AFRICA

• The continent of Africa borders the

southern half of the Mediterranean
Sea.
• The Atlantic Ocean is to the west
and the Indian Ocean is to the
Southeast.
• Africa stretches well south of the
equator to cover more than 12
million square miles making Africa
the world's second largest
continent.
• Africa is also the world's second
most populous continent.
• Africa is one of the most diverse
places on the planet with a wide
variety of terrain, wildlife, and
climates.
Facts about Africa
• Population: 1,022,234,000 (Source: 2010 United Nations) Map of
Africa
• Area: 11,668,599 square miles

• Ranking: It is the second largest and second most populous continent.

• Major Biomes: desert, savanna, rain forest

The highest point in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at 5895 meters high.
The lowest point is Lake Assal in Djibouti at 153 meters below sea level.
The largest country in Africa is Algeria, the smallest is the Seychelles. The most
populated country is Nigeria.
The largest lake in Africa is Lake Victoria and the longest river is the Nile River,
which is also the longest river in the world.
Africa is rich with varied wildlife including elephants, penguins, lions, cheetahs,
seals, giraffes, gorillas, crocodiles, and hippos.
African languages are varied with more than 1000 languages spoken across the
continent.
Major cities:
• Cairo, Egypt
• Lagos, Nigeria
• Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Johannesburg-Ekurhuleni, South Africa
• Khartoum-Umm Durman, Sudan
• Alexandria, Egypt
• Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
• Casablanca, Morocco
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Durban, South Africa
• Bordering Bodies of Water: Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Red Sea,
Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Guinea

Major Rivers and Lakes: Nile River, Niger River, Congo River, Zambezi
River, Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Nyasa

• Major Geographical Features: Sahara Desert, Kalahari Desert,

Ethiopian Highlands, Serengeti grasslands, Atlas Mountains, Mount
Kilimanjaro, Madagascar Island, Great Rift Valley, the Sahel, and the
Horn of Africa
It is where the human race began.
Africa has seen the rise and fall of many great civilizations and empires
throughout its history. The oldest and longest lasting of these being the
Ancient Egyptians who are still famous today for their pyramids and
pharaohs. However, the Egyptians weren't the only civilization to
develop in Ancient Africa. Important civilizations developed throughout
the continent such as Carthage, the Mali Empire, and the Kingdom of
Ghana.
 Africa: A little history
• Our species (Homo Sapiens) emerged in Africa about 200 000 years ago. Groups of
us began to leave Africa about 60 000 years ago.
• Africa has a long history of civilizations, empires, and kingdoms.
• Portuguese explorers arrived in West Africa in the 15th century and began to trade;
they were followed over time by traders from other European countries.
• The Europeans wanted slaves, as well as gold, ivory, and other materials. Slave
trading was already common in parts of Africa. But with the arrival of the
Europeans, it became a major feature of Africa’s economy.
• Europe’s part in the slave trade lasted from the 15th century until it was finally
banned among European countries around 1850.
• While the slave trade was collapsing, the Europeans were already colonizing parts of
Africa. The main area of colonization was from about 1814 to 1905.
• 1884, the European colonial powers met in Germany to agree a new map of Africa.
• The colonies gradually gained their independence, from 1051 to 1980. (Since then,
several countries have broken up further).
Africa today
54 countries (23 of them
smaller in area than the UK).
The area changes as new
countries such as South
Sudan , form.
Characteristics of Africa:
• A young, rapidly growing population
• A high percentage of the workforce in farming
• A high percentage of people living in poverty
• Many ethnic groups and languages
• English is the official language in over 20 countries.
• Africa can earn money from its mineral resources and agriculture
• Africa’s big challenge is to end poverty
Africa’s countries
When the European colonizers met in 1884 to carve up
Africa, they drew new country borders on a map
Regions of Africa
 Africa’s countries and population
distribution
• The population of Africa is about 1.1 billion.
• Population density is the number of people living in a place , per
square kilometer.
• Population density varies across Africa. ( It is influenced by physical
features and climate)
• Of the 54 African countries, 26 have a smaller population than
London.
Africa’s physical features
• Africa has a wide variety of physical features as you’d expect from a
continent
• They include Earth’s longest river (the Nile), its largest hot desert (the
Sahara) , its second largest freshwater lake, by area (Lake Victoria),
and its largest sheet of falling water (Victoria Falls)
• East and Southern Africa are the most mountainous regions
• Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain.
• East Africa has the most lakes.
NASA’s satellite image of the world at
night
AFRICA’S BIOMES
• Africa has different climate zones and these in turn lead to different
biomes.
• A biome is a large region with the same type of climate throughout, and
with distinctive species of plants and animals that have adapted to this
climate.
• Africa has 4 main biomes: hot desert, semi – desert, savanna and
rainforest.
• Hot deserts are very hot in the day, very cold at night and have very little
rain.
• The semi – desert is a bit cooler than the desert, with some rain.
• The savanna is warm all year, with wet and dry seasons.
• The rainforest is warm and wet all year.
What is the difference between a continent
and a country?
• A continent is a body of land that is home to many different
countries, with the exception of Australia and Antarctica, which stand
on their own. In the case of continents, the boundaries have been
decided strictly based on geography.
• A country is actually part of a continent, and while a continent is
determined by geography, a country is determined by the drawing of
national boundaries by people