of the Congo
342,000
4,012,809
2009
12
Brazzaville
Congo/Kôngo/Kongó
COG
Democratic Republic of the Congo
2,345,410
69,575,000
2012
30
Kinshasa
République démocratique du Congo
COD
Equatorial Guinea
28,051
633,441
2009
23
Ciudad de la Paz
Guinea Ecuatorial/Guinée Équatoriale/Guiné Equatorial
GNQ
Gabon
267,667
1,514,993
2009
Libreville
Gabon
GAB
São Tomé and Príncipe
1,001
212,679
2009
212
São Tomé
São Tomé e Príncipe
STP
Southern Africa
Botswana
600,370
1,990,876
2009
Gaborone
Botswana/Botswana
BWA
Eswatini
17,363
1,123,913
2009
65
Mbabane
eSwatini/Eswatini
SWZ
Lesotho
30,355
2,130,819
2009
70
Maseru
Lesotho/Lesotho
LSO
Namibia
825,418
2,108,665
2009
Windhoek
Namibia
NAM
South Africa
1,219,912
51,770,560
2011
42
Bloemfontein
Cape Town
Pretoria
yaseNingizimu Afrika/yoMzantsi-Afrika/Suid-Afrika/Afrika-Borwa/Aforika Borwa/Afrika Borwa/Afrika Dzonga/yeNingizimu Afrika/Afurika Tshipembe/yeSewula Afrika
ZAF
West Africa
Benin
112,620
8,791,832
2009
78
Porto-Novo
Bénin
BEN
Burkina Faso
274,200
15,746,232
2009
57
Ouagadougou
Burkina Faso
BFA
Cape Verde
4,033
429,474
2009
107
Praia
Cabo Verde/Kabu Verdi
CPV
The Gambia
11,300
1,782,893
2009
158
Banjul
The Gambia
GMB
Ghana
239,460
23,832,495
2009
100
Accra
Ghana
GHA
Guinea
245,857
10,057,975
2009
41
Conakry
Guinée
GIN
Guinea-Bissau
36,120
1,533,964
2009
43
Bissau
Guiné-Bissau
GNB
Ivory Coast
322,460
20,617,068
2009
64
Abidjan
Yamoussoukro
Côte d'Ivoire
CIV
Liberia
111,370
3,441,790
2009
31
Monrovia
Liberia
LBR
Mali
1,240,000
12,666,987
2009
10
Bamako
Mali/Maali/مالي (Mālī)/𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Maali)/ߡߊߟߌ (Mali)
MLI
Mauritania
1,030,700
3,129,486
2009
Nouakchott
موريتانيا (Mūrītānyā)
MRT
Niger
1,267,000
15,306,252
2009
12
Niamey
Niger
NER
Nigeria
923,768
166,629,000
2012
180
Abuja
Nigeria
NGA
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
(United Kingdom)
420
7,728
2012
13
Jamestown
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
SHN
Senegal
196,190
13,711,597
2009
70
Dakar
Sénégal
SEN
Sierra Leone
71,740
6,440,053
2009
90
Freetown
Sierra Leone
SLE
Togo
56,785
6,019,877
2009
106
Lomé
Togo
TGO
Africa Total
30,368,609
1,001,320,281
2009
33
Other territories
This list contains nine territories that are administered as incorporated areas of a primarily non-African country but that belong geographically to the African continent.
Flag
Map
English short, formal names, and
ISO
Ruling power
Status
Domestic short name(s)
and
formal name(s)
Capital
Population
Area
Currency
Canary Islands
Autonomous Region of the Canary Islands
ES-CN
Spain
Autonomous community
of
Spain
Spanish
Islas Canarias
Santa Cruz
and
Las Palmas
182
Spanish
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
and
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
2,207,225
7,447 km
(2,875 sq mi)
euro
Ceuta
Autonomous City of Ceuta
ES-CE
Autonomous city
of
Spain
Spanish
Ceuta - Ciudad autónoma de Ceuta
Ceuta
Spanish
Ceuta
84,843
28 km
(11 sq mi)
euro
Madeira
Autonomous Region of Madeira
PT-30
Portugal
Autonomous Region
of
Portugal
Portuguese
Madeira - Região Autónoma da Madeira
Funchal
Portuguese
Funchal
267,785
828 km
(320 sq mi)
euro
Mayotte
Mayotte Region
YT
France
Overseas region
and constituent part of the
French Republic
French
Mayotte - Région Mayotte
Mamoudzou
French
Mamoudzou
266,380
374 km
(144 sq mi)
euro
Melilla
Autonomous City of Melilla
ES-ML
Spain
Autonomous city
of
Spain
Spanish
Melilla - Ciudad autónoma de Melilla
Melilla
Spanish
Melilla
84,714
20 km
(8 sq mi)
euro
Pelagian Islands
Italy
Archipelago
of
Italy
Italian
Isole Pelagie
Sicilian
Ìsuli Pilaggî
Lampedusa e Linosa
Italian
Lampedusa e Linosa
Sicilian
Lampidusa e Linusa
183
6,304
21.4 km
(8 sq mi)
euro
Plazas de soberanía
Spain
Overseas territory of
Spain
Spanish
Plazas de soberanía
N/A
74
0.59 km
(0.23 sq mi)
euro
Réunion
Réunion Region
RE
France
Overseas region
and constituent part of the
French Republic
French
Réunion - Région Réunion
Saint-Denis
French
Saint-Denis
889,918
2,512 km
(970 sq mi)
euro
Socotra Archipelago
Yemen
Governorate
of
Yemen
Arabic
أرخبيل سقطرى
ʾArḫabīl Suquṭrā
Hadibu
Arabic
: اديبو (
Ḥādībū
60,550
3,974.64 km
(1,535 sq mi)
Yemeni rial
Economy
Main articles:
Economy of Africa
List of African countries by GDP (nominal)
, and
List of African countries by GDP (PPP)
See also:
Economy of the African Union
Map of the
African Economic Community
CEN-SAD
COMESA
EAC
ECCAS
ECOWAS
IGAD
SADC
UMA
African countries by
GDP
(PPP) per capita in 2023
Although it has abundant
natural resources
, Africa remains the world's poorest and
least-developed
continent (other than
Antarctica
), the result of a variety of causes that may include
corrupt governments
that have often committed serious
human rights violations
, failed
central planning
, high levels of
illiteracy
, low self-esteem, lack of access to foreign capital, legacies of colonialism, the
slave
trade, the Cold War, and frequent tribal and military conflict (ranging from
guerrilla warfare
to
genocide
).
