Portal:Africa
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Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will reach 3.8 billion people by 2099. 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, corruption, colonialism, the Cold War, and neocolonialism. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and a large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. Africa has a large quantity of natural resources and food resources, including diamonds, sugar, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum, natural gas, cocoa beans, and.
Africa straddles the equator and the prime meridian. It is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to the southern temperate zones. The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, the northern tip of Mauritania, and the entire territories of Morocco and Tunisia, which in turn are located above the tropic of Cancer, in the northern temperate zone. In the other extreme of the continent, southern Namibia, southern Botswana, great parts of South Africa, the entire territories of Lesotho and Eswatini and the southern tips of Mozambique and Madagascar are located below the tropic of Capricorn, in the southern temperate zone.
Africa is highly biodiverse; it is the continent with the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. However, Africa 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.
The history of Africa is long, complex, and varied, and has often been under-appreciated by the global historical community. 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. During the colonial period, oral sources were deprecated by European historians, which gave them the impression Africa had no recorded history. African historiography became organized at the academic level in the mid-20th century, and saw a movement towards utilising oral sources in a multidisciplinary approach, culminating in the General History of Africa, edited by specialists from across the continent. (Full article...)
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Great Zimbabwe was a city in the south-eastern hills of the modern country of Zimbabwe, near Masvingo. It was settled from 1000 AD, and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe from the 13th century. It is the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa. Construction on the city began in the 11th century and continued until it was abandoned in the 16th or 17th century. The edifices were erected by ancestors of the Shona people, currently located in Zimbabwe and nearby countries. The stone city spans an area of 7.22 square kilometres (2.79 sq mi) and could have housed up to 18,000 people at its peak, giving it a population density of approximately 2,500 inhabitants per square kilometre (6,500/sq mi). The Zimbabwe state centred on it likely covered 50,000 km² (19,000 sq mi). It is recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The site of Great Zimbabwe is composed of the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex, and the Great Enclosure (constructed at different times), and contained area for commoner housing within the perimeter walls. There is disagreement on the functions of the complexes among scholars. Some consider them to have been residences for the royals and elites at different periods of the site, while others infer them to have had separate functions. The Great Enclosure, with its 11m (36 ft) high dry stone walls (that is, constructed without mortar), was built during the 13th and 14th centuries, and likely served as the royal residence, with demarcated public spaces for rituals. (Full article...)
Featured pictures –
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Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimAdansonia digitata is a sub-Saharan African species of baobab tree. The genus, scientifically known as Adansonia, consists of nine species native to Madagascar, Africa, Arabia and Australia, and can reach heights of 5 to 30 m (16 to 98 ft) with trunk diameters of 7 to 11 m (23 to 36 ft). -
Map of the Senufo language area Image credit: Mark Dingemanse
The Senufo languages comprise approximately 15 languages spoken by the Senufo in West Africa. They are generally considered a branch of the Gur sub-family of Niger–Congo languages. -
Nautical chart of Portuguese cartographer Fernão Vaz Dourado (c. 1520 - c. 1580), part of a nautical atlas drawn in 1571 and now kept in the Portuguese National Archives of Torre do Tombo, Lisbon. Photo credit: Portuguse National Archives of Torre do Tombo, Lisbon
A pre-Mercator nautical chart of 1571, from Portuguese cartographer Fernão Vaz Dourado (c. 1520 – c.1580). It belongs to the so-called plane chart model, where observed latitudes and magnetic directions are plotted directly into the plane, with a constant scale, as if the Earth were plane. The Moors from Spain had maps of the known world, and had been traveling to and from Mecca, Arabia for many years. In 1492, Christopher Columbus had possession of the Maps of the Moors, which had been confiscated from Andalusia and were now in service to Portuguese and Spanish Explorers. The African Moors already knew at that time, well into the 1500's, that the world was round. -
A Nodding Pincushion Flower Bud Photo credit: Mila Zinkova
Leucospermum (Pincushion or Pincushion Protea) is a genus of about 50 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to Zimbabwe and South Africa, where they occupy a variety of habitats, including scrub, forest, and mountain slopes. -
Banknote design credit: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank; photographed by Andrew ShivaThe rupie was the unit of currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916. During World War I, the colony was cut off from Germany as a result of a wartime blockade and the colonial government needed to create an emergency issue of banknotes. Paper made from linen or jute was initially used, but because of wartime shortages, the notes were later printed on commercial paper in a variety of colours, wrapping paper, and in one instance, wallpaper. This two hundred rupie banknote was issued in 1915, and is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000015-QINU`"' -
Photograph credit: Charles James SharpThe roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) is a species of savanna antelope found in western, central and southern Africa. Named for its reddish-brown coat, it has a black face with white patches around the eyes and the mouth, and a short erect mane of greyish brown hair extending from the back of the neck to the rump. This roan antelope, of the subspecies H. e. koba, was photographed in Senegal; the subspecies's range extends from Senegal to Benin in western Africa. -
Bareina Credit: Ferdinand Reus
Bareina is a Bedouin village and rural commune in the Trarza region of south-western Mauritania. As of 2000 it had a population of 14,987. This photo is a view of the village just minutes before rain started. -
Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpThe sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) is an antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in eastern and southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separate population in Angola. The species is sexually dimorphic, with the male heavier and about one-fifth taller than the female. It has a compact and robust build, characterized by a thick neck and tough skin, and both sexes have ringed horns which arch backward. The sable antelope has four subspecies.
