1. Africa is the hottest of all continents on earth
2. Africa is second only to Eurasia in area
3. Most scientists believe that Africa is the birthplace of humanity
4. A special science deals with the study of Africa - African studies. A scientist who deals with this science is called an Africanist.
5. The term “Africa” appeared thanks to the inhabitants of the ancient city of Carthage. Afri they called the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. In the translation of the Phoenician language, the word “afri” means dust. When Carthage was captured by the Romans, they did not hesitate to call the territory Afri.
6. There are other versions of the origin of the word Africa. According to these versions, Africa is: “without cold”, “sunny”, “homeland”, “foamy country”.
7. Africa is home to 54 states and 10 dependent territories (colonies of other states)
8. Now Africa has more than 1.1 billion people. this is a sixth of the population of our planet.
9. The African continent is conventionally divided into northern, southern, eastern, western and central Africa.
10. The most popular language in Africa is Arabic.
11. In total, there are more than 2000 languages and dialects in Africa.
12. More than 3,000 nationalities and ethnic groups live in Africa.
13. The largest state in Africa by area is Sudan.
14. The most populous country in Africa is Nigeria. This country is home to 195 million people.
15. The largest city in Africa is Cairo. It is home to 17 million people.
16. Africa has the longest V world - the Nile River. The length of the river is 6500 kilometers.
17. If you look at the political map of the African continent, you will notice that the borders between many states run in a straight line. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, there are few landmarks in the desert to draw the border. Secondly, the territories of African states were divided mainly by Europeans, and they did not particularly bother drawing borders between African countries.
18. Africa recorded the highest temperature on the planet - +58 degrees.
20. The highest mountain in Africa is Mount Kilimonjaro. Its height is 5835 meters. This peak contains the only glacier on the African continent.
21. The largest lake in Africa is Lake Victoria. It ranks second in the ranking of the largest lakes on the planet.
22. More than 1,000 species of mammals live in Africa.
23. Africa is home to the tallest animal in the world - the giraffe.
24. Africa is home to the largest animal in the world - the African elephant.
25. Africa is home to the tallest animal in the world - the cheetah.
26. In Africa there are trees with unusual names: bottle tree, soap tree, milk tree, sausage tree and bread tree.
27. Penguins live in Africa. In the south of the continent live the so-called spectacled penguins.
28. There are pyramids not only in Egypt. There are more than 200 pyramids located on the territory of the state of Sudan. True, they are much smaller than the Egyptian ones.
29. The Tutsi people living in Africa are considered the tallest people on the planet.
30. The Mbuti tribe, living in Africa, are considered the shortest people on the planet.
31. Less precipitation than in Africa falls only on another continent - Antarctica.
32. The most dangerous living creature in the world lives in Africa. This is a tsetse fly.
33. The poorest countries in the world are in Africa.
Africa is a strange and wonderful continent. There are so many facts about Africa that we really don't know much about. We present to you 12 interesting facts about Africa that will make you take a fresh look at this amazing continent.
African Penguins are endangered, with approximately 55,000 left in the world. Approximately 4 million penguins existed at the beginning of the last century. The total number of penguins fell to 200,000 in 2000; ten years later, in 2010, there were 55,000. If this decline is not stopped, the African penguin is expected to be extinct within 15 years.
Africa is the world's largest producer of diamonds, producing up to 50% of global production. To date, Africa has produced more than 75% of the world's diamonds by value, more than 1,900 million carats valued at approximately $158 billion.
Ethiopia. The oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years old. The country includes more than 80 ethnic groups and many languages. First of all, their common independent existence unites the many peoples of Ethiopia. Ethiopia has never been colonized, with the one exception of Italian occupation in 1936-41.
Ethiopia remained independent except for a five-year period (1936-41) when Ethiopia was under Italian occupation. But even during this period, Ethiopia was not colonized by Italy, since the Italians occupied only a few main cities and main routes. Thus, the Italian period is considered an "occupation" rather than a colonization.
Lake Malawi contains the most fish species of any lake in the world, with over 500 species from ten families. Of particular note are the cichlids, of which all but five of the more than 400 species are endemic to Lake Malawi. The lake contains 30% of all known cichlid species. Of particular interest is ‘Mbuna’.
Sudan has more pyramids than any other country on Earth - even more than Egypt. There are at least 223 pyramids in the Sudanese cities of Al Kurru, Nuri, Gebel Barkal and Meroe (Egypt is home to about 110 pyramids). They are typically 20 to 30 meters (65 -100 ft) tall.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital is the second largest hospital in the world after Western China Medical Sciences Hospital, Sichuan University, occupying 173 acres (0.70 km2), with 3,200 beds and 6,760 employees. Hospital in the Soweto area of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Equatorial Guinea is the richest country in Africa. Most people have never heard of this. This country rocketed to glory after 1996 when large oil reserves were found in the country of 0.5 million. As one of Africa's largest oil producers, little has been done to improve people's living conditions. Corruption is widespread and ordinary people mostly live in poverty. The gap between rich and poor is probably the largest in the world. GDP per capita is $30,200.
