Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa. The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. Burkina Faso (bɚˌkiːnəˈfɑːsoʊ burr-KEE-na FAH-soh) also known by its short-form name Burkina, is a Landlocked nation in West Africa Burundi (buˈɾundi officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. The Republic of Cape Verde ( Portuguese: Cabo Verde, 'kabu 'veɾdɨ is a Republic located on an Archipelago in the Macaronesia Central Africa|Central African FederationThe Central African Republic ( CAR) République Centrafricaine ʀepyblik sɑ̃tʀafʀikɛn or Centrafrique) is a Landlocked Chad (Tchad تشاد Tshād) officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a Landlocked country in Central Africa. The Comoros (ˈkɒməroʊz; جزر القمر Juzur al-Qumur) officially the Union of the Comoros (Union des Comores الإتّحاد القمريّ Côte d'Ivoire (ˌkoʊt divˈwɑː(r ' in English, kot diˈvwaʀ in French) or Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( República de Guinea Ecuatorial,) is a country in Central Africa. Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Gabon (gəˈbɒn or /gaˈbõ/ in French) is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (pronounced /ˈgɪni/ République de Guinée is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea The Republic of Guinea-Bissau (ˈgɪni bɨˈsaʊ República da Guiné-Bissau ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɐ giˈnɛ biˈsau is a country in Western Africa, and one of the smallest The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Lesotho (lɪˈsuːtuː) officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a Landlocked country and Enclave — entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern The Republic of Malawi (məˈlɑːwi or; formerly Nyasaland) is in southern Africa. Mali, officially the Republic of Mali (République du Mali is a Landlocked nation in Western Africa. Mauritania (موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast Niger ( or /ˈnaɪdʒɚ/) officially the Republic of Niger, is a Landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal The Republic of Rwanda (ruːˈændə or /rəˈwɑːndə/ in English ɾwanda or in Kinyarwanda is a small Landlocked country in the São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an Island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial Senegal (le Sénégal officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. The Kingdom of Swaziland is a country located in Southern Africa centred at approximately 26o49'S 31o38'E Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company famous for inventing the Stand-up roller coaster. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. This is an alphabetical list of African dependencies including the respective Capitals C - Las Palmas de Gran Réunion ( French: Réunion or formally La Réunion; previously Île Bourbon) is an island located in the Indian Ocean, east of The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, which History See also History of Madeira Pre-Portuguese times Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands the position of which with reference to the Melilla is an autonomous city of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the North African coast Saint Helena (pronounced saint he-LEE-na) named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin and a British overseas territory There are an estimated 2000 Languages spoken in Africa. About a hundred of these are widely used for inter-ethnic communication UTC−1 is used as offset for Cape Verde Greenland eastern Ittoqqortoormiit and surrounding The Republic of Cape Verde ( Portuguese: Cabo Verde, 'kabu 'veɾdɨ is a Republic located on an Archipelago in the Macaronesia UTC+4 time zone is used as Moscow Summer Time Iraq Summer Time Azerbaijan Time Single zone countries Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions At about 30. 2 million km² (11. 7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 4% of the total land area. ^[2] With about 922 million people (as of 2005)^[3] in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14. 2% of the world's human population. The world population is the total number of living Humans on Earth at a given time The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface There are 46 countries including Madagascar, and 53 including all the island groups. Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern

Africa, particularly central eastern Africa, is widely regarded within the scientific community to be the origin of humans and the Hominidae tree (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and their possible ancestors, as well as later ones that have been dated to around seven million years ago – including Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Australopithecus africanus, A. afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens (human) found in Ethiopia being dated to ca. East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. The scientific community consists of the total body of Scientists its relationships and interactions Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus Evidence in its broadest sense includes anything that is used to determine or demonstrate the Truth of an assertion A hominid is any member of the biological family Hominidae (the "great apes" including the extinct and extant Humans Chimpanzees Sahelanthropus tchadensis is a Fossil Ape that lived approximately 7-6 Million years ago. Australopithecus africanus was an early hominid, an Australopithecine, who lived between 2-3 million years ago in the Pliocene. Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct Hominid which lived between 3 Homo erectus ( Latin: "upright man" is an extinct species of the genus Homo, believed to have been the first hominin Homo habilis (ˈhoʊmoʊ ˈhæbəlɪs ("handy man" "skillful person" is a Species of the genus Homo, which lived Homo ergaster ("working man" is an extinct Hominid Species (or subspecies according to some authorities which lived throughout eastern Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page 200,000 years ago. ^[4]

Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the ^[5] Because of the lack of natural regular precipitation and irrigation as well as glaciers or mountain aquifer systems, there is no natural moderating effect on the climate except near the coasts. In Meteorology, precipitation (also known as one class of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. An aquifer is an underground layer of Water -bearing Permeable rock or unconsolidated materials ( Gravel, Sand, Silt, or Clay

Etymology

Afri was the name of several peoples who dwelt in North Africa near Carthage. Afri (singular Afer) was the Latin name for an ancient people located on the shores of the southern Mediterranean Sea near the city of Carthage North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers Their name is usually connected with Phoenician afar, "dust", but a 1981 theory^[6] has asserted that it stems from a Berber word ifri meaning "cave", in reference to cave dwellers. Phoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region then called Pūt in Ancient Egyptian Canaan in Phoenician, Hebrew, and Nomenclature The term Berber has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century and is still used today

In Roman times, Carthage became the capital of Africa Province, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab The Roman suffix "-ca" denotes "country or land". ^[7] The later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah (إفريقية was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa.

Other etymologies that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":

• the 1st century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (Ant. Josephus (AD 37 – c 100 also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph son of Matthias and after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus 1. 15) asserted that it was named for Epher, grandson of Abraham according to Gen. Abraham ( Ashkenazi   Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: 25:4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya.
• the Latin word aprica, meaning "sunny", mentioned by Isidore of Seville (sixth century) in Etymologiae XIV. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Saint Isidore of Seville ( Spanish: es ''San Isidro'' or es ''San Isidoro de Sevilla'' Latin: latin ''Isidorus Hispalensis'' (c Etymologiae (or Origines, standard abbrev Orig) is an Encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville (died 5. 2
• the Greek word aphrike, meaning "without cold. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly " This was proposed by historian Leo Africanus (1488–1554), who suggested the Greek word phrike (φρίκη, meaning "cold and horror"), combined with the privative prefix "a-", thus indicating a land free of cold and horror. Joannes Leo Africanus was the Latin name of Hasan ibn Muhammed al-Wazzan al-Fasi ( Granada 1488? &ndash 1554? A privative, named from Latin privare, "to deprive" is a particle that negates or inverts the value of the stem The privative a (also known as privative alpha or α privativum) is the prefix a- which expresses negation or absence (e
• Massey, in 1881, derived an etymology from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, "to turn toward the opening of the Ka. " The Ka is the energetic double of every person and "opening of the Ka" refers to a womb or birthplace. Africa would be, for the Egyptians, "the birthplace. "[6]

The Irish female name Aifric is sometimes Anglicised as Africa, but the personal name is unrelated to the geonym. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Anglicisation or anglicization (see -ise vs -ize) is a process of conversion of verbal or written elements of any other language into a more comprehensible English A personal name is the Proper name identifying an individual Person. A Geonym is a name of a geographical feature The term covers everything from names of Continents to those of the smallest hamlets Each Toponym

Geography

Main article: Geography of Africa

A composite satellite image of Africa

Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth's exposed surface. Africa is a Continent comprising 61 political territories (including 53 countries) representing the largest of the great southward projections from the 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 miles) wide. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation ^[8] (Geopolitically, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of Africa, as well. Geopolitics is the study that analyzes Geography, History and Social science with reference to Spatial politics and patterns at various scales This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai ( Coptic: sina; Egyptian Arabic: sina سينا Arabic, sina'a سيناء [7] [8]) 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 miles);^[9] from Cape Verde, 17°33'22" W, the westernmost point, to Ras Hafun in Somalia, 51°27'52" E, the most easterly projection, is a distance of approximately 7,400 km (4,600 miles). Ras ben Sakka is the northernmost point of the African continent located in Tunisia. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. Cape Agulhas ( Portuguese: Cabo das Agulhas, "Cape of Needles" is the geographic southern tip of the African Continent The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Cap-Vert is a Peninsula in Senegal, and the westernmost part of the continent of Africa. Hafun ( Xaafuun) is a 40 km long low-lying peninsula in the Bari region of northern Somalia. Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known ^[10] The coastline is 26,000 km (16,100 miles) long, and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is illustrated by the fact that Europe, which covers only 10,400,000 km² (4,010,000 square miles) – about a third of the surface of Africa – has a coastline of 32,000 km (19,800 miles). ^[10]

Africa's largest country is Sudan, and its smallest country is the Seychelles, an archipelago off the east coast. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole An archipelago (ɑrkəˈpɛləgoʊ is a chain or cluster of Islands The word archipelago literally means "chief Sea " from Italian ^[11] The smallest nation on the continental mainland is The Gambia.

According to the ancient Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while "Asia" was used to refer to Anatolia and lands to the east. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black A definite line was drawn between the two continents by the geographer Ptolemy (85–165 AD), indicating Alexandria along the Prime Meridian and making the isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea the boundary between Asia and Africa. Claudius Ptolemaeus ( Greek: Klaúdios Ptolemaîos; after 83 &ndash ca Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια The Prime Meridian is the meridian (line of Longitude) at which longitude is defined to be 0° The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. As Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge.

Climate, fauna, and flora

The climate of Africa ranges from tropical to subarctic on its highest peaks. A tropical climate is a kind of Climate typical in the Tropics. The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada and Its northern half is primarily desert or arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna plains and very dense jungle (rainforest) regions. A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. In general terms the Climate of a local or region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available Water, to the extent of hindering A savanna or savannah is a Tropical or Subtropical Grassland or Woodland Ecosystem. In Geography, a plain is an area of land with relatively low relief — meaning that it is flat Jungle usually refers to a dense Forest in a hot climate such as a Tropical rainforest. Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches In between, there is a convergence where vegetation patterns such as sahel, and steppe dominate. See also Sahel Tunisia, a region of eastern Tunisia. The Sahel or Sahel Belt (from Arabic ساحل sāḥil In physical Geography, a steppe ( German, from степь - "a flat and arid land" степ - /stɛp/ тал - tal дала - /dɑlɑ/ pronounced

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, deer, elephants, camels, and giraffes) ranging freely on primarily open non-private plains. Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants animals and other organisms A carnivore (ˈkɑrnɪvɔər meaning 'meat eater' ( Latin carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour' is any animal with a diet consisting The lion ( Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four Big cats in the Genus Panthera. The Hyaenidae is a Mammalian family of order Carnivora. The Hyaenidae family native to both African and Asian continents consists of four The cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus) is an atypical member of the cat family ( Felidae) that is unique in its speed while lacking climbing abilities Herbivory is a form of Predation in which an Organism, known as a herbivore, consumes principally Autotrophs ref name=Campbell>Campbell The African Buffalo or Cape Buffalo ( Syncerus caffer) is a large African bovid. A deer is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. Camels are Even-toed ungulates within the Genus Camelus. The Dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and the The giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African Even-toed ungulate Mammal, the tallest of all land-living Animal Species It is also home to a variety of jungle creatures (including snakes and primates) and aquatic life (including crocodiles and amphibians)(see also: Fauna of Africa). A snake is an elongate Reptile of the suborder Serpentes Like all reptiles snakes are covered in scales. A primate is a member of the biological order Primates ( Latin: "prime first rank" the group that contains Lemurs the Aye-aye An aquatic ecosystem is an Ecosystem located in water bodies. A crocodile is any Species belonging to the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the Subfamily Crocodylinae) Prehistoric amphibian Amphibians (class Amphibia such as Frogs Toads Salamanders Newts Gymnophiona, Sirens and Fauna of Africa, in its broader sense is all the Animals living on the African continent and its surrounding seas and islands

History

Main articles: History of Africa and African empires

1890 map of Africa

Africa is considered by most paleoanthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth, with the human species originating from the continent. The history of Africa begins with the first emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into its modern present as a patchwork of There have been a number of Empires located in Africa throughout history Paleoanthropology, which combines the disciplines of Paleontology and Physical anthropology, is the study of ancient humans as found in Fossil hominid The Cradle of Humankind is a World Heritage Site first named by UNESCO in 1999 about 50 Kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, South Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Mitochondrial Eve ( mt-mrca) is the name given by researchers to the woman who is defined as the Matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA for all currently During the middle of the twentieth century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have evolved into modern man, such as Australopithecus afarensis (radiometrically dated to approximately 3. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct Hominid which lived between 3 Radiometric dating (often called radioactive dating) is a technique used to date materials usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring 9–3. 0 million years BC),^[12] Paranthropus boisei (c. Paranthropus boisei (originally called Zinjanthropus boisei and then Australopithecus boisei until recently was an early 2. 3–1. 4 million BC)^[13] and Homo ergaster (c. Homo ergaster ("working man" is an extinct Hominid Species (or subspecies according to some authorities which lived throughout eastern 600,000–1. 9 million BC) have been discovered. ^[2]