184
The continent's total
nominal GDP
remains behind that of several individual countries, including the United States, China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and France. According to the United Nations' Human Development Report in 2003, the bottom 24 ranked nations (151st to 175th) were all African.
185
Poverty
, illiteracy,
malnutrition
, inadequate
water supply and sanitation
, and poor health affect a large proportion of the people who reside on the African continent. In August 2008, the
World Bank
186
announced revised global poverty estimates based on a new international poverty line of $1.25 per day (versus the previous measure of $1.00). Eighty-one percent of the
sub-Saharan African
population was living on less than $2.50 (PPP) per day in 2005, compared with 86% for India.
187
Sub-Saharan Africa is the least successful region of the world in reducing poverty ($1.25 per day); some 50% of
the population living in poverty
in 1981 (200 million people), a figure that rose to 58% in 1996 before dropping to 50% in 2005 (380 million people). The average poor person in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to live on only 70 cents per day, and was poorer in 2003 than in 1973,
188
indicating increasing poverty in some areas. Some of it is attributed to unsuccessful economic liberalisation programmes spearheaded by foreign companies and governments, but other studies have cited bad domestic government policies more than external factors.
189
190
Africa is now
when?
at risk of being in debt once again, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries. The last debt
crisis
in 2005 was resolved with help from the heavily indebted poor countries scheme (HIPC). The HIPC resulted in some positive and negative effects on the economy in Africa. About ten years after the 2005 debt crisis in sub-Saharan Africa was resolved, Zambia fell back into debt. A small reason was due to the fall in copper prices in 2011, but the bigger reason was that a large amount of the money Zambia borrowed was wasted or pocketed by the elite.
191
From 1995 to 2005, Africa's rate of economic growth increased, averaging 5% in 2005. Some countries experienced still higher growth rates, notably
Angola
Sudan
and
Equatorial Guinea
, all of which had recently
when?
begun extracting their petroleum reserves or had expanded their
oil extraction
capacity.
The following table shows the projected nominal GDP and GDP per capita (at
purchasing power parity
) in 2026 by the
IMF
192
Rank
Country
GDP
(nominal, in 2026)
millions of
USD
GDP per capita
(PPP, in 2026)
in
international dollars
African Union
3,555,435
8,330
South Africa
479,964
16,740
Egypt
429,645
23,321
Nigeria
377,365
9,994
Algeria
317,173
19,677
Morocco
194,333
12,336
Angola
152,354
10,446
Kenya
147,265
8,020
DR Congo
123,406
2,144
Ethiopia
121,527
4,974
10
Ghana
118,293
9,116
11
Côte d'Ivoire
112,115
8,672
12
Tanzania
94,889
4,607
The continent is believed to hold 90% of the world's
cobalt
, 90% of its
platinum
, 50% of its gold, 98% of its
chromium
, 70% of its
tantalite
193
64% of its
manganese
and one-third of its
uranium
194
The
Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) has 70% of the world's
coltan
, a mineral used in the production of
tantalum capacitors
for electronic devices such as cell phones. The DRC also has more than 30% of the world's diamond reserves.
195
Guinea
is the world's largest exporter of
bauxite
196
As the growth in Africa has been driven mainly by services and not manufacturing or agriculture, it has been growth without jobs and without reduction in poverty levels. In fact, the
food security crisis of 2008
, which took place following the global financial crisis, pushed 100 million people into food insecurity.
197
In 2024 nearly 307 million people in Africa were undernourished (46% of the global total), an increase of 10 million people since 2023 and 34 million from 2022.
198
In recent years,
when?
China
has built increasingly stronger ties with African nations and is Africa's largest trading partner. In 2007, Chinese companies invested a total of US$1 billion in Africa.
147
Harvard University
study led by professor
Calestous Juma
showed that Africa could feed itself by making the transition from importer to self-sufficiency. "African agriculture is at the crossroads; we have come to the end of a century of policies that favoured Africa's export of raw materials and importation of food. Africa is starting to focus on agricultural innovation as its new engine for regional trade and prosperity."
199
Energy
This section is an excerpt from
Energy in Africa
edit
Cooking with biogas in Tanzania; Geothermal energy infrastructure in Kenya; Coal power station in South Africa; Solar-powered lamp-light in Zambia.
