Portal:Africa
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![Satellite map of Africa](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/Africa_satellite_orthographic.jpg/110px-Africa_satellite_orthographic.jpg)
![Location of Africa on the world map](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Africa_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg/120px-Africa_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg.png)
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, corruption, colonialism, the Cold War, and neocolonialism. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. Africa has a large quantity of natural resources and food resources, including diamonds, sugar, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum, natural gas, cocoa beans, and.
Africa straddles the equator and the prime meridian. It is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to the southern temperate zones. The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, the northern tip of Mauritania, and the entire territories of Morocco, Ceuta, Melilla, and Tunisia, which in turn are located above the tropic of Cancer, in the northern temperate zone. In the other extreme of the continent, southern Namibia, southern Botswana, great parts of South Africa, the entire territories of Lesotho and Eswatini and the southern tips of Mozambique and Madagascar are located below the tropic of Capricorn, in the southern temperate zone.
Africa is highly biodiverse; it is the continent with the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. However, Africa also is heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues, including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, and pollution. These entrenched environmental concerns are expected to worsen as climate change impacts Africa. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified Africa as the continent most vulnerable to climate change.
The history of Africa is long, complex, and varied, and has often been under-appreciated by the global historical community. Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, is widely accepted to be the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade, also known as the great apes. The earliest hominids and their ancestors have been dated to around 7 million years ago, including Sahelanthropus, Australopithecus africanus, A. afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster, the earliest Homo sapiens (modern human) remains, found in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Morocco, date to circa 233,000, 259,000, and 300,000 years ago, respectively, and Homo sapiens is believed to have originated in Africa around 350,000–260,000 years ago. Africa is also considered by anthropologists to be the most genetically diverse continent as a result of being the longest inhabited. (Full article...)
Selected article –
The Fasil Ghebbi (Amharic: ፋሲል ግቢ) is a fortress located in Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It was founded in the 17th century by Emperor Fasilides and was the home of Ethiopian emperors. Its unique architecture shows diverse influences including Portuguese, Hindu, and Arab characteristics. Because of its historical importance and architecture, the fortress was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Ghebbi is an Amharic word for a compound or enclosure.
The complex of buildings includes Fasilides' castle, Iyasu I's palace, Dawit III's Hall, Empress Mentewab's castle, a chancellery and library from Yohannes I, a banqueting hall from the emperor Bakaffa, stables, and three churches: Asasame Qeddus Mikael, Elfign Giyorgis and Gemjabet Mariyam. (Full article...)Featured pictures –
Did you know (auto-generated) -
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg/47px-Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg.png)
- ... that in 1888, Edward P. Duplex became the first African American to be elected a mayor in California?
- ... that Jane C. Beck traveled to Virginia, West Africa, and England to research the family history of Daisy Turner for her 2015 book Daisy Turner's Kin: An African American Family Saga?
- ... that after failing to establish a colony for black Americans at Abeokuta, Robert Campbell founded the first newspaper in Lagos?
- ... that in 2019 the South African army's Natal Carbineers were renamed the Ingobamakhosi Carbineers, after a Zulu regiment that had fought against them at the 1879 Battle of Isandlwana?
- ... that African-American journalist Erna P. Harris was called a "fearless critic" of the internment of Japanese Americans by the US government during World War II?
- ... that the Phoenixonian Institute was the first African-American high school in California?
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Selected biography –
Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase[nb] (Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is a retired Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics made him the first ever Eritrean Olympic medallist, and his 20-km title at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships also made him the country's first athlete to win at a world championship event. He does not use a sprint finish to win races; his strategy relies on a combination of efficient running and fast pace setting.
Zersenay ("Tadese" is his father's name) has found most of his success in the half marathon, with four consecutive victories in the World Half Marathon Championships from 2006 to 2009 (with a 2006 20 km edition), a silver medal in 2010 and a fifth title in 2012. His 5 titles are a record. He set a world record at the Lisbon Half Marathon in 2010. (Full article...)Selected country –
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Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. Formerly Basutoland, it is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name Lesotho roughly translates into "the land of the people who speak Sesotho".
Lesotho covers 30,355 square kilometres (11,720 sq mi). The most notable geographic fact about Lesotho, apart from its status as an enclave, is that it is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) in elevation. Its lowest point is 1,400 meters (4,593 ft), and over 80% of the country lies above 1,800 metres (5,900 ft).
The Lesotho Government is a constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister is the head of government and has executive authority. The king serves a largely ceremonial function; he no longer possesses any executive authority and is proscribed from actively participating in political initiatives. (Read more...)
Selected city –
Luanda (/luˈændə, -ˈɑːn-/, Portuguese: [luˈɐ̃dɐ]) is the capital and largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport, and also the capital of the Luanda Province. Luanda and its metropolitan area is the most populous Portuguese-speaking capital city in the world and the most populous Lusophone city outside Brazil. In 2020 the population reached more than 8.3 million inhabitants (a third of Angola's population).
Among the oldest colonial cities of Africa, Luanda was founded in January 1576 as São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda by Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais. The city served as the centre of the slave trade to Brazil before the institution was prohibited. (Full article...)In the news
- 12 February 2024 –
- Two boats collide on the Congo River near Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; with the death toll remains unclear. (AP)
- 11 February 2024 – 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
- In association football, hosts Ivory Coast win their third Africa Cup of Nations by defeating Nigeria 2–1 in the final. Sébastien Haller scores the winning goal in the 81st minute. (The Guardian)
- 10 February 2024 – Somali civil war
- Four Emirati soldiers and a Bahraini military officer are killed, while ten other people are injured, when a soldier opens fire at a military base in Mogadishu, Somalia, before being killed in the ensuing shootout. Al-Shabaab claims responsibility. (AP)
- 10 February 2024 –
- A Eurocopter EC130 helicopter crashes near Nipton, California, United States, killing all the six people on board, including Nigerian banker Herbert Wigwe. (CBS News)
- 10 February 2024 – 2023–2024 Senegalese protests
- Violent protests occur in Senegal following an announcement by President Macky Sall that presidential elections have been delayed from February 25 to December 15. (Sky News)
- 9 February 2024 –
- At least 18 people are killed during a collision between a bus and a truck on a road in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (AP)
Updated: 16:33, 14 February 2024
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Africa topics
More did you know –
- ...that members of the Senegalese rap group Daara J were hired by campaigners in the Senegalese election of 2000 to edit their speeches?
- ...that Senegalese hip hop group Positive Black Soul's name abbreviation, PBS, is a play on that of the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais, PDS?
- ...that Mamadou Diabaté, a Malian kora player, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005, but lost to his cousin Toumani Diabaté?
- ...that, in November 2007, The Sowetan published an article which erroneously claimed that South African political activist Dan Mokonyane had died?
Related portals
Major Religions in Africa
North Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa
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