This picture shows an adult male common sable antelope (H. n. niger) in the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa. -
Banknote: Swakopmund Bookshop (courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)The South West African mark was a temporary currency issued in South West Africa between 1916 and 1918 as part of the South West Africa campaign. Issued after the conquest of German South West Africa by South Africa, notes were denominated in marks and pfennig, as with the withdrawn German South West African Mark. Many institutions issued banknotes; this two-mark note was issued by the Swakopmund Bookshop. The South-West African mark was replaced in 1918 by the South African pound. -
Photo credit: LaitcheThe Rose Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) is a plant indigenous to various parts of southern Africa, and in particular South Africa. This specific species has great importance in the perfume industry. Its cultivars have a wide variety of smells, including rose, citrus, mint, coconut and nutmeg, as well as various fruits. -
Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: Kinondoni to the north, Ilala in the center of the region, and Temeke to the south. The Dar es Salaam Region had a population of 2,497,940 as of the official 2002 census. Though Dar es Salaam lost its official status as capital city to Dodoma in 1974, it remains the center of the permanent central government bureaucracy and continues to serve as the capital for the Dar es Salaam Region. -
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The government is an absolute monarchy, the last of its kind in Africa, and the country has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. One of the country's important cultural events is Umhlanga, the reed-dance festival, held in August or September each year. This photograph shows Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini, the eldest daughter of Mswati III, at the 2006 festival. -
Morogoro Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Morogoro is a city with an urban population of 206,868 (2002 census) in the southern highlands of Tanzania, 190 km west of Dar es Salaam. It is the capital of the Morogoro Region. It is also known informally as "Mji kasoro bahari," which translates as 'city short of an ocean/port'. -
Photo: NASAA composite satellite image of the geography of Africa, the Earth's second-largest continent, and its adjacent islands. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from much of Asia by the Red Sea, Africa is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez. For geopolitical purposes, the Sinai Peninsula – east of the Suez Canal – is often considered part of Africa, although geographically it belongs in Asia. Africa can be divided into a number of geographic zones: The Atlas Mountains in the north, the Sahara, the coastal plains, and the inner plateaus. -
Apartheid in Durban, South Africa Credit: User:GuinnogApartheid (meaning separateness in Afrikaans, cognate to English apart and hood) was a system of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948, and was dismantled in a series of negotiations from 1990 to 1993, culminating in democratic elections in 1994. Apartheid was designed to form a legal framework for continued economic and political dominance by people of European descent. -
Photograph credit: Alexander SavinDallol is a cinder-cone volcano in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range in Ethiopia. The area lies up to 120 m (390 ft) below sea level, and has been repeatedly flooded in the past when waters from the Red Sea have inundated it. The Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places on Earth, and the evaporation of seawater after these flooding episodes produced thick deposits of salt, as seen in this landscape. The deposits at Dallol include significant quantities of the carbonate, sulfate and chloride salts of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Hot springs discharge brine to form the blueish ponds, and small, temporary geysers produce cones of salt. -
Photograph: Sathyan VelumaniThe Larabanga Mosque was built in the Sudanese architectural style in the village of Larabanga, Ghana. It is the oldest mosque in the country and one of the oldest in West Africa, and has been called the "Mecca of West Africa". It has undergone restoration several times since it was founded. The World Monuments Fund has contributed substantially to its restoration, and lists it as one of the 100 most endangered sites. -
Photograph: Poco a pocoPanoramic view of the Amphitheatre of El Jem, an archeological site in the city of El Djem, Tunisia. The amphitheatre, one of the best-preserved Roman ruins and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, was built around 238 AD, when modern Tunisia belonged to the Roman province of Africa. It is the third-biggest amphitheatre in the world, with axes of 148 m (486 ft) and 122 m (400 ft) and a seating capacity of 35,000, unique in Africa. -
Photo: William WarbyPortrait of a Maasai woman, with shaved head, stretched earlobes, and beaded adornments, typical of the Maasai culture. The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known of African ethnic groups, due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa. Their primary language Maa (ɔl Maa) is a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer.