The Ishango bone, dated to about 25,000 years ago, shows tallies in mathematical notation. The Ishango bone is a Bone tool, dated to the Upper Paleolithic era about 18000 to 20000 BC A tally (or tally stick) was an ancient memory aid device to record and document numbers quantities or even messages See also Table of mathematical symbols Mathematical notation is used in Mathematics, and throughout the Physical sciences, Engineering Throughout humanity's prehistory, Africa (like all other continents) had no nation states, and was instead inhabited by groups of hunter-gatherers such as the Khoi and San. Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" For the online game see Jennifer Government NationStates. The nation-state is a certain form of State that derives its legitimacy A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting The Bushmen, San, Sho, Basarwa, ǃKung or Khwe are indigenous people of southern Africa that spans most areas of South Africa ^[14][15][16]

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 Sub-Saharan Africa. An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries However, the warming and drying climate meant that by 5000 BC the Sahara region was becoming increasingly dry and hostile. The population trekked out of the Sahara region towards the Nile Valley below the Second Cataract where they made permanent or semi-permanent settlements. The cataracts of the Nile are shallow stretches between Aswan and Khartoum where the water's surface is broken by numerous small boulders and stones lying A major climatic recession occurred, lessening the heavy and persistent rains in Central and Eastern Africa. East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. Since this time dry conditions have prevailed in Eastern Africa, and increasingly during the last 200 years, in Ethiopia. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page

The domestication of cattle in Africa preceded agriculture and seems to have existed alongside hunter-gathering cultures. It is speculated that by 6000 BC cattle were already domesticated in North Africa. ^[17] In the Sahara-Nile complex, people domesticated many animals including the pack ass, and a small screw horned goat which was common from Algeria to Nubia. This article is about the region in Africa for other uses see Nubia (disambiguation.

The first known example of the domestication of plants for agricultural purposes on the continent occurred in the Sahel region circa 5000 BC, when sorghum and African rice began to be cultivated. See also Sahel Tunisia, a region of eastern Tunisia. The Sahel or Sahel Belt (from Arabic ساحل sāḥil Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain and many of which are used as Fodder plants either cultivated or as part Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many Around this time, and in the same region, the guinea fowl became domesticated. The guineafowl (sometimes called guineahen are a family of birds in the same order as the Pheasants turkeys and other game birds and is native to

In the year 4000 BC the climate of the Sahara started to become drier at an exceedingly fast pace. ^[18] This climate change caused lakes and rivers to shrink significantly and caused increasing desertification. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations This, in turn, decreased the amount of land conducive to settlements and helped to cause migrations of farming communities to the more tropical climate of West Africa. West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. ^[18]

By 3000 BC agriculture had arisen independently in both the tropical portions of West Africa, where African yams and oil palms were domesticated, and in Ethiopia, where coffee and teff became domesticated. West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page CoFFEE is an Open source Software for computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL in a digital classroom Teff or taf ( Eragrostis tef, Amharic ጤፍ ṭēff, Tigrinya ጣፍ ṭaff) is an annual grass No animals were independently domesticated in these regions, although domestication did spread there from the Sahel and Nile regions. See also Sahel Tunisia, a region of eastern Tunisia. The Sahel or Sahel Belt (from Arabic ساحل sāḥil The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River ^[19] Agricultural crops were also adopted from other regions around this time as pearl millet, cowpea, groundnut, cotton, watermelon and bottle gourds began to be grown agriculturally in both West Africa and the Sahel Region while finger millet, peas, lentil and flax took hold in Ethiopia. The millets are a group of small- Seeded Species of Cereal crops or grains widely grown around the world for Food and Fodder The Cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata) is one of several Species of the widely cultivated genus Vigna. Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp Watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ( Thunb) Matsum & Nakai family Cucurbitaceae) refers to both Fruit and Plant of a vine-like (climber The calabash or African bottle gourd (not to be confused with the Calabaza) is a Vine grown for its fruit which can either be harvested young and used A pea (inaccurately called a '''sweet pea''' by food distubutors is most commonly the small spherical Seed or the seed-pod of the Legume Pisum The lentil or daal or pulse ( Lens culinaris) is a bushy Annual plant of the legume family grown for its lens-shaped Seeds Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (binomial name Linum usitatissimum) is a member of the genus Linum ^[20]

In this period the international phenomenon known as the Beaker culture began to impact upon western North Africa. The Bell-Beaker culture (sometimes shortened to Beaker culture, Beaker people, or Beaker folk; Glockenbecherkultur) ca Named for the distinctively shaped grave ceramics, the Beaker culture is associated with the emergence of a warrior mentality. North African rock art of this period largely depicts animals, but also places a new emphasis on the human figure, equipped with weapons and adornments. People from the Great Lakes Region of Africa settled along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to become the proto-Canaanites who dominated the lowlands between the Jordan River, the Mediterranean and the Sinai Desert. The Great Lakes of Africa are a series of Lakes in and around the geographic Great Rift Valley formed by the action of the tectonic East African

By the 1st millennium BC ironworking had been introduced in Northern Africa and quickly spread across the Sahara into the northern parts of sub-Saharan Africa^[21] and by 500 BC metalworking began to become commonplace in West Africa. Ironwork is any Weapon, artwork, Utensil or architectural feature made of Iron especially used for decoration Ironworking was fully established by roughly 500 BC in many areas of East and West Africa, although other regions didn't begin iron working until the early centuries AD. Copper objects from Egypt, North Africa, Nubia and Ethiopia dating from around 500 BC have been excavated in West Africa, suggesting that trans-saharan trade networks had been established by this date. ^[18]

Early civilisations in Northern Africa

Colossal statues of Ramesses II atAbu Simbel, Egypt, date from around 1400 BC. Abu Simbel ( أبو سنبل or ar '''أبو سمبل''' is an Archaeological site comprising two massive rock Temples in southern Egypt

At about 3300 BC, the historical record opens in Africa with the rise of literacy in the Pharaonic civilisation of Ancient Egypt. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now One of the world's earliest and longest-lasting civilizations, the Egyptian state continued, with varying levels of influence over other areas, until 343 BC. ^[22][23] Egyptian influence reached deep into modern-day Libya, north to Crete and Palestine, and south to the kingdoms of Aksum andNubia. Axum, or Aksum, is a City in northern Ethiopia named after the Kingdom of Aksum, a naval and trading power that ruled from the region ca This article is about the region in Africa for other uses see Nubia (disambiguation. An independent centre of civilisation with trading links to Phoenecia was estblished on the north-west African coast at Carthage. A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements Phoenecia is an IDM duo from Miami, Florida comprising Romulo del Castillo and Joshua Kay Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers ^[24][25]

Following the conquest of North Africa's Mediterranean coastline by the Roman Empire, the area was integrated economically and culturally into the Roman system. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Roman settlement occurred in modern Tunisia and elsewhere along the coast. Christianity spread across these areas from Palestine via Egypt, also passing south, beyond the borders of the Roman world into Nubia and by at least the 6th century into Ethiopia. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings This article is about the region in Africa for other uses see Nubia (disambiguation. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page

In the early seventh century, the newly formed Arabian Islamic Caliphate expanded into Egypt, and then into North Africa. A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) is the political leadership of the Muslim community in classical and medieval Islamic history In a short while the local Berber elite had been integrated into Muslim Arab tribes. When the Ummayad capital Damascus fell in the eight century, the Islamic center of the Mediterranean shifted from Syria to Qayrawan in North Africa. Kairouan ( Arabic القيروان (also known as Kirwan, Al Qayrawan) is a Muslim holy city which ranks after Mecca, Medina Islamic North Africa had become diverse, and a hub for mystics, scholars, jurists and philosophers. During the above mentioned period, Islam spread to sub-Saharan Africa, mainly through trade routes and migration. ^[26]

Sub-saharan Africa

Even after the Sahara had become a desert, it did not present a totally impenetrable barrier for travellers between north and south. The Sahara (الصحراء الكبرى aṣ-ṣaḥrā´ al-kubra, "The Great Desert" is the world's largest hot Desert and the world's second largest Prior to the introduction of the camel^[27] the use of oxen for desert crossing was common, and trade routes followed chains of oases that were strung across the desert. Camels are Even-toed ungulates within the Genus Camelus. The Dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and the In Geography, an oasis (plural oases) or Cienega ( Southwestern United States) is an isolated area of vegetation in a Desert, typically It is thought that the camel was first brought to Egypt sfter the Persian Empire conquered Egypt in 525 BC, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa to establish the trans-Saharan trade until the eighth century AD. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Trans-Saharan trade is trade across the Sahara between Mediterranean countries and West Africa. ^[28] The Sanhaja Berbers were the first to exploit this. The Sanhaja (also commonly spelled "Sanhadja" were one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb, along with the Zanata Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley.

Pre-colonial Africa possessed perhaps as many as 10,000 different states and polities^[29] characterised by many different sorts of political organisation and rule. 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-speaking people of central and southern Africa, heavily-structured clan groups in the Horn of Africa, the large Sahelian Kingdoms, and autonomous city-states such as those of the Yoruba in West Africa, and the Swahili coastal trading towns of East Africa. The Bushmen, San, Sho, Basarwa, ǃKung or Khwe are indigenous people of southern Africa that spans most areas of South Africa Bantu may refer to Bantu expansion, a series of migrations of Bantu speakers Bantu languages Bantu people The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa The Swahili are a people and culture found on the coast of East Africa, mainly the coastal regions and the islands of Kenya and Tanzania, and north East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent.

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. The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire (existed c 750 - 1076) was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, Western Mali Gao is a city in Mali and capital of the Gao Region on the River Niger, with a population of 57978 in 2005 Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13th century. The Mali Empire or Manding Empire or Manden Kurufa was a Medieval West African civilization of the Mandinka from c Kanem accepted Islam in the 11th century.

The Songhai Empire, c. 1500

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, also known as Sunni Ali Ber or "Sunni Ali" who Reigned from about 1464 to 1492 was the first great king of the Songhai Empire, located The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire was a pre-colonial African state of west Africa. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Jenne in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. Timbuktu ( Timbuctoo; Koyra Chiini: Tumbutu; French: Tombouctou) is a city in Tombouctou Region, in the West African His successor Askiya Mohammad Ture (1493 - 1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d. 1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship, to Gao. ^[30] By the 11th 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. Kano is the administrative center of the Kano State and the third largest City in Nigeria, in terms Location Jigawa State is one of thirty-six States that constitute Federal Republic of Nigeria Katsina is also an alternative spelling the Pueblo religious practices of Kachina. Gobir was a city-state in what is now Nigeria. Founded by the Hausa in the eleventh century Gobir was one of the seven original kingdoms of Hausaland, A camel train is a series of Camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points Until the 15th 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.

In the forested regions of the West African coast, independent kingdoms grew up with little influence from the Muslim north. Ife, historically the first of these Yoruba city-states, established government under a priestly king, or Oni. Ife (Ifè also Ilé-Ifẹ̀) is an ancient Yoruba City in south-western Nigeria. Ife was noted as the religious and cultural centre of the region, and for its unique naturalistic tradition of bronze sculpture. The Ife model of government was adapted at Oyo, where a member of its ruling dynasty controlled several smaller city-states. The Oyo Empire (c 1400 - 1835 was a West African empire of what is today western Nigeria. By the 15th century the Oyo Empire had cut off the mother city from the savanna. Yorubaland established a community in the Edo-speaking area east of Ife at the beginning of the 14th century. This developed into the Benin Empire. The Benin Empire or Edo Empire (1440-1897 was a large pre-colonial African state of modern Nigeria. By the 15th century Benin had become an independent trading power, blocking Ife's access to the coastal ports. Benin, which may have housed 100,000 inhabitants at its height, spread over twenty-five square kilometres, and was enclosed by three concentric rings of earthworks. By the late 15th century Benin was in contact with Portugal. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. At its apogee in the 16th and 17th centuries, Benin encompassed parts of southeastern Yorubaland and the western Igbo.