Energy in Africa
is characterised by low
per-capita
consumption and limited access to modern energy services, reflecting both infrastructural and socio-economic challenges across the continent. As of 2023, Africa accounted for just 5.5% of global total final energy consumption, with per-capita energy use more than three times lower than the global average. The
energy mix
is dominated by
biofuels
and waste, which make up 43% of total final consumption, primarily for household cooking and heating, followed by oil products at 33%, electricity at 11%, natural gas at 9%, and coal at 4%.
Electricity access
remains a major challenge, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly 450 million rural residents lack reliable electricity, and grid coverage is often inconsistent.
Clean cooking
solutions are similarly underdeveloped, leaving over 900 million people reliant on polluting fuels such as firewood, charcoal, and agricultural residues, which disproportionately affect women and children. Transport energy is dominated by oil products, reflecting low motorisation rates and limited adoption of electric mobility, although countries such as Ethiopia, Morocco, and Egypt have begun adopting policies to reduce fossil fuel dependency.
Africa possesses some of the world's most abundant energy resources, including
oil
natural gas
coal
hydropower
solar
wind
geothermal
, and
biomass
, much of which remains underutilised. While
fossil fuels
such as coal, oil, and natural gas continue to dominate energy production and electricity generation in Africa,
renewable sources
are increasingly expanding across the continent. Hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, and modern biomass are growing in capacity, though their deployment remains uneven and limited compared to the continent's vast potential. Hydropower is the largest non-combustible renewable source, while solar energy offers immense potential due to high irradiation levels, particularly in the
Sahara
and
Sahel
There are regional differences:
North Africa
is dominated by oil and gas production,
Southern Africa
by coal and hydropower,
East Africa
by hydropower and geothermal, and
West
and
Central Africa
face major electrification gaps despite hydroelectric potential.
Infrastructure
Water resources
See also:
Water scarcity in Africa
and
Water supply and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa
Water development and
management
are complex in Africa due to the multiplicity of trans-boundary water resources (
rivers
lakes
and
aquifers
).
200
Around 75% of sub-Saharan Africa falls within 53 international
river basin
catchments that traverse multiple borders.
201
200
This particular constraint can also be converted into an opportunity if the potential for trans-boundary cooperation is harnessed in the development of the area's water resources.
200
A multi-sectoral analysis of the
Zambezi River
, for example, shows that
riparian
cooperation could lead to a 23% increase in firm energy production without any additional investments.
201
200
A number of institutional and legal frameworks for transboundary cooperation exist, such as the Zambezi River Authority, the
Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Protocol,
Volta River Authority
and the Nile Basin Commission.
200
However, additional efforts are required to further develop political will, as well as the financial capacities and institutional frameworks needed for win-win multilateral cooperative actions and optimal solutions for all riparians.
200
Demographics
Main articles:
Demographics of Africa
and
Genetic history of Africa
See also:
List of African countries by population
and
List of African countries by life expectancy
Proportion of total African population by country
Nigeria (15.4%)
Ethiopia (8.37%)
Egypt (7.65%)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (6.57%)
Tanzania (4.55%)
South Africa (4.47%)
Kenya (3.88%)
Uganda (3.38%)
Algeria (3.36%)
Other (42.4%)
Africa is considered by anthropologists to be the most genetically diverse continent as a result of being the longest inhabited.
202
203
204
Africa's population has rapidly increased over the last 40 years, and is consequently relatively young. In some African states, more than half the population is under 25 years of age.
205
The total number of people in Africa increased from 229 million in 1950 to 630 million in 1990.
206
As of 2021, the population of Africa is estimated at 1.4 billion.
Africa's total population surpassing other continents is fairly recent; African population surpassed Europe in the 1990s, while the Americas was overtaken sometime around the year 2000.
207
This increase in number of babies born in Africa compared to the rest of the world is expected to reach approximately 37% in the year 2050; while in 1990 sub-Saharan Africa accounted for only 16% of the world's births.
208
The
total fertility rate
(children per woman) for Sub-Saharan Africa is 4.7 as of 2018, the highest in the world.
209
All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had
TFRs
(average number of children) above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27.1% of
global
livebirths.
210
In 2021, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 29% of global births.
211
Speakers of
Bantu languages
(part of the
Niger–Congo
family) are the majority in southern, central and southeast Africa. The Bantu-speaking peoples from
the Sahel
progressively expanded over most of sub-Saharan Africa.
212
But there are also several
Nilotic
groups in
South Sudan
and East Africa, the mixed
Swahili people
on the
Swahili Coast
, and a few remaining
indigenous
Khoisan ("
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. In the
Kalahari Desert
of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "
Hottentots
") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other Africans and are the indigenous people of southern Africa.
citation needed
Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of central Africa.
213
The peoples of West Africa primarily speak
Niger–Congo languages
, belonging mostly to its non-Bantu branches, though some
Nilo-Saharan
and Afro-Asiatic speaking groups are also found. The Niger–Congo-speaking
Yoruba
Igbo
Fulani
Akan
, and
Wolof
ethnic groups are the largest and most influential. In the central Sahara,
Mandinka
or
Mande
groups are most significant. Chadic-speaking groups, including the
Hausa
, are found in more northerly parts of the region nearest to the Sahara, and Nilo-Saharan communities, such as the
Songhai
Kanuri
, and
Zarma
, are found in the eastern parts of West Africa bordering Central Africa.
Map of Africa indicating
Human Development Index
(2018).