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Mackay Davashe wrote "Lakutshona Ilanga", the English version of which, sung by Miriam Makeba, became the first South African piece to chart on the Billboard Hot 100?
- ... that Gil Scott-Heron's 1975 song "Johannesburg" was banned in South Africa during apartheid?
- ... that opera singer Charles Holland spent much of his career in Europe as opportunities in classical music for African Americans were limited?
- ... that South African civil rights activist Thambi Naidoo was arrested along with Mahatma Gandhi and sent outside of Transvaal for refusing to register?
- ... that South African politician Speedy Mashilo was kidnapped for seven hours?
- ... that the book Love Falls On Us, about the LGBTQ movement in Africa, was praised by author Uzodinma Iweala for "elevating the extraordinary ordinariness of L.G.B.T.Q. Africans"?
Categories
Selected biography –
John Maxwell Coetzee FRSL OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, translator and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is one of the most critically acclaimed and decorated authors in the English language. He has won the Booker Prize (twice), the CNA Literary Award (thrice), the Jerusalem Prize, the Prix Femina étranger, and The Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and holds a number of other awards and honorary doctorates.
Coetzee moved to Australia in 2002 and became an Australian citizen in 2006. He lives in Adelaide, South Australia. He is patron of the J. M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice at the University of Adelaide. His most recently published book is The Pole and Other Stories (2023). (Full article...)
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Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles (French: République des Seychelles; Creole: Repiblik Sesel), is an archipelago nation of 155 islands (115 islands and 40 islets) in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 km east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar. It consists of 42 granitic islands, two coral sand cays north of the granitics, two coral islands south of the granitics, 29 coral islands in the Amirantes group, west of the granitics, 13 coral islands in the Farquhar Group, south-south west of the Amirantes, and 67 raised coral islands in the Aldabra Group, west of the Farquhar Group. Seychelles has the smallest population of any sovereign state of Africa.
The Seychelles president, who is both head of state and head of government, is elected by popular vote for a five-year term of office. The previous president, France-Albert René, first came to power in a coup d'état in 1977, one year after independence. He was democratically elected after the constitutional reforms of 1992. He stood down in 2004 in favour of his vice-president, James Michel, who was re-elected in 2006. (Read more...)
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Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe and is located about 200 kilometres (120 mi) from Accra. The city experiences a tropical savanna climate, with two rainy reasons which range from minor to major. Major ethnic groups who lived in Kumasi are the Asante, Mole-Dagbon and Ewe. As of 2021, the mayor of the metropolitan is Samuel Pyne.
The city was the capital of the Asante Empire, which at its peak covered large parts of present-day Ghana and the Ivory Coast. After getting taken over by the British in 1896 along with experiencing a fast population growth, Kumasi rapidly grew with improvements to its infrastructure, such as roads and the additions of railways. After Ghana gained its independence in 1957, the city became the capital of the Ashanti Region. Kumasi remains the seat of the Asantehene. The city is often regarded as "The Garden City" after Maxwell Fry published his 1945 "Garden City of West Africa" plan for the city. It is also due to the abundance of gardens and forestry in the city. (Full article...)