Between the seventh and fifteenth centuries, the Arab slave trade emerged, which by the twentieth century would eventually take as many as 18 million slaves from Africa to parts of the Muslim world. The Arab Slave trade was the practice of Slavery in West Asia, North Africa, East Africa, and certain parts of Europe (such ^[31][32] This was as voluminous as the later Atlantic slave trade. The Atlantic Slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trade of African people supplied to the Colonies of the New World ^[33]

In 1418, the fifth expedition by Chinese admiral Zheng He reached Africa's east coast. Zheng He ( Birth name 馬三寶 / 马三宝; Arabic / Persian name حجّي محمود شمس Hajji Mahmud Shams) (1371&ndash1433 was a Hui The two later Zheng He voyages, the last in 1432, also sailed to East Africa. The Chinese travelled at least as far as Malindi in Kenya. In 1482, the Portuguese established the first of many trading stations along the coast of Ghana at Elmina. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Elmina is a town situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, lying west of Cape Coast. The chief commodities dealt in were slaves, gold, ivory and spices. The European discovery of the Americas in 1492 was followed by a great development of the slave trade, which, before the Portuguese era, had been an overland trade almost exclusively,^[34] and never confined to any one continent. The history of slavery uncovers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout history ^[35]

In West Africa, the decline of the Atlantic slave trade in the 1820s caused dramatic economic shifts in local polities. West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. The Atlantic Slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trade of African people supplied to the Colonies of the New World 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 navy's increasing presence off the West African coast (see West Africa Squadron), obliged African states to adopt new economies. The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The West Africa Squadron, established in 1808 after the passing of the Slave Trade Act in 1807 was a unit of the Royal Navy that was involved in the suppression 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. Ashanti, or Asante, are a major Ethnic group of Ashanti Region in Ghana. The Oyo Empire (c 1400 - 1835 was a West African empire of what is today western Nigeria. 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. Palm oil is an edible plant oil derived from the Fruit of the Arecaceae Elaeis Oil palm. Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which Chocolate is made Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The Oyo Empire, unable to adapt, collapsed into civil wars. ^[36]

In Southern Africa, centred on where modern day Zimbabwe is was the ancient civilisation of the empire of Great Zimbabwe. See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election The Great Zimbabwe, or "stone buildings" is the name given to hundreds of great stone Ruins spread out over a 500 km² (200 square mile area within the modern-day This is thought to have had trading routes extending widely across the region.

Pre-colonial exploration

In the mid-nineteenth century, European explorers became interested in exploring the heart of the continent and opening the area for trade, mining and other commercial exploitation. This list of explorers is sorted by surname See also the links below. In addition, there was a desire to convert the inhabitants to Christianity. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The central area of Africa was still largely unknown to Europeans at this time. David Livingstone explored the continent between 1852 and his death in 1873; amongst other claims to fame, he was the first European to see the Victoria Falls. Dr David Livingstone (19 March 1813 &ndash 1 May 1873 was a British Congregationalist pioneer medical Missionary with the London Missionary Society The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders is a Waterfall situated in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between A prime goal for explorers was to locate the source of the River Nile. The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River Expeditions by Burton and Speke (1857–1858) and Speke and Grant (1863) located Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria. Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 &ndash 20 October 1890 was an English Explorer, Translator, writer John Hannington Speke ( May 4 1827 &ndash September 15 1864) was an officer in the British Indian army who made three voyages of exploration James Augustus Grant ( April 11, 1827 &mdash February 11, 1892) was a Scottish explorer of eastern equatorial Africa Lake Tanganyika is a large Lake in central Africa (3° 20' to 8° 48' South and from 29° 5' to 31° 15' East Lake Victoria or Victoria Nyanza (also known as Ukerewe and Nalubaale) is one of the Great Lakes of Africa. The latter was eventually proven as the main source of the Nile. With subsequent expeditions by Baker and Stanley, Africa was well explored by the end of the century and this was to lead the way for the colonization which followed. Sir Samuel White Baker, KCB, FRS, FRGS (b 8 June 1821 - † 30 December, 1893) was a British Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands ( January 28 1841 &ndash May 10 1904) was a British journalist Colonisation (also known as Colonization) occurs whenever any one or more species populates a new area

Colonialism and the "scramble for Africa"

Main article: Colonization of Africa

Map showing European territorial claims on the African continent in 1914

In the late nineteenth century, the European imperial powers engaged in a major territorial scramble and occupied most of the continent, creating many colonial nation states, and leaving only two independent nations: Liberia, an independent state partly settled by African Americans; and Orthodox Christian Ethiopia (known to Europeans as "Abyssinia"). The colonisation of Africa has a long history the most famous phase Imperialism has two meanings one describing an action and the other describing an attitude The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa, was the proliferation of conflicting European claims to African territory during the New This article is about a type of political territory For other uses see Colony (disambiguation. Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in transliterated Amharic: Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Colonial rule by Europeans would continue until after the conclusion of World War II, when all colonial states gradually obtained formal independence. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Colonialism had a destabilising effect on a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in African politics. See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism Before European influence, national borders were not much of a concern, with Africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world, such as the Arabian Peninsula, where a group's territory was congruent with its military or trade influence. The European insistence of drawing borders around territories to isolate them from those of other colonial powers often had the effect of separating otherwise contiguous political groups, or forcing traditional enemies to live side by side with no buffer between them. For example, although the Congo River appears to be a natural geographic boundary, there were groups that otherwise shared a language, culture or other similarity living on both sides. The Congo River (for a time known as the Zaire River) is the largest River in Western Central Africa. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic The division of the land between Belgium and France along the river isolated these groups from each other. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Those who lived in Saharan or Sub-Saharan Africa and traded across the continent for centuries often found themselves crossing borders that existed only on European maps. Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries

In nations that had substantial European populations, for example Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Angola, Mozambique, Kenya and South Africa, systems of second-class citizenship were often set up in order to give Europeans political power far in excess of their numbers. Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colony of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent ( Unilateral Declaration of Independence See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Political power ( Imperium in Latin is a type of power held by a group in a Society which allows administration of some or all of In the Congo Free State, personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium, the native population was submitted to inhumane treatment, and a near slavery status assorted with forced labor. The Congo Free State was a Corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II King of the Belgians through a dummy non-governmental organization the Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909 was King of the Belgians. However, the lines were not always drawn strictly across racial lines. In Liberia, citizens who were descendants of American slaves had a political system for over 100 years that gave ex-slaves and natives to the area roughly equal legislative power despite the fact the ex-slaves were outnumbered ten to one in the general population. Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation

Europeans often altered the local balance of power, created ethnic divides where they did not previously exist, and introduced a cultural dichotomy detrimental to the native inhabitants in the areas they controlled. For example, in what are now Rwanda and Burundi, two ethnic groups Hutus and Tutsis had merged into one culture by the time German colonists had taken control of the region in the nineteenth century. The Republic of Rwanda (ruːˈændə or /rəˈwɑːndə/ in English ɾwanda or in Kinyarwanda is a small Landlocked country in the Burundi (buˈɾundi officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda The The Tutsi are one of three native Peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Twa No longer divided by ethnicity as intermingling, intermarriage, and merging of cultural practices over the centuries had long since erased visible signs of a culture divide, Belgium instituted a policy of racial categorization upon taking control of the region, as racially based categorization and philosophies were a fixture of the European culture of that time. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The term Hutu originally referred to the agricultural-based Bantu-speaking peoples that moved into present day Rwanda and Burundi from the West, and the term Tutsi referred to Northeastern cattle-based peoples that migrated into the region later. Bantu may refer to Bantu expansion, a series of migrations of Bantu speakers Bantu languages Bantu people The terms described a person's economic class; individuals who owned roughly 10 or more cattle were considered Tutsi, and those with fewer were considered Hutu, regardless of ancestral history. This was not a strict line but a general rule of thumb, and one could move from Hutu to Tutsi and vice versa.

The Belgians introduced a racialized system; European-like features such as fairer skin, ample height, narrow noses were seen as more ideally Hamitic, and belonged to those people closest to Tutsi in ancestry, who were thus given power amongst the colonised peoples. Hamitic is an obsolete ethno-linguistic classification of some Ethnic groups within the Afro-Asiatic (previously termed "Hamito-Semitic" language family Identity cards were issued based on this philosophy.

Tunisia was the first country in Africa to gain independence, doing so in 1956. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. The decades-long struggle for independence from France was led by Habib Bourguiba, founder of the Republic of Tunisia. Habib Bourguiba (حبيب بورقيبة Ḥabīb Būrqība ( August 3, 1903 &ndash April 6, 2000) was a Tunisian statesman and the

Post-colonial Africa

Today, Africa contains 53 independent and sovereign countries, most of which still have the borders drawn during the era of European colonialism.

Since colonialism, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union The vast majority of African nations are republics that operate under some form of the presidential system of rule. A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its A presidential system is a System of government where an executive branch exists and presides (hence the term separately from the Legislature However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic governments, and many have instead cycled through a series of coups, producing military dictatorships. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system A military dictatorship is a Form of government wherein the political power resides with the Military; it is similar but not identical to a Stratocracy, A number of Africa's post-colonial political leaders were military generals who were poorly educated and ignorant on matters of governance. Great instability, however, was mainly the result of marginalization of other ethnic groups and graft under these leaders. For political gain, many leaders fanned ethnic conflicts that had been exacerbated, or even created, by colonial rule. In Politics and Sociology, divide and rule (derived from Latin divide et impera) (also known as divide and conquer) is a combination In many countries, the military was perceived as being the only group that could effectively maintain order, and it ruled many nations in Africa during the 1970s and early 1980s. For the military meaning see Armed forces. For the Soviet sports society see Armed Forces (sports society Armed Forces During the period from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, Africa had more than 70 coups and 13 presidential assassinations. AssassiNation is the sixth album by Krisiun, released in 2006 on Century Media. Border and territorial disputes were also common, with the European-imposed borders of many nations being widely contested through armed conflicts.

Cold War conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as the policies of the International Monetary Fund, also played a role in instability. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The International Monetary Fund ( IMF) is an International organization that oversees the Global financial system by following the Macroeconomic When a country became independent for the first time, it was often expected to align with one of the two superpowers. A superpower is a State with a leading position in the international system and the ability to Influence events and project power on a worldwide scale Many countries in Northern Africa received Soviet military aid, while many in Central and Southern Africa were supported by the United States, France or both. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The 1970s saw an escalation, as newly independent Angola and Mozambique aligned themselves with the Soviet Union, and the West and South Africa sought to contain Soviet influence by funding insurgency movements. Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa There was a major famine in Ehtiopia in 1984-85 Ethiopian famine of 1984–85, when hundreds of thousands of people starved. The 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia were two famines that occurred simultaneously in Ethiopia, of which the northern is the most prominent

AIDS has also been a prevalent issue in post-colonial Africa. See article AIDS in Africa. The HIV / AIDS epidemics spreading through the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa are highly varied

Politics

Political map of Africa. (Hover mouse to see name, click area to go to article. )

The African Union (AU) is a federation consisting of all of Africa's states except Morocco. The African Union (abbreviated AU in English, and UA in its other working languages is a Confederation consisting of 53  African Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa The union was formed, with Addis Ababa as its headquarters, on June 26, 2001. Addis Ababa (sometimes spelled Addis Abeba, the spelling used by the official Ethiopian Mapping Authority Amharic Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. 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 Pan-African Parliament, also known as the African Parliament is the legislative body of the African Union. Midrand is in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was established as a Local Municipality in 1981 but was incorporated into Region 2 of the City The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights ( ACHPR) is a Quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting Human rights and collective Addis Ababa (sometimes spelled Addis Abeba, the spelling used by the official Ethiopian Mapping Authority Amharic There is a policy in effect to decentralise the African Federation's institutions so that they are shared by all the states.

The African Union, not to be confused with the AU Commission, is formed by an Act of Union which aims to transform the African Economic Community, a federated commonwealth, into a state, under established international conventions. The African Economic Community (abbreviated AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority The African Union has a parliamentary government, known as the African Union Government, consisting of legislative, judicial and executive organs, and led by the African Union President and Head of State, who is also the President of the Pan African Parliament. The Assembly of the African Union, which is formally known as the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government AU-AHSG, is one of several decision-making bodies within The Pan-African Parliament, also known as the African Parliament is the legislative body of the African Union. A person becomes AU President by being elected to the PAP, and subsequently gaining majority support in the PAP.

President Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella is the Head of State and Chief of Government of the African Union, by virtue of the fact that she is the President of the Pan African Parliament. Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella is the president of the Pan-African Parliament. She was elected by Parliament in its inaugural session in March 2004, for a term of five years. The PAP consists of 265 legislators, five from each constituent state of the African Union. Over 21% of the members are female.

The powers and authority of the President of the African Parliament derive from the Union 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 Pan-African Parliament, also known as the African Parliament is the legislative body of the African Union. The Organisation of African Unity ( OAU) or Organisation de l'Unité Africaine ( OUA) was established on 25 May 1963. The government of the AU consists of all-union (federal), regional, state, and municipal authorities, as well as hundreds of institutions, that together manage the day-to-day affairs of the institution.