0.800–0.849
0.750–0.799
0.700–0.749
0.650–0.699
0.600–0.649
0.550–0.599
0.500–0.549
0.450–0.499
0.400–0.449
≤ 0.399
No data
The peoples of North Africa consist of three main indigenous groups: Berbers in the northwest, Egyptians in the northeast, and Nilo-Saharan-speaking peoples in the east. The Arabs who arrived in the 7th century AD introduced the Arabic language and Islam to North Africa. The Semitic
Phoenicians
(who founded
Carthage
) and
Hyksos
, the Indo-Iranian
Alans
, the Indo-European
Greeks
, Romans, and
Vandals
settled in North Africa as well. Significant Berber communities remain within
Morocco
and
Algeria
in the 21st century, while, to a lesser extent, Berber speakers are also present in some regions of Tunisia and Libya.
214
The Berber-speaking
Tuareg
and other often-
nomadic
peoples are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. In Mauritania, there is a small but near-extinct Berber community in the north and Niger–Congo-speaking peoples in the south, though in both regions Arabic and Arab culture predominates. In Sudan, although Arabic and Arab culture predominate, it is mostly inhabited by groups that originally spoke Nilo-Saharan, such as the Nubians, Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, who, over the centuries, have variously intermixed with migrants from the Arabian peninsula. Small communities of Afro-Asiatic-speaking Beja nomads can also be found in Egypt and Sudan.
215
In the
Horn of Africa
, some Ethiopian and Eritrean groups (like the
Amhara
and
Tigrayans
, collectively known as
Habesha
) speak languages from the
Semitic
branch of the
Afro-Asiatic
language family, while the
Oromo
and
Somali
speak languages from the
Cushitic
branch of Afro-Asiatic.
Prior to the
decolonisation
movements of the post-World War II era,
Europeans
were represented in every part of Africa.
216
Decolonization during the 1960s and 1970s often resulted in the mass emigration of white settlers—especially from Algeria and Morocco (1.6 million
pieds-noirs
in North Africa),
217
Kenya, Congo,
218
Rhodesia, Mozambique and Angola.
219
Between 1975 and 1977, over a million colonials returned to Portugal alone.
220
Nevertheless,
white Africans
remain an important minority in many African states, particularly
Zimbabwe
Namibia
Réunion
, and
South Africa
221
The country with the largest white African population is South Africa.
222
Dutch
and
British
diasporas
represent the largest communities of European ancestry on the continent today.
223
European colonisation also brought
sizable groups
of
Asians
, particularly
from
the
Indian subcontinent
, to British colonies. Large
Indian communities
are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and southeast 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 an
Austronesian 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
Cape Coloureds
(people with origins in two or more races and continents). During the 20th century, small but economically important communities of
Lebanese
147
have also developed in the larger coastal cities of
West
and East Africa, respectively.
224
Alternative estimates of African population, 1–2018 AD (in thousands)
Source: Maddison and others (University of Groningen)
225
Year
225
1000
1500
1600
1700
1820
1870
1913
1950
1973
1998
2018
2100
(projected)
Africa
16 500
33 000
46 000
55 000
61 000
74 208
90 466
124 697
228 342
387 645
759 954
1 321 000
226
3 924 421
227
World
230 820
268 273
437 818
555 828
603 410
1 041 092
1 270 014
1 791 020
2 524 531
3 913 482
5 907 680
7 500 000
228
10 349 323
227
Shares of Africa and world population, 1–2020 AD (% of world total)
Source: Maddison and others (University of Groningen)
225
Year
225
1000
1500
1600
1700
1820
1870
1913
1950
1973
1998
2020
2100
(projected)
Africa
7.1
12.3
10.5
9.9
10.1
7.1
7.1
7.0
9.0
9.9
12.9
18.2
226
39.4
229
Genetic history
Main articles:
Genetic history of Africa
Genetic history of North Africa
Genetic history of East Africa
Genetic history of West Africa
Genetic history of Central Africa
Genetic history of South Africa
, and
Genetic history of the African diaspora
E1b1b is the most common paternal haplogroup across Africa, including Egypt, with modern genetic studies rooting the origin of the E haplogroup in East Africa.
230
The
Sahara
served as a trans-regional passageway and place of dwelling for people in Africa during various
humid phases
231
232
233
and periods throughout the
history of Africa
234
235
As early as 11,000 years ago,
Sub-Saharan
West Africans
, bearing
macrohaplogroup L
(e.g.,
L1b1a11
, L1b1a6a, L1b1a8, L1b1a9a1,
L2a1k
L3d1b1a
), may have migrated through
North Africa
and into
Europe
, mostly into
southern Europe
(e.g.,
Iberia
).
236
The genetic marker
E1b1
was identified to have wide distribution across Egypt, with "P2/215/M35.1 (E1b1b), for short
M35
, likely also originated in eastern tropical Africa, and is predominantly distributed in an arc from the Horn of Africa up through Egypt".
237
The
R haplogroup
has also been identified to have high frequencies in central Saharan Africa, among some
Afro-Asiatic
and
Nilo-Saharan
language speaking groups.
238
Genetic evidence has identified the
Horn of Africa
to be the source of a genetic marker "
M35
215
" Y-chromosome lineage for a significant population component which moved north from that region into Egypt and the Levant. Historian
Christopher Ehret
argued that this genetic distribution paralleled the spread of the Afrasian language family with the movement of people from the Horn of Africa into Egypt and added a new demic component to the existing population of Egypt 17,000 years ago.