In the news
- 19 February 2025 – Kivu conflict
- Widespread civil disorder arises in Uvira, South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo amid M23 rebel advances from Bukavu. At least thirty deaths are reported, along with looting and a prison break of 228 Congolese soldiers imprisoned for desertion. (Reuters)
- Following a meeting between Chadian president Mahamat Déby and a diplomatic envoy of Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi, the Congolese government formally requests military support from Chad in their ongoing conflict against the M23 movement. (Anadolou Agency)
- 19 February 2025 – Islamic State insurgency in Puntland
- Puntland police capture several IS–Somalia militants accused of involvement in extortion and bombings in Bosaso, the capital of the Bari Region, amid ongoing military operations in the Cal Miskaad mountains. (Garowe Online)
- 19 February 2025 – Boko Haram insurgency
- The Chad National Army announces the end of its four-month Operation Haskanite, an offensive in the Lake Chad area against Boko Haram, and that 297 terrorists and 27 soldiers have been killed. (The Hindu)
- 19 February 2025 – Belgium–Rwanda relations
- Rwanda suspends a humanitarian aid pact with Belgium after Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot criticized Rwanda's military support for the M23 rebel movement in Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Euro Weekly News)
- 18 February 2025 – Kivu conflict
- Rwandan-backed M23 rebels advance on the city of Butembo, North Kivu, and capture Kamanyola in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo after defeating Congolese forces. Local officials say M23 forces are now preparing to advance on Uvira. (AP)
Updated: 9:05, 20 February 2025
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Order of independence of African nations, 1950–2011 -
Fufu (right) is a staple meal in West Africa and Central Africa. It is usually served with some peanut soup. (from Culture of Africa) -
A terra-cotta head sculpture (1100-1500) of the Yoruba, showing extraordinary naturalism. This head represents the oni or king of Ife. (from Culture of Africa) -
DISPLAY OF AFRICAN CULTURAL APPAREL (SMOCK) (from Culture of Africa) -
Traditional male dancers from Northern Nigeria (from Culture of Africa) -
The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (from Culture of Africa) -
The Mali Empire in 1337 CE, with major gold fields, of Bambuk, Bure, Lobi (tended by the Gan and later Lobi people), and Akan, and trade routes, outlined. The desert should extend further south to Koumbi. The Mossi Kingdoms are located north of Lobi. (from History of Africa) -
Gateway to the Castle of Good Hope in South Africa (from Culture of Africa) -
The Kingdom of Aksum in the 6th century AD. (from History of Africa) -
Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional folklore dance (from Culture of Africa) -
Pre-Neolithic and Neolithic migration events in Africa. (from History of Africa) -
Map of the western Sahel and Sudan (northern West Africa) c. 1200. (Songhai is Gao)
Kingdoms in this era were centred around cities and cores, with variations of influence radiating out from these points, borders here are estimates. (from History of Africa) -
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Ancient Kano City Walls, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa) -
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1 = 2000–1500 BC origin
2 = c. 1500 BC first dispersal
2.a = Eastern Bantu
2.b = Western Bantu
3 = 1000–500 BC Urewe nucleus of Eastern Bantu
4–7 = southward advance
9 = 500–1 BC Congo nucleus
10 = AD 1–1000 last phase (from History of Africa) -
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Carthaginian Empire in 323 BC (from History of Africa) -
Evolution of the Fatimid Caliphate (from History of Africa) -
The Almoravid empire in the 12th century. (from History of Africa) -
9th-century bronze staff head in form of a coiled snake, Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria (from History of Africa) -
A Yombe sculpture (Louvre, Paris) (from Culture of Africa) -
An Ethiopian woman preparing Ethiopian coffee at a traditional ceremony. She roasts, crushes, and brews the coffee on the spot. (from Culture of Africa) -
Map of ancient Egypt, showing major cities and sites of the Dynastic period (c. 3150 BC to 30 BC) (from History of Africa) -
Areas controlled by European powers in 1939. British (red) and Belgian (marroon) colonies fought with the Allies. Italian (light green) with the Axis. French colonies (dark blue) fought alongside the Allies until the Fall of France in June 1940. Vichy was in control until the Free French prevailed in late 1942. Portuguese (dark green) and Spanish (yellow) colonies remained neutral. (from History of Africa) -
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The Kilwa Sultanate in 1310 (from History of Africa) -
The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Africa) -
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Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, one of the most iconic singers in African history (from Culture of Africa) -
traditional pearl using for differents pearl in the religion. (from Culture of Africa) -
Sudan basket-tray, tabar of weaved natural plant fiber, in different colors (from Culture of Africa) -
Ruby, Egyptian singer performing (from Culture of Africa) -
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Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performing Adumu, a traditional dance (from Culture of Africa) -
Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of paintings in Tanzania, Kenya and neighbouring countries (from Culture of Africa) -
Potjiekos is a traditional Afrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots. (from Culture of Africa) -
Nok sculpture (from History of Africa)
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Africa topics
More did you know –
- ...that Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, a Nigerian Senator from the People's Democratic Party, is the daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo?
- ...that the 2007 South Africa miners' strike, which impacted over 240,000 workers, was the first ever industry-wide miners' strike in the history of South Africa?
- ...that Seleh Leha, a town in Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia, was the site of a leprosarium built during the Italian occupation of East Africa and abandoned in 1941?
- ...that Sarir field, an oil field in Cyrenaica operated by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO), is considered to be the largest in Libya, with estimated oil reserves of 12 Gbbl (1.9×109 m3)?
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Major Religions in Africa
North Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa
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