Failed state policies, inequitable global trade practices, and climatic conditions (especially drought) have resulted in many widespread famines, and significant portions of Africa remain with distribution systems unable to disseminate enough food or water for the population to survive. A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation What had before colonialism been the source for 90% of the world's gold has become the poorest continent on earth, its former riches enjoyed by those on other continents. The spread of disease is also rampant, especially the spread of the HIV and the associated AIDS, which has become a deadly pandemic on the continent. A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly Human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV) is a Lentivirus (a member of the Retrovirus family that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome A pandemic (from Greek παν pan all + δήμος demos people is an Epidemic of Infectious disease that spreads through

There are clear signs of increased networking among African organisations and states. In the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (former Zaire), rather than rich, non-African countries intervening, neighbouring African countries became involved (see also Second Congo War). The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to The Republic of Zaire (pronunciation; République du Zaïre was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between October 27, 1971 The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Since the conflict began in 1998, the estimated death toll has reached 4 million. ^[37] Political associations such as the African Union offer hope for greater co-operation and peace between the continent's many countries. The African Union (abbreviated AU in English, and UA in its other working languages is a Confederation consisting of 53  African 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 Côte d'Ivoire. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election Côte d'Ivoire (ˌkoʊt divˈwɑː(r ' in English, kot diˈvwaʀ in French) or Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a

Country name changes

See also: Africanization

Numerous African countries have undergone name changes during the previous century as the result of consolidations and secessions, territories gaining sovereignty, and regime changes. Africanization (lit making something African or Africanized has been applied in various contexts notably in naming and in the composition of staff Secession (derived from the Latin term secessio is the act of withdrawing from an organization union or especially a political entity Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself " Regime change " is literally the replacement of one Regime with another

Economy

Main article: Economy of Africa

African Economic Community map

Although it has abundant natural resources, Africa remains the world's poorest and most underdeveloped continent, due largely to the effects of: tropical diseases, the slave trade, corrupt governments, failed central planning, the international trade regime and geopolitics; as well as widespread human rights violations, the negative effects of colonialism, despotism, illiteracy, superstition, tribal savagery and military conflict (ranging from war and civil war to guerrilla warfare to genocide). Angola was the name of the Portuguese overseas colonies and later a Portuguese overseas province on the south-west African coast which now form the republic of Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa. The Bechuanaland Protectorate (BP was a protectorate established on March 31, 1885, by the United Kingdom in Southern Africa. The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. The Republic of Upper Volta (République de Haute-Volta was established on December 11, 1958, as a Self-governing colony within the French Burkina Faso (bɚˌkiːnəˈfɑːsoʊ burr-KEE-na FAH-soh) also known by its short-form name Burkina, is a Landlocked nation in West Africa Oubangui-Chari, or Ubangi-Shari, was a French territory in central Africa which later became the independent country of the Central African Central Africa|Central African FederationThe Central African Republic ( CAR) République Centrafricaine ʀepyblik sɑ̃tʀafʀikɛn or Centrafrique) is a Landlocked The Republic of Zaire (pronunciation; République du Zaïre was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between October 27, 1971 The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to The Republic of the Congo (République du Congo Kongo: Repubilika ya Kongo; Lingala: Republiki ya Kongó) also known as Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo (République du Congo Kongo: Repubilika ya Kongo; Lingala: Republiki ya Kongó) also known as Congo-Brazzaville Côte d'Ivoire (ˌkoʊt divˈwɑː(r ' in English, kot diˈvwaʀ in French) or Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a Côte d'Ivoire (ˌkoʊt divˈwɑː(r ' in English, kot diˈvwaʀ in French) or Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a The Republic of Djibouti gained its independence on June 27 1977 Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Spanish Guinea was an African Colony of Spain that became the independent nation of Equatorial Guinea. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( República de Guinea Ecuatorial,) is a country in Central Africa. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page This article is about the British colony in west Africa 1821-1957 The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the French West Africa ( Afrique occidentale française, AOF) was a Federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (pronounced /ˈgɪni/ République de Guinée is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea Portuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974. The Republic of Guinea-Bissau (ˈgɪni bɨˈsaʊ República da Guiné-Bissau ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɐ giˈnɛ biˈsau is a country in Western Africa, and one of the smallest Lesotho (lɪˈsuːtuː &mdash had been populated by Khoi Khoi (Qhuaique for possibly as long as 40000 years Lesotho (lɪˈsuːtuː) officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a Landlocked country and Enclave — entirely surrounded by the Republic of South The History of Malawi covers the area of present-day Malawi. The region was once part of the Maravi Empire. The Republic of Malawi (məˈlɑːwi or; formerly Nyasaland) is in southern Africa. French Sudan (Soudan was a Colony in French West Africa that had two separate periods of existence first from 1890 to 1899 then from 1920 to 1960 when the Mali, officially the Republic of Mali (République du Mali is a Landlocked nation in Western Africa. South-West Africa (Afrikaans Suidwes-Afrika; German Südwestafrika) was the name of what is today the Republic of Namibia. Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika was a German Colony in East Africa, including what is now Burundi, Rwanda and Tanganyika Ruanda-Urundi was a Belgian Suzerainty from 1916 to 1924 a League of Nations Class B Mandate from 1924 to 1945 and then a UN trust territory The Republic of Rwanda (ruːˈændə or /rəˈwɑːndə/ in English ɾwanda or in Kinyarwanda is a small Landlocked country in the Burundi (buˈɾundi officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda British Somaliland was a British Protectorate in the north part of the Horn of Africa. Italian Somalia (also known as Italian Somaliland) was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia) from the 1880s until 1942 in the territory Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known Zanzibar ( is part of the East African republic of Tanzania. It consists of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Tanganyika is the name of an East African territory lying between the largest of the African great lakes Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya Buganda is the kingdom of the Baganda people the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda. The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by The Republic of Zambia (ˈzæmbɪə is a Landlocked country in Southern Africa. Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British Colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa, and known today as Zimbabwe See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election The economy of Africa consists of the Trade, Industry, and resources of the peoples of Africa. The African Economic Community (abbreviated AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority Natural resources are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified ( natural) form Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions This article discusses systems of slavery within Africa the history and effects of the slavery trade upon Africa Since 1995, Transparency International has published an annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI ordering the countries of the world according to "the degree A planned economy or directed economy is an Economic system in which the Government or Workers' councils manages the Economy. Geopolitics is the study that analyzes Geography, History and Social science with reference to Spatial politics and patterns at various scales Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled The historical phenomenon of Colonisation is one that stretches around the globe and across time including such disparate peoples as the Hittites, the Incas and the Despotism is a Form of government by a single authority either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write or the ability to use Language to read, write, listen, Superstition ( Latin superstitio, literally "standing over" derived perhaps from standing in awe used in Latin as a unreasonable or excessive belief War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units A civil war is a War between a State and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group ^[38] According to the United Nations' Human Development Report in 2003, the bottom 25 ranked nations (151st to 175th) were all African nations. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security ^[39]

Widespread poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and inadequate water supply and sanitation, as well as poor health, affect a large majority of the people who reside in the African continent, where 36. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write or the ability to use Language to read, write, listen, Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or insufficient diet. 2% of the population is living on under $1 per day. Africa is by far the world's poorest inhabited continent, and on average, in 2003 it was poorer than it was in 1973. ^[40]

Some areas, notably Botswana and South Africa, have experienced economic success. The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The latter has a wealth of natural resources, being the world's leading producer of both gold and diamonds, and having a well-established legal system. Natural resources are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified ( natural) form Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 In Mineralogy, diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in South Africa also has access to financial capital, numerous markets, skilled labor, and first world infrastructure in much of the country and has one of the major stock exchanges of the continent, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. A stock exchange, share market or bourse is a Corporation or Mutual organization which provides "trading" facilities for Stock

Over a quarter of Botswana's budget (also a major diamond producer) goes toward improving the infrastructure of Gaborone, the nation's capital, largest city, and one of the world's fastest growing cities. Gaborone (pronunciation /ˌɡæbəˈroʊni/ estimated population 208411 ( 1 January 2005) is the Capital Other African countries are making comparable progress, such as Ghana, Cameroon and Egypt. The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.

On the other hand, 80% of Zimbabweans are unemployed. See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election Two million of the country's residents have fled to Botswana and South Africa. Inflation rates, which fluctuate wildly, average out to more than 1000% a year, and the Zimbabwean dollar has depreciated against the U. S. dollar from 38 to 1 in 1999 to more than 5,000 to 1. Hunger and starvation are widespread, and consumer shortages abound. Since 1998, Zimbabwe's per capita gross domestic product has slid from about $700 to less than $200. Death rates have skyrocketed, and school attendance has plummeted. Once a country with a strong economy for Sub-Saharan Africa's standards, natural resources and a tolerant society, Zimbabwe is now one of the poorest and most bitterly divided countries in the continent, brought to ruin in less than two decades. Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries

Nigeria sits on one of the largest proven oil reserves in the world and has the highest population among nations in Africa, with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal

From 1995 to 2005, economic growth picked up, averaging 5% in 2005. However, some countries experienced much higher growth (10+%) in particular, Angola, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, all three of which have recently begun extracting their petroleum reserves or have expanded their oil extraction capacity. Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( República de Guinea Ecuatorial,) is a country in Central Africa. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit West Texas PumpjackJPG|thumb|right|300px|This Pumpjack located south of Midland TX is a common sight in West Texas.