239
According to a recent study, the
Arab migrations to the Maghreb
was mainly a demographic process that heavily implied gene flow and remodeled the genetic structure of the
Maghreb
region in North Africa, rather than a mere cultural replacement as claimed by older studies.
240
Another study found out that the majority of
J-M267
(Eu10) chromosomes in the Maghreb are due to the recent gene flow caused by the Arab migrations to the Maghreb in the first millennium CE as both southern
Qahtanite
and northern
Adnanite
Arabs added to the heterogenous
Maghrebi
ethnic melting pot. The Eu10 chromosome pool in the Maghreb is derived not only from early
Neolithic
dispersions from Western Asia but to a much greater extent from recent expansions of
Arab
tribes from the
Arabian Peninsula
241
While acknowledging the genetic impact of Arabization of Northwest Africa during the Islamic period, other authors have suggested that earlier migration processes, such as the arrival of
Neolithic Revolution
era famers from
Western Asia
and
Southern Europe
together with
Bronze Age
and
Iron Age
input from
Mesopotamia
and the
Levant
were ultimately more genetically impactful.
242
David Schoenbrun, Christopher Ehret, Steven A. Brandt and Shomarka Keita (2025) have highlighted the problematic categorisation of genetic haplogroups characterised as ‘African’ and ‘
Eurasian
' in North African genome studies. In reference to the van de Loosdrecht et al. 2018 study on the epipalaeolithic Taforalt remains from
Morocco
, which identified the
EM35
(primarily
EM78
) common in north-eastern Africa but characterised the
mtDNA (female lineage haplogroups)
of
U6
and
M1
as 'Eurasian', the authors questioned the classification of these maternal haplogroups despite their localised and long-established presence in ancient African populations.
243
In their view, identifying a range of African populations may still remain an issue “since the idea of ‘African’ still gets stereotyped or restricted. (Accepting the
southwestern Asian
Levantine
geographical continuity with Africa eliminates a conceptual barrier related to racio-typological thinking permitting an
Africasian construct
analogous to Eurasian.)”.
244
Religion
Main article:
Religion in Africa
See also:
African divination
A map showing religious distribution in Africa
While Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, the majority of the people respect African religions or parts of them. However, in formal surveys or census, most people will identify with major religions that came from outside the continent, mainly through colonisation. There are several reasons for this, the main one being the colonial idea that African religious beliefs and practices are not good enough. Religious beliefs and statistics on religious affiliation are difficult to come by since they are often a sensitive topic for governments with mixed religious populations.
245
246
According to the
World Book Encyclopedia
Islam
and
Christianity
are the two largest religions in Africa. Islam is most prevalent in Northern Africa, and is the state religion of many North African countries, such as Algeria, where 99% of the population practices Islam.
247
The majority of people in most governments in Southern, Southeast, and Central Africa, as well as in a sizable portion of the Horn of Africa and West Africa, identify as
Christians
. The
Coptic Christians
constitute a sizable minority in
Egypt
, and the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
is the largest church in Ethiopia, with 36 million and 51 million adherents.
248
According to
Encyclopædia Britannica
, 45% of the population are Christians, 40% are Muslims, and 10% follow
traditional religions
citation needed
A small number of Africans are
Hindu
Buddhist
Confucianist
Baháʼí
, or
Jewish
. There is also a minority of people in Africa who are
irreligious
Languages
Main article:
Languages of Africa
See also:
Writing systems of Africa § Indigenous writing systems
A simplistic view of language families spoken in Africa
By most estimates, well over a thousand
languages
UNESCO
has estimated around two thousand) are spoken in Africa.
249
Most are of African origin, though some are of European or Asian origin. Africa is the most
multilingual
continent in the world, and it is not rare for individuals to fluently speak not only multiple African languages, but one or more European ones as well.
further explanation needed
There are four major groups indigenous to Africa:
The
Afroasiatic
languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout the Horn of Africa, North Africa, the
Sahel
, and Southwest Asia.
The
Nilo-Saharan
languages consist of a group of several possibly related
families
250
spoken by 30 million people between 100 languages. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by ethnic groups in
Chad
Ethiopia
Kenya
Nigeria
Sudan
South Sudan
Uganda
, and northern
Tanzania
The
Niger-Congo
language family covers much of sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of number of languages, it is the largest language family in Africa and perhaps one of the largest in the world.
The
Khoisan
languages form a group of three unrelated
251
families and two
isolates
and number about fifty in total. They are mainly spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 400,000 people.
252
Many of the Khoisan languages are
endangered
. The
Khoi
and
San
peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa.
Following the end of
colonialism
, nearly all African countries adopted
official languages
that originated outside the continent, although several countries also granted legal recognition to indigenous languages (such as
Swahili
Yoruba
Igbo
and
Hausa
). In numerous countries, English and French (
see
African French
) are used for communication in the public sphere such as government, commerce, education and the media. Arabic,
Portuguese
Afrikaans
and Spanish are examples of languages that trace their origin to outside of Africa, and that are used by millions of Africans today, both in the public and private spheres. Italian is spoken by some in former
Italian colonies
in Africa. German is spoken in
Namibia
, as it was a former German protectorate. In total, at least a fifth of Africans speak the former colonial languages.
253
254
255
Moreover, in recent years some African countries have been considering removing their official former colonial languages, such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger which removed French as an official language in the 2020s in favour of native languages,
256
while also renaming colonial street names.