Lake Chad, once Africa's fourth-largest body of water, has shrunk by nearly 95% over the past 38 years, according to a study led by the US space agency NASA.
To make matters worse, climate change and growing demand for water have drained the lake to the point where it will soon be nothing more than a “puddle.”
The Sahara Desert is expanding due to desertification; the process when land turns into desert due to loss of soil moisture and loss of vegetation. It can also be caused by human activity and an increase in human population in one area. The largest desert in the world, the Sahara, increases by about ½ mile a month.
Tanzania has the largest concentration of wild animals. Home to about 20% of the large mammal species found in Africa, Tanzania has 14 national parks, game reserves, conservation areas and marine parks spread over an area of over 42,000 square kilometers (16,000 sq mi) and covering more than one-third of the country's land area.
The Republic of South Africa is certainly a unique destination for visitors - unlike any other country in the world, South Africa has three different capital cities. Cape Town is the legislative capital, Pretoria is the executive capital and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital.
Endemics (from the Greek ἔνδημος - local) are biological taxa whose representatives live in a relatively limited area. This characteristic of a taxon, such as living in a limited range, is called endemism.
As a result of the island's long isolation from neighboring continents, Madagascar is home to a huge array of plants and animals, many found nowhere else on Earth. Approximately 80% of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are endemic, including the lemur infraorder of primates, the fossa carnivores, and three avian families. More than 10 thousand plant species are native to Madagascar, of which 90% are found nowhere else in the world. This distinctive ecology has led some ecologists to refer to Madagascar as the "eighth continent" and the island has been classified by Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot.
1. Africa is the most contrasting and mysterious of the 5 continents of our planet.
Researchers and tourists from all over the world are attracted not only by its natural and animal diversity, but also by its numerous tribes and nationalities.
2. Scientists count from 3 to 8 thousand different African peoples. This scatter is due to the difficulties of the study and the fact that many of the local ethnic groups are very similar to each other, including culturally, and the territorial dispersion is quite large.
3. In total, more than 1.1 billion people live in Africa. This is a lot, considering that a third of the continent is occupied by the lifeless Sahara Desert.
4. Of the total world population, Africa accounts for about 15%.
5. Almost half of Africa's population lives in the top ten largest African cities.
6. Although the vast African continent is home to a very diverse population, most of these people seem similar to foreigners, but this is absolutely not the case. They differ in traditions, customs and way of life.
7. Africans speak about 1.5 thousand different languages and dialects. The most common language among them is Arabic.
8. Due to significant ethnocultural diversity, most Africans speak at least two languages.
9. More people in Africa speak French than in France itself or in the French-speaking provinces of Canada.
10.The entire Dinka people living in Sudan number about 4,000,000 representatives. Their main occupation is cattle breeding, so from childhood boys are taught to respect animals, and the number of heads of livestock measures the well-being of each family.
11. In Africa, a larger percentage of the population belongs to the age category “under 15 years” than on any other continent on Earth.
12. The average population density in Africa is only slightly higher than 30 people per square kilometer. This is much lower than in Europe or Asia.
13. Over the past half century, the average life expectancy here has increased by 15 years, from 39 to 54. True, this is still very little when compared with other countries.
14. The Second Congo War, which lasted from 1998 to 2006, claimed the lives of about 5.4 million people. In terms of the number of victims of all wars in world history, it is second only to the Second World War.
15. In the north of Namibia lives the distinctive Himba tribe, whose representatives carefully protect their established way of life from strangers, practically do not wear modern clothes and do not enjoy the benefits of civilization. Despite this, many residents of the settlements can count, write their own names and speak some phrases in English.
PEOPLE OF MALI
16. Slavery is still widespread in some African countries, particularly Mali.
17. More than half of Africa's population does not have access to clean drinking water.
18. The population of African countries is growing rapidly. According to the forecasts of some scientists, by 2050 the population of Africa will double.
19. Most of the population of Africa professes Islam. Christianity comes in second place in popularity.
20. There are many unusual peoples living in Africa. Despite the global spread of the benefits of civilization, the lifestyle of most of them is fundamentally different from the life of a modern person, not to mention their clothes, traditions and unique value system, so each of the peoples of Africa can be considered amazing in their own way.
BANTU WOMEN
21. Bantu are one of the most amazing and most developed peoples in Africa, among whom there are representatives of politics and cultural figures. But, despite this, the Bantu managed to preserve their traditional flavor, centuries-old traditions and rituals.