Country	Total GDP (nominal) in 2007[41] (billion US$)	GDP (PPP) per capita in 2007[42] (US$)	HDI in 2005[43]
Algeria	&0000000000000114. In Political geography and International politics, a country is a Political division of a geographical entity PLEASE NO RANDOM FIGURES THERE ARE NO FIGURES BASED ON NATIONAL STATISTICS IN THIS ARTICLE This article includes three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP at Purchasing power parity (PPP Per capita This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in the United Nations Development Program 's Human Development Report 2007 Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's 730000114. 73	&0000000000005985. 0000005,985	&0000000000000000. 7330000. 733
Angola	&0000000000000044. Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central 03000044. 03	&0000000000003533. 0000003,533	&0000000000000000. 4460000. 446
Benin	&0000000000000004. Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa. 7800004. 78	&0000000000001390. 0000001,390	&0000000000000000. 4370000. 437
Botswana	&0000000000000010. The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. 33000010. 33	&0000000000016450. 00000016,450	&0000000000000000. 6540000. 654
Burkina Faso	&0000000000000006. Burkina Faso (bɚˌkiːnəˈfɑːsoʊ burr-KEE-na FAH-soh) also known by its short-form name Burkina, is a Landlocked nation in West Africa 2100006. 21	&0000000000001140. 0000001,140	&0000000000000000. 3700000. 370
Burundi	&0000000000000000. Burundi (buˈɾundi officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda 8100000. 81	&0000000000000372. 000000372	&0000000000000000. 4130000. 413
Cameroon	&0000000000000018. The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. 32000018. 32	&0000000000001995. 0000001,995	&0000000000000000. 5320000. 532
Cape Verde	&0000000000000001. The Republic of Cape Verde ( Portuguese: Cabo Verde, 'kabu 'veɾdɨ is a Republic located on an Archipelago in the Macaronesia 1400001. 14	&0000000000002831. 0000002,831	&0000000000000000. 7360000. 736
Central African Republic	&0000000000000001. Central Africa|Central African FederationThe Central African Republic ( CAR) République Centrafricaine ʀepyblik sɑ̃tʀafʀikɛn or Centrafrique) is a Landlocked 4900001. 49	&0000000000000726. 000000726	&0000000000000000. 3840000. 384
Chad	&0000000000000006. Chad (Tchad تشاد Tshād) officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a Landlocked country in Central Africa. 5400006. 54	&0000000000001749. 0000001,749	&0000000000000000. 3880000. 388
Comoros	&0000000000000000. The Comoros (ˈkɒməroʊz; جزر القمر Juzur al-Qumur) officially the Union of the Comoros (Union des Comores الإتّحاد القمريّ 4. 0E+50. 40	&0000000000001063. 0000001,063	&0000000000000000. 5610000. 561
Democratic Republic of the Congo	&0000000000000008. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to 5400008. 54	&0000000000000309. 000000309	&0000000000000000. 4110000. 411
Congo	&0000000000000007. The Republic of the Congo (République du Congo Kongo: Repubilika ya Kongo; Lingala: Republiki ya Kongó) also known as Congo-Brazzaville 3900007. 39	&0000000000003621. 0000003,621	&0000000000000000. 5480000. 548
Côte d'Ivoire	&0000000000000017. Côte d'Ivoire (ˌkoʊt divˈwɑː(r ' in English, kot diˈvwaʀ in French) or Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a 48000017. 48	&0000000000001575. 0000001,575	&0000000000000000. 4320000. 432
Djibouti	&0000000000000000. Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the 7600000. 76	&0000000000001964. 0000001,964	&0000000000000000. 5160000. 516
Egypt	&0000000000000107. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. 480000107. 48	&0000000000005051. 0000005,051	&0000000000000000. 7080000. 708
Equatorial Guinea	&0000000000000008. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( República de Guinea Ecuatorial,) is a country in Central Africa. 5600008. 56	&0000000000012895. 00000012,895	&0000000000000000. 6420000. 642
Eritrea	&0000000000000001. Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in 0900001. 09	&0000000000000774. 000000774	&0000000000000000. 4830000. 483
Ethiopia	&0000000000000013. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page 32000013. 32	&0000000000000806. 000000806	&0000000000000000. 4060000. 406
Gabon	&0000000000000009. Gabon (gəˈbɒn or /gaˈbõ/ in French) is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic 5500009. 55	&0000000000014083. 00000014,083	&0000000000000000. 6770000. 677
Gambia	&0000000000000000. 5100000. 51	&0000000000001326. 0000001,326	&0000000000000000. 5020000. 502
Ghana	&0000000000000012. The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the 91000012. 91	&0000000000001225. 0000001,225	&0000000000000000. 5530000. 553
Guinea	&0000000000000003. Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (pronounced /ˈgɪni/ République de Guinée is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea 3200003. 32	&0000000000001074. 0000001,074	&0000000000000000. 4560000. 456
Guinea-Bissau	&0000000000000000. The Republic of Guinea-Bissau (ˈgɪni bɨˈsaʊ República da Guiné-Bissau ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɐ giˈnɛ biˈsau is a country in Western Africa, and one of the smallest 3. 0E+50. 30	&0000000000000484. 000000484	&0000000000000000. 3740000. 374
Kenya	&0000000000000021. The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south 19000021. 19	&0000000000001359. 0000001,359	&0000000000000000. 5210000. 521
Lesotho	&0000000000000001. Lesotho (lɪˈsuːtuː) officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a Landlocked country and Enclave — entirely surrounded by the Republic of South 4800001. 48	&0000000000001415. 0000001,415	&0000000000000000. 5490000. 549
Liberia	&0000000000000000. Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire 6300000. 63	&0000000000000357. 000000357	&0000000000000000. 3310000. 331 (in 1993) N/A
Libya	&0000000000000050. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab 32000050. 32	&0000000000012277. 00000012,277	&0000000000000000. 8180000. 818
Madagascar	&0000000000000005. Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern 5. 0E+55. 50	&0000000000001068. 0000001,068	&0000000000000000. 5330000. 533
Malawi	&0000000000000002. The Republic of Malawi (məˈlɑːwi or; formerly Nyasaland) is in southern Africa. 2300002. 23	&0000000000000785. 000000785	&0000000000000000. 4370000. 437
Mali	&0000000000000005. Mali, officially the Republic of Mali (République du Mali is a Landlocked nation in Western Africa. 9300005. 93	&0000000000001027. 0000001,027	&0000000000000000. 3800000. 380
Mauritania	&0000000000000002. Mauritania (موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country 6600002. 66	&0000000000001691. 0000001,691	&0000000000000000. 5500000. 550
Mauritius	&0000000000000006. Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République 4500006. 45	&0000000000011152. 00000011,152	&0000000000000000. 8040000. 804
Morocco	&0000000000000057. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa 31000057. 31	&0000000000003547. 0000003,547	&0000000000000000. 6460000. 646
Mozambique	&0000000000000007. Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa 6100007. 61	&0000000000000830. 000000830	&0000000000000000. 3840000. 384
Namibia	&0000000000000006. Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast 3700006. 37	&0000000000004547. 0000004,547	&0000000000000000. 6500000. 650
Niger	&0000000000000003. Niger ( or /ˈnaɪdʒɚ/) officially the Republic of Niger, is a Landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. 5400003. 54	&0000000000000667. 000000667	&0000000000000000. 3740000. 374
Nigeria	&0000000000000114. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal 690000114. 69	&0000000000001892. 0000001,892	&0000000000000000. 4700000. 470
Réunion (France)	&0000000000000015. Réunion ( French: Réunion or formally La Réunion; previously Île Bourbon) is an island located in the Indian Ocean, east of This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. 98000015. 98[44]	&0000000000019233. 00000019,233 (nominal)[44]	&0000000000000000. 8500000. 850 (in 2003)[45]
Rwanda	&0000000000000002. The Republic of Rwanda (ruːˈændə or /rəˈwɑːndə/ in English ɾwanda or in Kinyarwanda is a small Landlocked country in the 4900002. 49	&0000000000000899. 000000899	&0000000000000000. 4520000. 452
São Tomé and Príncipe	&0000000000000000. São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an Island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial 1200000. 12	&0000000000001460. 0000001,460	&0000000000000000. 6540000. 654
Senegal	&0000000000000008. Senegal (le Sénégal officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. 9400008. 94	&0000000000001676. 0000001,676	&0000000000000000. 4990000. 499
Seychelles	&0000000000000000. Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole 7500000. 75	&0000000000016642. 00000016,642	&0000000000000000. 8430000. 843
Sierra Leone	&0000000000000001. Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. 4400001. 44	&0000000000000692. 000000692	&0000000000000000. 3360000. 336
Somalia	&-1000000000000000. Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known 0600000. 06[42]	&0000000000000600. 000000600	&0000000000000000. 2210000. 221 (in 1993) N/A
South Africa	&0000000000000254. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa 990000254. 99	&0000000000009761. 0000009,761	&0000000000000000. 6740000. 674
Sudan	&0000000000000037. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. 57000037. 57	&0000000000002249. 0000002,249	&0000000000000000. 5260000. 526
Swaziland	&0000000000000002. The Kingdom of Swaziland is a country located in Southern Africa centred at approximately 26o49'S 31o38'E 6500002. 65	&0000000000004384. 0000004,384	&0000000000000000. 5470000. 547
Tanzania	&0000000000000012. Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya 78000012. 78	&0000000000001018. 0000001,018	&0000000000000000. 4670000. 467
Togo	&0000000000000002. TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company famous for inventing the Stand-up roller coaster. 2100002. 21	&0000000000000806. 000000806	&0000000000000000. 5120000. 512
Tunisia	&0000000000000030. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. 3. 0E+530. 30	&0000000000006461. 0000006,461	&0000000000000000. 7660000. 766
Uganda	&0000000000000009. The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. 3200009. 32	&0000000000000939. 000000939	&0000000000000000. 5050000. 505
Zambia	&0000000000000010. The Republic of Zambia (ˈzæmbɪə is a Landlocked country in Southern Africa. 91000010. 91	&0000000000001175. 0000001,175	&0000000000000000. 4340000. 434
Zimbabwe	&0000000000000005. See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election 0100005. 01	&0000000000000188. 000000188	&0000000000000000. 5130000. 513

Demographics

Main articles: African people and Demographics of Africa

The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population; hence, this population is relatively young. The term African people can refer to people who live in Africa, or people who trace their ancestry to Indigenous inhabitants of Africa. The population of Africa has grown exponentially over the past century and consequently shows a large Youth bulge, further reinforced by a low In some African states half or more of the population is under 25 years old. ^[46]

Speakers of Bantu languages (part of the Niger-Congo family) are the majority in southern, central and East Africa proper. The Bantu languages (technically Narrow Bantu languages) constitute a grouping belonging to the Niger-Congo family But there are also several Nilotic groups in East Africa, and a few remaining indigenous Khoisan ('San' or 'Bushmen') and Pygmy peoples in southern and central Africa, respectively. Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage refers to some Ethnic groups mainly in Southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern The indigenous peoples of Africa are those Peoples of Africa whose way of life, attachment or claims to particular lands and social and political standing in relation The Bushmen, San, Sho, Basarwa, ǃKung or Khwe are indigenous people of southern Africa that spans most areas of South Africa The Bushmen, San, Sho, Basarwa, ǃKung or Khwe are indigenous people of southern Africa that spans most areas of South Africa Pygmies (singular Pygmy) refers to a member of any human group whose adult males grow to less than 150 cm (4 feet 11 inches in average height or less than 155 cm Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon and southern Somalia. In the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "Hottentots") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other Africans and are the indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of central Africa.

The peoples of North Africa comprise two main groups; Berber and Arabic-speaking peoples in the west, and Egyptians in the east. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language This article is about the contemporary North African ethnic group The Arabs who arrived in the seventh century introduced the Arabic language and Islam to North Africa. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. The Semitic Phoenicians, the European Greeks, Romans and Vandals settled in North Africa as well. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Berbers still make up the majority in Morocco, while they are a significant minority within Algeria. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's They are also present in Tunisia and Libya. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab The Tuareg and other often-nomadic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. The Tuareg (also Twareg or Touareg, Amazigh: Imuhagh / Itargiyen, besides regional ethnyms are a Nomadic Nubians are a Nilo-Saharan-speaking group (though many also speak Arabic), who developed an ancient civilisation in northeast Africa. The Nubians (Arabic نوبي Nuubi are an ethnic group originally from northern Sudan, now inhabiting East Africa and some parts of Northeast Africa in southern Egypt The Nilo-Saharan languages are a hypothetical group of African languages spoken mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers (hence the term

During the past century or so, small but economically important colonies of Lebanese and Chinese have also developed in the larger coastal cities of West and East Africa, respectively. About 91% of the population of Lebanon is urban and comprises many different ethnic groups and religions including numerous Christian and Muslim sects West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent.

Some Ethiopian and Eritrean groups (like the Amhara and Tigrayans, collectively known as "Habesha") speak Semitic languages. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in Amhara ( Amharic: አማራ Ge'ez: አምሐራ is an Ethnic group in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The article has so much wrong statements Readers should not take it serious The term Habesha ( Ge'ez ሐበሻ ḥabaśā, Amh hābešā, Tgn The Semitic languages are a Language family whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, The Oromo and Somali peoples speak Cushitic languages, but some Somali clans trace their founding to legendary Arab founders. Somalis ( Soomaaliyeed, الصوماليون are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa. Sudan and Mauritania are divided between a mostly Arabized north and a native African south (although the "Arabs" of Sudan clearly have a predominantly native African ancestry themselves). Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Mauritania (موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country Some areas of East Africa, particularly the island of Zanzibar and the Kenyan island of Lamu, received Arab Muslim and Southwest Asian settlers and merchants throughout the Middle Ages and in antiquity. Zanzibar ( is part of the East African republic of Tanzania. It consists of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Lamu Island is a part of the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya. The island is linked by Ferry to Mokowe on the mainland and to Manda Island Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia.

Beginning in the sixteenth century, Europeans such as the Portuguese and Dutch began to establish trading posts and forts along the coasts of western and southern Africa. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands A trading post is a place where the trading of goods takes place Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for Eventually, a large number of Dutch augmented by French Huguenots and Germans settled in what is today South Africa. The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (or French Calvinists) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Their descendants, the Afrikaners and the Coloureds, are the largest European-descended groups in Africa today. The term Afrikaner people refers to white Afrikaans -speaking people who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century and are mainly of northwestern In the South African Namibian Zambian Botswanan and Zimbabwean context the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense In the nineteenth century, a second phase of colonisation brought a large number of French and British settlers to Africa. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 The Portuguese settled mainly in Angola, but also in Mozambique. The French settled in large numbers in Algeria where they became known collectively as pieds-noirs, and on a smaller scale in other areas of North and West Africa as well as in Madagascar. Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's Pied-Noir ("Black-Foot" plural Pieds-Noirs, pronounced /pje The British settled chiefly in South Africa as well as the colony of Rhodesia, and in the highlands of what is now Kenya. Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colony of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent ( Unilateral Declaration of Independence The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Germans settled in what is now Tanzania and Namibia, and there is still a population of German-speaking white Namibians. Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast Smaller numbers of European soldiers, businessmen, and officials also established themselves in administrative centers such as Nairobi and Dakar. Nairobi (naɪˈroʊbɪ is the capital and largest city of Kenya. For the Dakar Rally see Dakar Rally. For the Israeli submarine see INS Dakar. Decolonisation during the 1960s often resulted in the mass emigration of European-descended settlers out of Africa – especially from Algeria, Angola, Kenya and Rhodesia. However, in South Africa and Namibia, the white minority remained politically dominant after independence from Europe, and a significant population of Europeans remained in these two countries even after democracy was finally instituted at the end of the Cold War. The term "liberal" in "liberal democracy" does not imply that the government of such a democracy must follow the political ideology of Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the South Africa has also become the preferred destination of white Anglo-Zimbabweans, and of migrants from all over southern Africa.