257
258
Health
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa, total (% of population ages 15–49), in 2011 (
World Bank
over 15%
5–15%
2–5%
1–2%
0.5–1%
0.1–0.5%
not available
More than 85% of individuals in Africa use traditional medicine as an alternative to often expensive allopathic medical health care and costly pharmaceutical products. The
Organization of African Unity
(OAU) Heads of State and Government declared the 2000s decade as the African Decade on
African traditional medicine
in an effort to promote The WHO African Region's adopted resolution for institutionalising traditional medicine in health care systems across the continent.
259
Public policy makers in the region are challenged with consideration of the importance of traditional/indigenous health systems and whether their coexistence with the modern medical and health sub-sector would improve the equitability and accessibility of health care distribution, the health status of populations, and the social-economic development of nations within sub-Saharan Africa.
260
AIDS in post-colonial Africa
is a prevalent issue. Although the continent is home to about 15.2 percent of the world's population,
261
more than two-thirds of the total infected worldwide—some 35 million people—were Africans, of whom 15 million have already died.
262
Sub-Saharan Africa
alone accounted for an estimated 69 percent of all people living with HIV
263
and 70 percent of all AIDS deaths in 2011.
264
In the countries of sub-Saharan Africa most affected, AIDS has raised death rates and lowered life expectancy among adults between the ages of 20 and 49 by about twenty years.
262
Furthermore, the life expectancy in many parts of Africa has declined, largely as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with life-expectancy in some countries reaching as low as thirty-four years.
265
Culture
Main article:
Culture of Africa
The
Senegambian stone circles
, lying in The
Gambia
and
Senegal
, are a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Some aspects of traditional African cultures have become less practised in recent years as a result of neglect and suppression by colonial and post-colonial regimes. For example, African customs were discouraged, and African languages were prohibited in mission schools.
266
Leopold II of Belgium attempted to "civilize" Africans by discouraging polygamy and witchcraft.
266
Obidoh Freeborn posits that colonialism is one element that has created the character of modern African art.
267
According to authors Douglas Fraser and Herbert M. Cole, "The precipitous alterations in the power structure wrought by colonialism were quickly followed by drastic iconographic changes in the art."
268
Fraser and Cole assert that, in Igboland, some art objects "lack the vigor and careful craftsmanship of the earlier art objects that served traditional functions."
268
Author Chika Okeke-Agulu states that "the racist infrastructure of British imperial enterprise forced upon the political and cultural guardians of empire a denial and suppression of an emergent sovereign Africa and modernist art."
269
Editors F. Abiola Irele and Simon Gikandi comment that the current identity of African literature had its genesis in the "traumatic encounter between Africa and Europe."
270
On the other hand, Mhoze Chikowero believes that Africans deployed music, dance, spirituality, and other performative cultures to (re)assert themselves as active agents and indigenous intellectuals, to unmake their colonial marginalisation and reshape their own destinies.
271
There is now a resurgence in the attempts to rediscover and revalue African traditional cultures, under such movements as the
African Renaissance
, led by
Thabo Mbeki
Afrocentrism
, led by a group of scholars, including
Molefi Asante
, as well as the increasing recognition of traditional spiritualism through decriminalisation of
Vodou
and other forms of spirituality.
As of March 2023, 98 African properties are listed by
UNESCO
as
World Heritage Sites
. Among these proprieties, 54 are cultural sites, 39 are natural sites and 5 are mixed sites. The
List of World Heritage in Danger
includes 15 African sites.
272
Visual art
These paragraphs are an excerpt from
African art
edit
African art
refers to works of
visual art
, including works of sculpture, painting,
metalwork
, and
pottery
, originating from the
various peoples
of the African continent and influenced by distinct, indigenous traditions of
aesthetic expression
While the various artistic traditions of such a large and diverse continent display considerable regional and cultural variety, there are consistent artistic themes, recurring
motifs
, and unifying elements across the broad spectrum of the African visual expression.
273
As is the case for every
artistic tradition in human history
, African art was created within specific social, political, and religious contexts. Likewise, African art was often created not purely
for art's sake
, but rather with some practical,
spiritual
, and/or
didactic
purpose in mind. In general, African art prioritizes conceptual and symbolic representation over
realism
, aiming to visualize the subject's spiritual essence.
274
Ethiopian art
, heavily influenced by
Ethiopia's
long-standing
Christian tradition
275
is also different from most African art, where
Traditional African religion
(with
Islam
prevalent in the north east and north west presently) was dominant until the 20th century.
276
African art includes
prehistoric
and
ancient
art, the Islamic art of
West Africa
, the
Christian art
of
East Africa
, and the traditional
artifacts
of these and other regions. Many
African sculptures
were historically made of wood and other natural materials that have not survived from earlier than a few centuries ago, although rare older pottery and metal figures can be found in some areas.
277
Some of the earliest decorative objects, such as
shell beads
and evidence of paint, have been discovered in Africa, dating to the
Middle Stone Age
278
279
280
Masks
are important elements in the art of many people, along with human figures, and are often highly stylized. There exist diverse styles, which can often be observed within a single
context of origin
and may be influenced by the intended use of the object. Nevertheless, broad regional trends are discernible. Sculpture is most common among "groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the
Niger
and
Congo
rivers" in West Africa.
281
Direct images of deities are relatively infrequent, but masks in particular are or were often made for ritual ceremonies. Since the late 19th century, there has been an increasing amount of
African art in Western collections
, the finest pieces of which are displayed as part of the history of
colonization
African art had an important influence on European
Modernist
art,
282
which was inspired by their interest in abstract depiction.