22. Unlike most peoples inhabiting the hot continent, they are not afraid of civilization and often invite tourists to their excursions, which provide them with good income.
CUSTOM: MALE INITIATION IN THE HAMAR TRIBE
23. The Hamar are rightfully one of the most amazing tribes in Africa and one of the friendliest in Southern Ethiopia. One of the most famous Hamar customs is initiation into a man after reaching adulthood, for which a young man needs to run from side to side over the backs of bulls 4 times. It is noteworthy that the young men undergo the ceremony in the nude, which symbolizes childhood, to which they are saying goodbye. If after three attempts he fails to do this, the next ceremony can be performed only a year later, and if successful, he receives his first property (a cow) from his father and can look for a wife.
24. The Hamar have another, rather cruel ritual, in which all girls and women can take part: they perform a traditional dance in front of men and receive blows on their backs with thin rods in return. The number of scars remaining is the main source of pride, an indicator of a woman’s strength and endurance, which increases her value as a wife in the eyes of men.
25. Hamars are allowed to have as many wives as they are able to pay ransoms (dauri) for them in the form of 20-30 heads of cattle. But the highest status remains with the first wife, which is confirmed by wearing a collar with a handle made of metal and leather.
ON THE STREETS OF NIGERIA
26. About 16-17% of the total African population lives in Nigeria, the most populous and at the same time perhaps the poorest country on this continent.
AFRICAN BUSHMEN
27. The Bushmen people living in southern Africa still use the same tools that were used by their ancestors more than 44 thousand years ago, judging by archaeological finds.
28. All women like to be complimented. And it’s nice for the men themselves. But, probably, compliments are most valued in the state of Togo - here a man who compliments a woman is obliged to marry her.
29. The Matabi tribe (West Africa) loves football very much. And so much so that they are not stopped by the lack of a quality ball. They solved the problem simply, often instead of a ball they use... a human skull.
30. Many people have heard about the female harems of the sultans, but in the state of Malaya, in some parts of it, women maintain harems of men.
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MASAI TRIBE
31. The Masai are often found on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjdaro, which occupies a special place in the beliefs of this amazing tribe.
32. Representatives of the Masai tribe imagined themselves to be the highest people of Africa, true beauties and favorites of the gods. Due to this conceit, they often treat other nationalities with contempt and do not hesitate to steal animals from them, which sometimes leads to armed conflicts.
33. The Maasai live in a dwelling made of branches covered with dung, the construction of which is often carried out by women. They feed mainly on milk and blood of animals, and meat is rare in their diet. In the absence of food, they pierce the cow’s carotid artery and drink the blood, and then cover this place with fresh manure in order to repeat the “meal” after a while.
34. A distinctive sign of the beauty of this amazing tribe is their drawn-out earlobes. At the age of 7-8, children have their earlobes pierced with a piece of horn and gradually widened using pieces of wood. Due to the use of heavy jewelry, earlobes sometimes droop to shoulder level, which is considered a sign of supreme beauty and respect for their owner.
PYGMIES OF AFRICA
35. Part of the population of Africa is made up of pygmies, who are the shortest people on Earth.
36. African pygmies and the aborigines of the Andaman Islands: what could these peoples have in common? It turns out that these are the only people on Earth who do not know about the existence of fire.
TANZANIAN PYGMIES
37. But in the African Watuzi people the tallest men are - most representatives of this African tribe are 2 meters tall or even more.
MILITARY AND CRUEL MURSI
39. The men of this tribe often organize fierce fights among themselves for leadership. If such a showdown ends with the death of one of the participants, the survivor has to give his wife to the family of the deceased in the form of compensation.
40. It is customary for men to decorate themselves with fang earrings and horseshoe-shaped scars, which are inflicted in case of killing an enemy: first, the symbols are carved on the hands, and when there is no room left on them, other parts of the body are used.
41. Women of the Mursi tribe look very unusual. A stooped back, sagging belly and chest, and instead of hair on her head, a headdress made of dry branches, animal skin and dead insects is an amazing description of a typical representative of the fair half of the Mursi. Their image is complemented by a clay disk (debi) inserted into a cut on the lower lip. Girls have the right to decide for themselves whether to cut their lips or not, but for brides without such decoration they give a much smaller ransom.
MEN FROM THE KARO TRIBE
42. Karo is one of the small African tribes; there are no more than 1000 people in it. They are engaged primarily in cattle breeding, but men can spend long months hunting and even work in nearby towns.
43. Women at this time are engaged in household chores and another important craft - dressing skins.
44. Representatives of this tribe can top the list of the most amazing craftsmen in Africa in terms of decorating their bodies. For this purpose, they cover themselves with ornaments applied with plant paints, chiseled chalk or ocher, and use feathers, beads, shells, and even beetle elytra and corn cobs as decorations. At the same time, the male half of the population wears much brighter makeup, since it is important for them to have the most intimidating appearance possible.