European colonisation also brought sizeable groups of Asians, particularly people from the Indian subcontinent, to British colonies. Asian or Asiatic is a Demonym for people from Asia. However the use of the term varies by country and person often referring to people from a particular This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. Large Indian communities are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and East African countries. A non-resident Indian (NRI is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country a person of Indian origin who is born outside India or a person of The large Indian community in Uganda was expelled by the dictator Idi Amin in 1972, though many have since returned. The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. Idi Amin Dada (mid 1920s &ndash 16 August 2003 commonly known as Idi Amin, was a Ugandan military dictator and the President of Uganda The islands in the Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface The Malagasy people of Madagascar are a Austronesian people, but those along the coast are generally mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. The Malagasy ( French: Malgache) ethnic group forms the vast majority of the population of Madagascar. Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern The Austronesian people or Austronesian-speaking people, are a population group present in Oceania and Southeast Asia who speak or had ancestors who spoke 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). The term Cape Coloureds refers to the modern-day descendants of slave labourers imported into South Africa by Dutch settlers as well as to other groups

Languages

Main article: African languages

Map showing the distribution of African language families and some major African languages. There are an estimated 2000 Languages spoken in Africa. About a hundred of these are widely used for inter-ethnic communication Afro-Asiatic extends from the Sahel to Southwest Asia. The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa See also Sahel Tunisia, a region of eastern Tunisia. The Sahel or Sahel Belt (from Arabic ساحل sāḥil Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia. Niger-Congo is divided to show the size of the Bantu sub-family. The Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa 's largest in terms of geographical area number of speakers and number The Bantu languages (technically Narrow Bantu languages) constitute a grouping belonging to the Niger-Congo family

Many African countries today have more than one official language. An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory

By most estimates, Africa contains well over a thousand languages (some have estimated over two thousand), most of African origin and a few of European origin. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them Africa is the most polyglot continent in the world; it is not rare to find individuals there who fluently speak not only several African languages, but one or two European ones as well. There are four major language families native to Africa. List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family

• The Afro-Asiatic 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 Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan See also Sahel Tunisia, a region of eastern Tunisia. The Sahel or Sahel Belt (from Arabic ساحل sāḥil Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia.
• The Nilo-Saharan language family consists of more than a hundred languages spoken by 30 million people. The Nilo-Saharan languages are a hypothetical group of African languages spoken mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers (hence the term Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by Nilotic tribes in Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, and northern Tanzania. Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage refers to some Ethnic groups mainly in Southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Chad (Tchad تشاد Tshād) officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a Landlocked country in Central Africa. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya
• The Niger-Congo language family covers much of Sub-Saharan Africa and is probably the largest language family in the world in terms of different languages. The Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa 's largest in terms of geographical area number of speakers and number A substantial number of them are the Bantu languages spoken in much of sub-Saharan Africa. The Bantu languages (technically Narrow Bantu languages) constitute a grouping belonging to the Niger-Congo family
• The Khoisan languages number about fifty and are spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 120,000 people. The Khoisan languages (also Khoesaan languages) are the indigenous languages of southern and eastern Africa; in southern Africa their speakers are the Khoi Many of the Khoisan languages are endangered. An endangered language is a Language that it is at risk of falling out of use generally because it has few surviving speakers The Khoi and San peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa. The Bushmen, San, Sho, Basarwa, ǃKung or Khwe are indigenous people of southern Africa that spans most areas of South Africa

Following colonialism, nearly all African countries adopted official languages that originated outside the continent, although several countries nowadays also use various languages of native origin (such as Swahili) as their official language. See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory Swahili (called Kiswahili in the language itself is the First language of the Swahili people (Waswahili who inhabit several large stretches 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. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people African French is the generic name of the varieties of French spoken by an estimated 115 million African people spread across 31 Francophone African countries Arabic, Portuguese, Afrikaans and Malagasy are other examples of originally non-African languages that are used by millions of Africans today, both in the public and private spheres. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in

Culture

Main article: Culture of Africa

African culture is characterised by a vastly diverse patchwork of social values, ranging from extreme patriarchy to extreme matriarchy, sometimes in tribes existing side by side. The Culture of Africa encompasses and includes all cultures which were ever in the continent of Africa. Patriarchy is the structuring of Society on the basis of Family units where fathers have primary responsibility for the welfare of hence authority over Matriarchy is a term which is applied to gynocentric form of Society, in which the leading role is by the Female and especially by the Mothers

Modern African culture is characterised by conflicted responses to Arab nationalism and European imperialism. Arab nationalism ( Arabic: القومية العربية is a Nationalist ideology which rose to prominence amongst Arabs from the early 20th century onwards This is a list of former European Colonies. North America France Canada (most of eastern and central Canada United Increasingly, beginning in the late 1990s, Africans are reasserting their identity. In North Africa especially the rejection of the label Arab or European has resulted in an upsurge of demands for special protection of indigenous Amazigh languages and culture in Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. The re-emergence of Pan-Africanism since the fall of apartheid has heightened calls for a renewed sense of African identity. Pan-Africanism is a Sociopolitical World view, and Philosophy, as well as a movement which seeks to unify both Native Africans and those of In South Africa, intellectuals from settler communities of European descent increasingly identify as African for cultural rather than geographical or racial reasons. Famously, some have undergone ritual ceremonies to become members of the Zulu or other community. The Zulu ( IsiZulu: amaZulu) are the largest South African ethnic group of an estimated 10-11 million people who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal

Much of the traditional African cultures have become impoverished as a result of years of neglect and suppression by colonial and neo-colonial regimes. There is now a resurgence in the attempts to rediscover and revalourise African traditional cultures, under such movements as the African Renaissance led by Thabo Mbeki, Afrocentrism led by an influential group of scholars including Molefi Asante, as well as the increasing recognition of traditional spiritualism through decriminalization of Vodou and other forms of spirituality. The African Renaissance is the concept that African people and nations overcome the current challenges confronting the continent and achieve cultural scientific economic etc Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (born 18 June 1942 is a South African politician who served as President of South Africa from 1999 to 24 September 2008 Afrocentrism or Afrocentricity is a World view that emphasizes the importance of African people in culture philosophy and history Molefi Kete Asante (born as Arthur Lee Smith Jr on August 14, 1942, in Valdosta Georgia USA is a contemporary African American scholar in vodoo, vodun, or vodoun may refer to any of West African vodun, a west African religion Haitian vodou, mostly derived In recent years African traditional culture has become synonymous with rural poverty and subsistence farming.

Urban culture in Africa, now associated with Western values, is a great contrast from traditional African urban culture which was once rich and enviable even by modern Western standards. African cities such as Loango, M'banza Congo, Timbuktu, Thebes, Meroe and others had served as the world's most affluent urban and industrial centers, clean, well-laid out, and full of universities, libraries, and temples. M'banza-Kongo, formerly known as São Salvador (in Portuguese) is the capital of Angola 's northwestern Zaire Province. Timbuktu ( Timbuctoo; Koyra Chiini: Tumbutu; French: Tombouctou) is a city in Tombouctou Region, in the West African Thebes ( Thēbai) was a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean on the east bank of the river Nile ( Meroë ( Meroitic: Medewi or Bedewi; Arabic: ar مرواه ar-Latn Meruwah) is the name of an ancient city on the east bank of the

The main and most enduring cultural fault-line in Africa is the divide between traditional pastoralists and agriculturalists. Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of Agriculture concerned with the raising of Livestock. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture The divide is not, and never was based on economic competition, but rather on the colonial racial policy that identified pastoralists as constituting a different race from agriculturalists, and enforcing a form of apartheid between the two cultures beginning in the 1880s and lasting until the 1960s. Although European colonial powers were largely industrial, many of the administrators and philosophers, whose writings provided rationale for colonialism, applied quasi-scientific eugenics policies and racist politics on Africans in experiments of misguided social engineering.

Most of the racial recategorisation of Africans to fit European stereotypes was contradictory and incoherent. However, because their legalism and laws that emanated from these policies were backed by police force, the scientific establishment and economic power, Africans reacted by either conforming to the new rules, or rejecting them in favour of Pan-Africanism. All across Africa communities and individuals were measured by colonial eugenics boards and reassigned identities and ethnicities based on pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is defined as a body of knowledge methodology belief or practice that is claimed to be Scientific or made to appear scientific but does not adhere to the The schools taught that in general Africans who resembled Europeans in some physical or cultural aspect were superior to other Africans and deserved more privileges.

The easiest way to divide Africans was along economic lines. Pastoralists, agriculturalists, hunter-gatherers and Westernised Africans, all formed distinctly identifiable cultures each of which came to play a different and disfiguring role in Africa's modern politics. The Westernised Africans, specifically Senegalese and Sudanese Nubians from urban centers such as Dakar and Khartoum, were used to serve as the bulk of colonial troops against the rural Africans. Senegal (le Sénégal officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Pastoralists were radicalised by the wholesale confiscation of grazing lands in favour of plantations. Agriculturalists came into conflict for land and water with pastoralists after the traditional sharing arrangements had been destroyed by colonial policies.

75,000 year old Nassarius shell beads found in Blombos Cave, South Africa

In addition, a growing body of speculative anthropology and race science made false claims about the superiority and inferiority of Africans with different cultural and economic backgrounds. Nassarius, Common names nassa mud snails (USA or dog whelks (UK is a Genus of sea Snails marine Gastropod Molluscs Blombos Cave is a Cave in a Limestone cliff on the Southern Cape coast in South Africa. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Scientific racism denotes the use of scientific or ostensibly scientific findings and methods to support or validate racist attitudes and worldviews The vast majority of the scholarship on Africa was extraneous and catered to the demand for exotic and outlandish representations of Africa. The enforcement of the government decrees and policies tended to produce effects that confirmed the prejudices of the European colonialists.

African art and architecture reflect the diversity of African cultures. African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth See also History of architecture The architecture of Africa, like other aspects of the Culture of Africa, is exceptionally diverse The oldest existing examples of art from Africa are 75,000 year old beads made from Nassarius shells that were found in Blombos Cave. A bead is a small decorative object that is pierced for threading or stringing Nassarius, Common names nassa mud snails (USA or dog whelks (UK is a Genus of sea Snails marine Gastropod Molluscs Blombos Cave is a Cave in a Limestone cliff on the Southern Cape coast in South Africa. The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was the world's tallest structure for 4,000 years until the completion of Lincoln Cathedral around 1300. The Great Pyramid of Giza, also called Khufu's Pyramid or the Pyramid of Khufu, and Pyramid of Cheops, is the oldest and largest of the three This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. While determining the world's tallest structure has generally been straightforward the definition of the world's tallest building or the Lincoln Cathedral (in full The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, or sometimes St The stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe are also noteworthy for their architecture, and the complex of monolithic churches at Lalibela, Ethiopia, of which the Church of St. George is representative, is regarded as another marvel of engineering. The Great Zimbabwe, or "stone buildings" is the name given to hundreds of great stone Ruins spread out over a 500 km² (200 square mile area within the modern-day A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. Lalibela is a town in northern Ethiopia. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities second only to Aksum, and is a center of Pilgrimage for much of the The Church of St George (Bete Giyorgis is a Monolithic church in Lalibela, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Music and dance

Main article: Music of Africa

The music of Africa is one of its most dynamic art forms. The music of Africa is as vast and varied as the continent's many regions, nations and Ethnic groups Although there is no distinctly pan-African The music of Africa is as vast and varied as the continent's many regions, nations and Ethnic groups Although there is no distinctly pan-African Egypt has long been a cultural focus of the Arab world, while remembrance of the rhythms of sub-Saharan Africa, in particular West Africa, was transmitted through the Atlantic slave trade to modern samba, blues, jazz, reggae, rap, and rock and roll. The Atlantic Slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trade of African people supplied to the Colonies of the New World Samba ( is one of the most popular forms of music in Brazil. It is widely viewed as Brazil's national musical style The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Reggae is a Music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African The 1950s through the 1970s saw a conglomeration of these various styles with the popularization of Afrobeat and Highlife music. Afrobeat is a combination of Yoruba music, Jazz, Highlife, and Funk Rhythms fused with percussion and Vocal Highlife is a Musical genre that originated in Ghana and spread to Sierra Leone and Nigeria in the 1920s and other West African Modern music of the continent includes the highly complex choral singing of southern Africa and the dance rhythms of soukous, dominated by the music of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Soukous (also known as Lingala or Congo, and previously as African rumba) is a Musical genre that originated in the two neighbouring countries Describing the Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is difficult due to vagaries surrounding the meanings of various terms Recent developments include the emergence of African hip hop, in particular a form from Senegal blended with traditional mbalax, and Kwaito, a South African variant of house music. Hip hop music has been popular in Africa since the early 1980s due to widespread American influence Senegal (le Sénégal officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Mbalax (or Mbalakh is the national popular dance music of Senegal and The Gambia. Kwaito is a Music genre that emerged in Johannesburg, South Africa in the early 1990s House music is a style of Electronic dance music initially popularized in mid-1980s Discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino Afrikaans music, also found in South Africa, is idiosyncratic being composed mostly of traditional Boer music, while more recent immigrant communities have introduced the music of their homes to the continent. Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in Boeremusiek ( Boer music is a type of South African instrumental Folk music.