274
It was this appreciation of African sculpture that has been attributed to the very concept of "African art", as seen by European and American artists and art historians.
283
Nok
figure, Nigeria (5th century BCE–5th century CE)
Rock art at the
Laas Geel
complex in
Somalia
, 3,500–2,500 BCE
Two
Benin Bronzes
from the 18th century
Architecture
This section is an excerpt from
Architecture of Africa
edit
The
Great Pyramids of Giza
are regarded as one of the greatest architectural feats of all time and are one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
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Mirroring the richness of African traditions, the vibrant tapestry of cultures, the
architecture of Africa
is diverse and holds fascinating arrays of styles. Throughout the
history of Africa
Africans
have developed their own local
architectural
traditions. In some cases, broader regional styles can be identified, such as the
Sudano-Sahelian architecture
of
West Africa
. A common theme in traditional African architecture is the use of
fractal
scaling: small parts of the structure tend to look similar to larger parts, such as a circular village made of circular houses.
284
African architecture in some areas has been influenced by external cultures for centuries, according to available evidence. Western architecture has influenced coastal areas since the late 15th century and is now an important source of inspiration for many larger buildings, particularly in major cities.
African architecture uses a wide range of materials, including thatch, stick/wood,
Clockwise from upper left: Lideta Market in
Ethiopia
; Great Mosque of Djenne in
Mali
; Zaria Emir's Palace Gate in
Nigeria
; International Fair of Dakar in
Senegal
; Hikma Religious and Secular Complex in
Niger
Cinema
This section is an excerpt from
Cinema of Africa
edit
Cinematic street poster in
Tunis
Tunisia
for the Egyptian film
Saladin the Victorious
(1963, Arabic: الناصر صلاح الدين, Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din) directed by
Youssef Chahine
starring
Ahmed Mazhar
as Saladin,
Salah Zulfikar
Nadia Lutfi
and others
Cinema of Africa
refers to the
film industries
and
films
produced in the continent of Africa. It covers both the
history
and present of the
making
or screening of films on the African continent, and also refers to the persons involved in this form of
audiovisual
culture. It dates back to the late 19th century, when film reels were the primary cinematic technology in use.
Cairo
has been the capital of
film industry
in Africa since the early 20th century to the present day.
285
286
287
As there are more than 50 countries with audiovisual traditions, there is no one single 'African cinema'. Both historically and culturally, there are major regional differences between
North African
and
sub-Saharan
cinemas, and between the cinemas of different countries.
288
The
Egyptian film industry
and the
Tunisian
are also among the oldest in the world. Cinema of Egypt in particular is the most established and flourishing industry in Africa.
289
290
Pioneers
Auguste and Louis Lumière
screened their films in
Alexandria
Cairo
Tunis
Susa, Libya
and
Hammam-Lif
Tunisia
in 1896.
291
292
Albert Samama Chikly
is often cited as the first producer of indigenous African cinema, screening his own short documentaries in the
casino
of Tunis as early as December 1905.
293
Music
This section is an excerpt from
Music of Africa
edit
Umm Kulthum
The
continent of Africa and its music
is vast and highly diverse, with different
regions
and
nations
maintaining distinct
musical
traditions. African music includes genres such as makwaya,
highlife
mbube
township music
jùjú
fuji
jaiva
afrobeat
afrofusion
mbalax
Congolese rumba
soukous
ndombolo
makossa
kizomba
, and
taarab
, among others.
294
African music also uses a wide variety of instruments from across the continent.
The music and dance traditions of the
African diaspora
, shaped to varying degrees by African musical traditions, include
American genres
such as
Dixieland jazz
blues
, and
jazz
, as well as
Caribbean
styles such as
calypso
(see
kaiso
), and
soca
Latin American music
genres including
cumbia
salsa
son cubano
rumba
conga
bomba
samba
, and
zouk
developed from the music of
enslaved Africans
and have, in turn, influenced contemporary
African popular music
294
295
Franco Luambo
Dance
This section is an excerpt from
African dance
edit
African dance
(also Afro dance, Afrodance and Afro-dance)
296
297
298
299
300
refers to the various dance styles of
sub-Saharan Africa
. These dances are closely connected with the traditional
rhythms
and
music traditions
of the region. Music and dancing is an integral part of many traditional African societies. Songs and dances facilitate teaching and promoting social values, the celebration of special events and major life milestones, the performance of
oral history
and other recitations, and spiritual experiences.
301
African dance uses the concepts of
polyrhythm
and total body articulation.
302
African dances are often a collective activity performed in large groups, with significant interaction between dancers and onlookers.
303
Sports
Main article:
Sport in Africa
Best results of African men's national football teams at the FIFA World Cup
Fifty-four African countries have
football
teams in the
Confederation of African Football
. Egypt has won the African Cup seven times, and a record-making three times in a row. Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, and Algeria have advanced to the knockout stage of recent
FIFA World Cups
. Morocco, at the
2022 World Cup in Qatar
was the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA Men's World Cup. South Africa hosted the
2010 World Cup tournament
, becoming the first African country to do so. The top clubs in each African football league play the
CAF Champions League
, while lower-ranked clubs compete in
CAF Confederation Cup
In recent years, the continent has progressed in terms of state-of-the-art
basketball
facilities, which have been built in cities such as
Cairo
Dakar
Johannesburg
Kigali
Luanda
, and
Rades
304
The number of African basketball players who drafted into the U.S.