45. Another remarkable detail among Karo men and women is the pierced lower lip, into which nails, flowers and simply dried twigs are inserted.
46. The population of the African country of Tanzania is interesting. More albinos live there than in any other country in the world.
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NUBA TRIBE
47. On the border of Sudan and South Sudan lives the amazing Nuba tribe, which has family customs that are unusual even for Africa. At annual dances, girls choose their future husbands, but before receiving this status, a man is obliged to build a house for his future family. Until that time, young people can only meet secretly at night, and even the birth of a child does not give the right to the status of a legal spouse.
48. When the housing is ready, the girl and the guy are allowed to sleep under the same roof, but under no circumstances eat. This right is given to them only after a year, when the marriage has passed the test of time and will be considered official.
49. A distinctive feature of the noob for a long time was the absence of any division into classes and monetary relations. But in the 70s of the 20th century, the Sudanese government began sending local men to work in the city. They returned from there in clothes and with little money, so they felt like real rich people among their fellow tribesmen, which gave rise to envy among others and contributed to the prosperity of theft.
50. Thus, the civilization that reached the Nuba brought them much more harm than good. But still, among them there are representatives who continue to ignore the benefits of civilization and adorn their bodies only with numerous scars, and not with clothes.
LEADER OF THE ZULUS
photo from the Internet
The African continent is capable of surprising and enchanting any traveler. Africa attracts with its mystery and naturalness. Today this is one of the most interesting places on Earth, thanks to its nature and landscapes, color and, of course, its inhabitants. This article contains the most interesting facts about Africa:
Of course that's not all interesting facts about Africa, it is impossible to list everything unusual and mysterious about this continent in one article. Africa still holds a lot of things unknown to man!
African wildlife
Most of Africa is undeveloped by people. A significant part of North Africa is occupied by the sultry Sahara Desert. This lifeless expanse of sand is one of the hottest places on the planet.
In the region of the equator, which crosses the African continent exactly in the middle, there are vast tropical forests - impenetrable thickets of giant trees. These forests are always humid due to heavy tropical rains.
More than one-third of the African continent is flat, mostly covered with grass and shrubs. This is the African steppe - savanna. Huge herds of elephants, antelopes, zebras and other herbivores graze here. Other animals, such as lions, hunt herbivores.
Mountains, lakes, rivers
A giant rift in the earth's crust runs through East Africa, called the Great Rift Valley. This area has many mountain peaks, gorges and deep lakes. The highest mountains are in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The largest lake is called Victoria and occupies a huge depression in the middle of the rift valley. It looks like a small inland sea; fertile lands are located along its shores.
The deepest African rivers are the Nile, Niger, Congo, Zambezi and Limpopo.
They catch fish and use them for various transportation and for irrigating fields.
Peoples of Africa
Africa is inhabited by many different peoples. The north is inhabited mainly by Arabs and Berbers, most of whom are Muslims. Black tribes and peoples living south of the Sahara Desert, representing more than 800 different ethnic groups, make up three-quarters of the continent's population.
Africa has 53 states, more than any other continent. Their inhabitants speak more than two thousand different languages.
Lifestyle
Many people in Africa are engaged in agriculture, growing cocoa, cotton, sugar cane, coffee, tea, bananas and rubber trees. Africa is the main producer of palm oil, from which soap and margarine are made.
In addition, Africa is very rich in mineral resources: gold, diamonds, tin and copper are mined there. There are large oil reserves in western and northern Africa. Most Africans live in small villages, often maintaining the ancient lifestyle and culture of their tribe. But cities and industrial areas are growing very quickly.
The largest cities are Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt, Lagos in Nigeria, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Town in South Africa.
European influence
For many centuries, Europeans knew very little about Africa and Africans. At the end of the 15th century, the Portuguese discovered a sea route to India, rounding the southern tip of Africa. Soon the entire African coast was mapped, but few traders and explorers ventured inland.
In the 16th century, European sailors began bringing slaves from Africa.
Between the 1500s and 1800s, approximately 14 million slaves were taken from Africa to America. Usually traders bought them from tribes on the coast.
Colonization
In the 19th century, many European countries founded their colonies in Africa. The continent was divided between Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Italy. European authorities brought new customs and rules to Africa, but many Africans soon began to resent foreign domination.
Winning independence
During the 1950s and 1960s, most of the colonies became independent states. Many of them were very poor and had lived through terrible civil wars in which different political groups fought for power. Now many African states are experiencing difficulties. However, their economy is developing, they are receiving assistance from stronger and more developed countries.
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