Indigenous musical and dance traditions of Africa are maintained by oral traditions and they are distinct from the music and dance styles of North Africa and Southern Africa. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Southern Africa is the Southernmost Region of the African Continent, variably defined by Geography or Geopolitics. Arab influences are visible in North African music and dance and in Southern Africa western influences are apparent due to colonisation. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding Colonisation (also known as Colonization) occurs whenever any one or more species populates a new area

Many African languages are tone languages, in which pitch level determines the meaning. A tonal language is a language that uses tone to distinguish words This also finds expression in African musical melodies and rhythms. A variety of musical instruments are used, including drums (most widely used), bells, musical bow, lute, flute, and trumpet. The drum is a member of the percussion group technically classified as a Membranophone. A bell is a simple Sound -making device The bell is a Percussion instrument and an Idiophone. The musical bow is a simple string Musical instrument consisting of a string supported by a flexible string bearer usually made out of Wood. Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its

African dances are important mode of communication and dancers use gestures, masks, costumes, body painting and a number of visual devices. A mask is an artefact normally worn on the face typically for protection concealment performance or amusement The term costume can refer to Wardrobe and dress in general or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people class or period Body painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of Body art, considered by some as the most ancient form of art With urbanisation and modernisation, modern African dance and music exhibit influences assimilated from several other cultures. Urbanizationn (also spelled urbanisation) is the physical growth of Urban areas into rural or natural land as a result of population in-migration to an existing The idea of modernization comes from a view of societies as having a standard Evolutionary pattern as described in the Social evolutionism theories

Legends of Africa

Main article: Legends of Africa

Africa has a wealth of history which is largely unrecorded. Africa has a Wealth of History which is largely unrecorded Myths, Fables and Legends abound Many myths, fables and legends abound. The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" A fable is a succinct story in prose or verse that features Animals Plants inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are A legend ( Latin, legenda, "things to be read" is a Narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to

Sports

53 African countries have football teams in the Confederation of African Football, while Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana have advanced to the knockout stage of recent FIFA World Cups. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered The 53 member CAF ( African Football Confederation), ( French: Confédération Africaine de Football), ( Arabic: الإتحاد الأفريقى لكرة The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international Association football South Africa will host the 2010 World Cup tournament, and will be the first African country to do so. The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, an international tournament for football, that is scheduled to take place between 11 June and

Cricket is also popular in some African nations, with South Africa and Zimbabwe holding Test status and Kenya also being a significant force in One-Day International cricket. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries The South African cricket team, also known as The Proteas are a national Cricket team representing South Africa The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Zimbabwe. Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international Cricket matches Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. The three countries jointly hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup. The 2003 Cricket World Cup ( Official name: ICC Cricket World Cup 2003) was played in South Africa from February 9 to March 24.

A number of African nations, especially Ethiopia, Kenya, and Morocco, have fielded world-class long-distance runners such as Abebe Bikila and Cosmas Ndeti. Long-distance track event races require runners to balance their energy Abebe Bikila ( August 7, 1932 &ndash October 25, 1973) was a two-time Olympic marathon champion from Ethiopia. Cosmas Ndeti (born November 24, 1971) is a three time winner of the Boston Marathon.

South Africa hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup and also won the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The South Africa national Rugby union team (commonly referred to as the Springboks in English Springbokke in Afrikaans and Amabokoboko The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted by South Africa, and had the distinction of being the first Rugby World Cup in which every match The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international Rugby union world championship inaugurated in 1987.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Africa

Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs^[47] and it is difficult to compile accurate statistics about religious demography in Africa as a whole. Religion in Africa is multifaceted Most Africans adhere to either Christianity or Islam. Estimations from World Book Encyclopedia claim that there are 150 million African Muslims and 130 million African Christians, while Encyclopedia Britannica estimates that approximately 46. 5% of all Africans are Christians and another 40. 5% are Muslims with roughly 11. 8% of Africans following indigenous African religions. See also Religion in Africa African traditional religions, also referred to as African indigenous religions or African A small number of Africans are Hindu, Baha'i, or have beliefs from the Judaic tradition. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical The Bahá'í Faith is a Religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Examples of African Jews are the Beta Israel, Lemba peoples and the Abayudaya of Eastern Uganda. Since Biblical times the Jewish people have had close ties with Africa beginning with Abraham 's sojourns in Egypt, and later the Israelite captivity under The Beta Israel (ביתא ישראל Beta Israel, "House of Israel" Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl The Lemba or Lembaa are an Ethnic group numbering 70000 in Southern Africa who claim a common descent and belonging to the Jewish people The Abayudaya ( Abayudaya is Luganda for "People of Judah " analogous to Children of Israel) are a Baganda community

Indigenous Sub-Saharan African religions tend to revolve around a pantheon of deities, and often involve animism and ancestor worship. Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals A common thread in traditional belief systems was the division of the spiritual world into "helpful" and "harmful" spiritual beings. This page covers the concept of the spirit world as purveyed by Spiritualism as differentiated from Spiritism. Helpful spirits include ancestor spirits who can be called upon to help their descendants, and more powerful spirits that protect entire communities from natural disaster or attacks from enemies. The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath Harmful spirits include the souls of murdered victims who were buried without the proper funeral rites, and spirits used by hostile spirit mediums to cause illness among their enemies. The soul, according to many religious and philosophical beliefs is the self-awareness, or Consciousness, unique to a particular living A funeral is a Ceremony marking a person's Death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of Beliefs and practices used by a Culture to remember Mediumship is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Louisiana Voodoo, and While the effect of these early forms of worship continues to have a profound influence, belief systems have evolved as they interact with other religions.

The formation of the Old Kingdom of Egypt in the third millennium BC marked the earliest known complex religious system on the continent, and one of the earliest in the world. The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BCE when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The 3rd millennium BC spans the Early to Middle Bronze Age. It represents a period of time in which Imperialism, or the desire to conquer grew to prominence Around the ninth century, Carthage (in present-day Tunisia) was founded by the Phoenicians, and went on to become a major cosmopolitan center where deities from neighboring Egypt, Rome and the Etruscan city-states were worshipped. Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy Today, many Jewish peoples also live in North Africa, particularly in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

The founding of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is traditionally dated to the mid-first century, while the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Church officially date from the fourth century. History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in transliterated Amharic: Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. These are thus some of the first established Christian churches in the world. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings At first, Christian Orthodoxy made gains in modern-day Sudan and other neighbouring regions. However, after the spread of Islam, growth was slow and restricted to the highlands.

Many Sub-Saharan Africans were converted to Western Christianity during the colonial period. Western Christianity is a term used to cover the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, the Churches of the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Church In the last decades of the twentieth century, various sects of Charismatic Christianity rapidly grew. The term charismatic movement describes the adoption from the early twentieth century onwards of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians — specifically A number of Roman Catholic African bishops were mentioned as possible papal candidates in 2005, the most prominent of those being Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Francis Cardinal Arinze, (born 1 November 1932) is a Nigerian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. African Christians appear to be more socially conservative than their co-religionists in much of the industrialized world, which has quite recently led to tension within denominations such as the Anglican and Methodist Churches. Church (disambiguation A religious denomination is a subgroup within a Religion that operates under a common name tradition and identity See also Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches Methodism is a movement within Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations

The African Initiated Churches have experienced significant growth in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. African Initiated Church is a Christian denomination started in Africa by Africans and not by missionaries from another continent

Islam entered Africa as Arab Muslims conquered North Africa between 640 and 710, beginning with Egypt. They settled in Mogadishu, Melinde, Mombasa, Kilwa, and Sofala, following the sea trade down the coast of East Africa, and diffusing through the Sahara desert into the interior of Africa -- following in particular the paths of Muslim traders. East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. Muslims were also among the Asian peoples who later settled in British-ruled Africa. During colonial times, Christianity had success in converting those who followed traditional religions but had very little success in converting Muslims, who took advantage of the urbanization and increase in trade to settle in new areas and spread their faith. As a result, Islam in sub-Saharan Africa probably doubled between 1869 and 1914. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. ^[48]

Islam continued this tremendous growth into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Today, backed by gulf oil cash, Muslims have increased success in proselytizing, with a growth rate, by some estimates, that is twice as fast as Christianity in Africa. ^[49]

Territories and regions

Main articles: Regions of Africa and List of African countries

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. The continent of Africa can be conceptually subdivided into a number of Regions or Subregions Directional approach One common approach categorises United Nations geoscheme, created by the United Nations Statistics Division, divides the world into 'macro-geographical Regions ( Continents and sub-regions Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated.

Regions of Africa:      Northern Africa      Western Africa      Middle Africa      Eastern Africa      Southern Africa

Physical map of Africa. A subregion is a conceptual unit which derives from a larger Region or Continent and is usually based on location North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. Central Africa is a core Region of the African Continent often considered to include Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. Southern Africa is the Southernmost Region of the African Continent, variably defined by Geography or Geopolitics.

Satellite photo of Africa.