NBA
has experienced growth in the 2010s.
305
Cricket
is popular in some African nations.
South Africa
and
Zimbabwe
have
Test
status, while
Kenya
is the leading non-test team and previously had
One-Day International cricket
(ODI) status (from
10 October 1997
, until
30 January 2014
). The three countries jointly hosted the
2003 Cricket World Cup
Namibia
is the other African country to have played in a World Cup.
Morocco
, in northern Africa, hosted the
2002 Morocco Cup
, but the national team has never qualified for a major tournament.
Rugby
is popular in several southern African nations.
Namibia
and
Zimbabwe
have appeared on multiple occasions at the
Rugby World Cup
, while South Africa is the most successful national team at the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament on four occasions, in 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2023.
306
Traditional sports
were strictly marginalised during the
colonial era
, and many are dying or have gone extinct under the pressure of
modernisation
, however lots remain popular despite not having formal governmental recognition or support.
307
308
: 193–194
Some examples are
Senegalese wrestling
Dambe
Nguni stick-fighting
, and
Savika
See also
Africa portal
Index of Africa-related articles
Outline of Africa
Notes
This characterisation has come under criticism by some African scholars, as it implies conflict between the oral and written. They instead contend that in reality, the characterisation is defined by the interaction between three ways of expression and diffusion: the oral, the written, and the printed word.
21
Bethwell Allan Ogot
notes that images of Africa composed by Western writers have often been in terms of "opposites" and how they differ from "us".
22
Attributed to multiple sources:
24
25
26
27
28
29
In stateless societies, oral histories centred around clan histories.
30
John Lonsdale
famously said that "the
most distinctively African contribution to human history could be said to
have been precisely the civilized art of living fairly peaceably together
not
in states".
31
In these cases, time's duration is not as it affects the fate of the individual, but the pulse of the social group. It is not a river flowing in one direction from a known source to a known outlet. Generally, traditional African time involves
eternity
in both directions, unlike
Christians
who consider eternity to operate in one direction. In African
animism
, time is an arena where both the group and the individual struggle for their
vitality
. The goal is to improve their situation, thus being dynamic.
Bygone generations
remain contemporary, and as influential as they were during their lifetime, if not more so. In these circumstances causality operates in a forward direction from past to present and from present to future, however direct intervention can operate in any direction.
55
: 44, 49
Some scholars contest that cultures and identities cannot be considered fixed or invariable, especially over such a long time period.
75
Bida is stressed as a protective force by narrators; some versions have Bida descending from Dinga, with his children founding Wagadu. Pythons are most at home in grasslands near water, and likely came to be associated with the seasonal rains, with them rarely being seen during the dry periods. As such, snake deities feature prominently in West African
traditional religions
104
An initial idea that the dispersal was caused by population pressure following the introduction of farming is generally now discounted.
106
: 23
Also known as the Partition of Africa, the Conquest of Africa, or the Rape of Africa
Continental regions as per
UN categorizations/map
Egypt
is generally considered a
transcontinental country
in Northern Africa (UN region) and Western Asia; population and area figures are for African portion only, west of the
Suez Canal
The territory of
Western Sahara
is claimed by the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
and
Morocco
. The
SADR
is recognised as a sovereign state by the
African Union
Morocco
claims the entirety of the country as its
Southern Provinces
. Morocco administers 4/5 of the territory while the SADR controls 1/5. Morocco's annexation of this territory has not been recognised internationally.
Bloemfontein
is the judicial capital of South Africa, while
Cape Town
is its legislative seat, and
Pretoria
is the country's administrative seat.
Yamoussoukro
is the official capital of
Ivory Coast
, while
Abidjan
is the
de facto
seat.
Geographically part of the archipelago (
Lampedusa
and
Lampione
) belongs to the African continent; politically and administratively, the islands fall within the
Province of Agrigento
in
Sicily
The previous three references show that there a total of 130 million English speakers, 120 million French speakers, and over 30 million Portuguese speakers in Africa, making them about 20% of Africa's 2022 population of 1.4 billion people.
Sources
This article incorporates text from a
free content
work. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (
license statement/permission
). Text taken from
Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025​
, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
This article incorporates text from a
free content
work. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (
license statement/permission
). Text taken from
World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2025​
, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
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Further reading
See also:
Africa Bibliography
Asante, Molefi
(2007).
The History of Africa
. US: Routledge.
ISBN
978-0-415-77139-9
Clark, J. Desmond
(1970).
The Prehistory of Africa
. London, England: Thames and Hudson.
ISBN
978-0-500-02069-2
Crowder, Michael (1978).
The Story of Nigeria
. London, England: Faber.
ISBN
978-0-571-04947-9
Davidson, Basil
(1966).
The African Past: Chronicles from Antiquity to Modern Times
. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
OCLC
2016817
Gordon, April A.; Gordon, Donald L. (1996).
Understanding Contemporary Africa
. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
ISBN
978-1-55587-547-3
Khapoya, Vincent B. (1998).
The African experience: an introduction
. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
ISBN
978-0-13-745852-3
Moore, Clark D., and Ann Dunbar (1968).
Africa Yesterday and Today
, in series,
The George School Readings on Developing Lands
. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Naipaul, V.S.
The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief
. Picador, 2010.
ISBN
978-0-330-47205-0
Wade, Lizzie (2015).
"Drones and satellites spot lost civilizations in unlikely places"
Science
doi
10.1126/science.aaa7864
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