Name of region[50] and territory, with flag	Area (km²)	Population (1 July 2002 est. A flag is a piece of Cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used Symbolically for signaling or identification This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by total area. List of countries by population in 2005|List of countries by population in 1907This is a list of countries ordered according to Population. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. )	Population density (per km²)	Capital
Eastern Africa:
Burundi	27,830	6,373,002	229. List of countries and dependencies by Population density in inhabitants/km² East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. Burundi (buˈɾundi officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda 0	Bujumbura
Comoros	2,170	614,382	283. Bujumbura (ˌbuːdʒəmˈbuːrə is the Capital city of Burundi. The Comoros (ˈkɒməroʊz; جزر القمر Juzur al-Qumur) officially the Union of the Comoros (Union des Comores الإتّحاد القمريّ 1	Moroni
Djibouti	23,000	472,810	20. For other places people and things with the same name see Moroni Moroni (in Arabic موروني Mūrūnī) is the largest Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the 6	Djibouti
Eritrea	121,320	4,465,651	36. The city of Djibouti (جيبوتي Somali: Jabuuti, Ville de Djibouti is the capital and largest city of Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in 8	Asmara
Ethiopia	1,127,127	67,673,031	60. Asmara (English ( Ge'ez: ኣስመራ Asmera, formerly known as Asmera, or in أسمرا Asmaraa NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page 0	Addis Ababa
Kenya	582,650	31,138,735	53. Addis Ababa (sometimes spelled Addis Abeba, the spelling used by the official Ethiopian Mapping Authority Amharic The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south 4	Nairobi
Madagascar	587,040	16,473,477	28. Nairobi (naɪˈroʊbɪ is the capital and largest city of Kenya. Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern 1	Antananarivo
Malawi	118,480	10,701,824	90. Antananarivo (ˌtəˌnænəˈriːv or /ˌtəˌnɑːnəˈriːv/ is the Capital and largest city in Madagascar. The Republic of Malawi (məˈlɑːwi or; formerly Nyasaland) is in southern Africa. 3	Lilongwe
Mauritius	2,040	1,200,206	588. Lilongwe, estimated population 597619 (2003 census is the Capital of Malawi. Mauritius (pronounced məˈrɪʃəs L’île Maurice /il mɔ'ʁis/ Mauritian Creole: Maurice) officially the Republic of Mauritius, République 3	Port Louis
Mayotte (France)	374	170,879	456. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. 9	Mamoudzou
Mozambique	801,590	19,607,519	24. Mamoudzou is the Capital of the French overseas collectivity of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean. Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa 5	Maputo
Réunion (France)	2,512	743,981	296. Maputo, formerly Lourenço Marques, is the Capital and largest city of Mozambique. Réunion ( French: Réunion or formally La Réunion; previously Île Bourbon) is an island located in the Indian Ocean, east of This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. 2	Saint-Denis
Rwanda	26,338	7,398,074	280. Saint-Denis (or unofficially Saint-Denis de la Réunion for disambiguation is the Préfecture (administrative capital of the French The Republic of Rwanda (ruːˈændə or /rəˈwɑːndə/ in English ɾwanda or in Kinyarwanda is a small Landlocked country in the 9	Kigali
Seychelles	455	80,098	176. Kigali, population 851024 (2005 is the Capital and largest city of Rwanda. Seychelles (seɪˈʃɛl or /seɪˈʃɛlz/ in English and seʃɛl in French) officially the Republic of Seychelles (République des Seychelles Creole 0	Victoria
Somalia	637,657	7,753,310	12. Victoria (sometimes called Port Victoria) is the Capital city of the Republic of Seychelles and is situated on the north-eastern side of Mahé Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known 2	Mogadishu
Tanzania	945,087	37,187,939	39. Mogadishu ( Somali: Muqdisho, popularly Xamar, Hamar; مقديشو Maqadīshū Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya 3	Dodoma
Uganda	236,040	24,699,073	104. Dodoma (translation "It has sunk" in Gogo) officially Dodoma Urban District, population 324347 (2002 census is the national Capital The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. 6	Kampala
Zambia	752,614	9,959,037	13. Kampala is the Capital city of Uganda. With a population of 1208544 (2002 it is the largest city in Uganda The Republic of Zambia (ˈzæmbɪə is a Landlocked country in Southern Africa. 2	Lusaka
Zimbabwe	390,580	11,376,676	29. Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau of the country at an elevation See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election 1	Harare
Middle Africa:
Angola	1,246,700	10,593,171	8. Harare (həˈrɑreɪ or /həˈrɑri/ formerly Salisbury) is the Capital of Zimbabwe. Central Africa is a core Region of the African Continent often considered to include Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central 5	Luanda
Cameroon	475,440	16,184,748	34. For the mystic of the Han Dynasty see Luan Da. Luanda (formerly called Loanda) is the The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. 0	Yaoundé
Central African Republic	622,984	3,642,739	5. Yaoundé, (jɑːuːnˈdeɪ is the Capital city of Cameroon and second largest city in the country after Douala. Central Africa|Central African FederationThe Central African Republic ( CAR) République Centrafricaine ʀepyblik sɑ̃tʀafʀikɛn or Centrafrique) is a Landlocked 8	Bangui
Chad	1,284,000	8,997,237	7. Bangui is the Capital of and the largest city in the Central African Republic. Chad (Tchad تشاد Tshād) officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a Landlocked country in Central Africa. 0	N'Djamena
Congo	342,000	2,958,448	8. N'Djamena (ənʤəˈmeɪnə Arabic Niǧāmīnā نجامينا population 721000 (2005 is the Capital city of Chad. The Republic of the Congo (République du Congo Kongo: Repubilika ya Kongo; Lingala: Republiki ya Kongó) also known as Congo-Brazzaville 7	Brazzaville
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2,345,410	55,225,478	23. ||-||} Brazzaville is the Capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo and is located on the Congo River. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to 5	Kinshasa
Equatorial Guinea	28,051	498,144	17. Kinshasa (formerly French: Léopoldville, formerly Dutch: Leopoldstad, German: Leopoldstadt) is the Capital The Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( República de Guinea Ecuatorial,) is a country in Central Africa. 8	Malabo
Gabon	267,667	1,233,353	4. Malabo (ˈmæləboʊ is the Capital and largest city of Equatorial Guinea, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island (formerly Fernando Pó on the Gabon (gəˈbɒn or /gaˈbõ/ in French) is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic 6	Libreville
São Tomé and Príncipe	1,001	170,372	170. Libreville (population 578156 January 1, 2005) is the capital and largest city of Gabon. São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an Island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial 2	São Tomé
Northern Africa:
Algeria	2,381,740	32,277,942	13. São Tomé ( Population 56166 in 2005) is the Capital city of São Tomé and Príncipe and is by far that nation's largest town North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's 6	Algiers
Egypt[51]	1,001,450	70,712,345	70. Algiers (الجزائر Algerian Arabic: Dzayer ( (From kabyle pronunciation Kabyle: Ledzayer, Alger) is the Capital and largest This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. 6	Cairo
Libya	1,759,540	5,368,585	3. Cairo () which means "the Vanquisher" or "the Triumphant" is the capital and largest city of Egypt. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab 1	Tripoli
Morocco	446,550	31,167,783	69. Tripolis ( Arabic: طرابلس Ṭarābulus - also طرابلس الغرب Ṭarā-bu-lus al-Gharb Libyan vernacular: Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa 8	Rabat
Sudan	2,505,810	37,090,298	14. Rabat ( Arabic الرباط, transliterated ar-Rabāṭ or ar-Ribāṭ) population 2 million ( 2007 estimate) is the Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. 8	Khartoum
Tunisia	163,610	9,815,644	60. Khartoum ( الخرطوم al-Kharṭūm) is the Capital of Sudan and of Khartoum State. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. 0	Tunis
Western Sahara[52]	266,000	256,177	1. Tunis ( Arabic: تونس Tūnis) is the Capital of the Tunisian Republic and also the Tunis Western Sahara ( Arabic: الصحراء الغربية; transliterated: as-Ṣaḥrā' al-Gharbīyah; Sahara Occidental is a territory 0	El Aaiún
Spanish and Portuguese territories in Northern Africa:
Canary Islands (Spain)[53]	7,492	1,694,477	226. El-Aaiún (also transliterated "Laâyoune" or "El Ayun"( Arabic: العيون transliterated al-`ayūn) is a city in The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. 2	Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Ceuta (Spain)[54]	20	71,505	3,575. See also Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province. Historical population In 1990 the population slowly boomed above the 200000 mark falling Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, which 2	—
Madeira Islands (Portugal)[55]	797	245,000	307. History See also History of Madeira Pre-Portuguese times Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands the position of which with reference to the Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. 4	Funchal
Melilla (Spain)[56]	12	66,411	5,534. Churches and Parishes Imaculado Coração de Maria Monte Santa Luzia Santa Maria Maior Melilla is an autonomous city of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the North African coast 2	—
Southern Africa:
Botswana	600,370	1,591,232	2. Southern Africa is the Southernmost Region of the African Continent, variably defined by Geography or Geopolitics. The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. 7	Gaborone
Lesotho	30,355	2,207,954	72. Gaborone (pronunciation /ˌɡæbəˈroʊni/ estimated population 208411 ( 1 January 2005) is the Capital Lesotho (lɪˈsuːtuː) officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a Landlocked country and Enclave — entirely surrounded by the Republic of South 7	Maseru
Namibia	825,418	1,820,916	2. Maseru (mɑseʀu is the Capital of Lesotho. It is also the capital or camptown of the Maseru District. Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast 2	Windhoek
South Africa	1,219,912	43,647,658	35. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa 8	Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Pretoria[57]
Swaziland	17,363	1,123,605	64. Bloemfontein (ˈbluːmfɒnteɪn Afrikaans and Dutch for "spring of Bloem (bloom" Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Kingdom of Swaziland is a country located in Southern Africa centred at approximately 26o49'S 31o38'E 7	Mbabane
Western Africa:
Benin	112,620	6,787,625	60. Mbabane, with an estimated population of 70000 (2003 is the Capital of Swaziland. West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa. 3	Porto-Novo
Burkina Faso	274,200	12,603,185	46. Burkina Faso (bɚˌkiːnəˈfɑːsoʊ burr-KEE-na FAH-soh) also known by its short-form name Burkina, is a Landlocked nation in West Africa 0	Ouagadougou
Cape Verde	4,033	408,760	101. Ouagadougou (ˌwɑgəˈduːguː Mossi wɑgədəgə is the Capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative The Republic of Cape Verde ( Portuguese: Cabo Verde, 'kabu 'veɾdɨ is a Republic located on an Archipelago in the Macaronesia 4	Praia
Côte d'Ivoire	322,460	16,804,784	52. Praia (pronunciation in IPA: /'pɾajɐ/ meaning “ Beach ” in both Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole) is the Capital Côte d'Ivoire (ˌkoʊt divˈwɑː(r ' in English, kot diˈvwaʀ in French) or Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a 1	Abidjan, Yamoussoukro[58]
Gambia	11,300	1,455,842	128. Abidjan is the largest city and former Capital of Côte d'Ivoire ( Ivory Coast) The District of Yamoussoukro is the official Capital city of Côte d'Ivoire. 8	Banjul
Ghana	239,460	20,244,154	84. Banjul (formerly Bathurst officially the City of Banjul, is the Capital of The Gambia, and located within the division of the The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the 5	Accra
Guinea	245,857	7,775,065	31. Accra is the capital, and most populous city of Ghana. The city also doubles as the capital of the Greater Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (pronounced /ˈgɪni/ République de Guinée is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea 6	Conakry
Guinea-Bissau	36,120	1,345,479	37. Conakry or Konakry ( Malinké: Kɔnakiri) is the Capital and largest city of Guinea. The Republic of Guinea-Bissau (ˈgɪni bɨˈsaʊ República da Guiné-Bissau ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɐ giˈnɛ biˈsau is a country in Western Africa, and one of the smallest 3	Bissau
Liberia	111,370	3,288,198	29. Bissau is the Capital city of Guinea-Bissau. It is an Autonomous city whose borders are conterminous with the Bissau Region. Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire 5	Monrovia
Mali	1,240,000	11,340,480	9. For alternate meanings see Monrovia (disambiguation. Monrovia, is the Capital city of the West African nation of Liberia Mali, officially the Republic of Mali (République du Mali is a Landlocked nation in Western Africa. 1	Bamako
Mauritania	1,030,700	2,828,858	2. Bamako, population 1690471 (2006 is the Capital and largest city of Mali, and currently estimated to be the fastest growing city in Mauritania (موريتانيا Mūrītāniyā officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country 7	Nouakchott
Niger	1,267,000	10,639,744	8. Nouakchott ( Arabic: or translation from [[Berber languages|Berber] "The place of the winds"] Nawākšūṭ is the Capital and by far the largest Niger ( or /ˈnaɪdʒɚ/) officially the Republic of Niger, is a Landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. 4	Niamey
Nigeria	923,768	129,934,911	140. Niamey, Population 674950 (2002 census is the Capital of Niger. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal 7	Abuja
Saint Helena (UK)	410	7,317	17. Abuja is the Capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory Saint Helena (pronounced saint he-LEE-na) named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin and a British overseas territory The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located 8	Jamestown
Senegal	196,190	10,589,571	54. Jamestown (population c 1000 is a Harbour and the Capital of Saint Helena at. Senegal (le Sénégal officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. 0	Dakar
Sierra Leone	71,740	5,614,743	78. For the Dakar Rally see Dakar Rally. For the Israeli submarine see INS Dakar. Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. 3	Freetown
Togo	56,785	5,285,501	93. Freetown is the Capital and largest City of Sierra Leone, and a major Port on the Atlantic Ocean. TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company famous for inventing the Stand-up roller coaster. 1	Lomé
Total	30,368,609	843,705,143	27. Lomé, estimated population 700000 (1998 is the Capital and largest city of Togo. 8

See also

• List of African countries by population
• Urbanization in Africa
• List of topics related to Black and African people

Notes

References

• "Africa". The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online. 2005. New York: Columbia University Press.

Bibliography

• Asante, Molefi (2007). Molefi Kete Asante (born as Arthur Lee Smith Jr on August 14, 1942, in Valdosta Georgia USA is a contemporary African American scholar in The History of Africa. USA: Routledge. ISBN 0415771390.  
• Clark, J. Desmond (1970). John Desmond Clark (more commonly J Desmond Clark, April 10, 1916 - February 14, 2002) was a British archaeologist The Prehistory of Africa. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 9780500020692.  
• Crowder, Michael (1978). The Story of Nigeria. London: Faber. ISBN 9780571049479.  
• Davidson, Basil (1966). Basil Davidson (born 9 November 1914 in Bristol, England) is an acclaimed British Historian, writer and Africanist The African past; chronicles from antiquity to modern times. Harmondsworth: Penguin. OCLC 2016817. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose  
• Gordon, April A. ; Donald L. Gordon (1996). Understanding contemporary Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 9781555875473.  
• Khapoya, Vincent B. (1998). The African experience: an introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780137458523.  
• Korotayev, A. Andrey Korotayev (born in 1961 is an anthropologist, economic Historian, and sociologist. & Khaltourina D. (2006) Introduction to Social Macrodynamics: Secular Cycles and Millennial Trends in Africa. Moscow: URSS. ISBN 5484005604

External links

• Wikimedia Atlas of Africa

News

• allAfrica.com current news, events and statistics
• BBC News In Depth - Africa 2005: Time for Change?
• Yale Economic Review Africa: Failed Economic History

History

• Africa South of the Sahara
• African Kingdoms
• BBC Story of Africa Kingdoms
• [9]

Directories

• Library of Congress - African & Middle Eastern Reading Room
• Open Directory Project - Africa directory category
• Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara
• The Index on Africa directory from The Norwegian Council for Africa
• Aluka - Digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa

Politics

• Africa Action Africa Action is the oldest organization in the United States working on African affairs. It is a national organization that works for political, economic and social justice in Africa.
• Working class history in Africa -- people's and grassroots histories

Sports

• Confederation of African Football; in English and French

Tourism

• Africa travel guide from Wikitravel