CONTINENTS REVIEW: AFRICA

Africa is the World's second-largest continent after Asia - 30,065,000 km covering approximately 20% of the Earth's land and 6% of the Earth's surface .



It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Indian Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. The Red Sea and Suez Canal lie to the north-east and separate Africa from Asia.


Geography

The longest river in the World, The Nile, measuring 6,695 km - flows north ending in a delta that empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

The World's largest desert, The Sahara, measuring 9,000,000 km, covers much of north Africa. The Kalahari desert in south-west Africa measures 259,000 km.

The Atlas mountain range lies in the north-west of Africa and the highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, 5895 m, is in Tanzania.


Climate and Weather

Africa is broadly divided into five regions as shown on the map right. The seasons are fairly well defined in those regions that lie in the northern and southern hemispheres - the north and south of Africa.

Northern Africa - Spring - March, April, May
- Summer - June, July, August
- Autumn - September, October, November
- Winter - December, January, February
Southern Africa - Spring - August, September, October
- Summer - November, December, January
- Autumn - February, March, April
- Winter - May, June, July


The seasons of western, central and eastern Africa are less easy to define since these regions lie between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and tend to have a more constant temperature range throughout the year.


Demography

The population of Africa is growing rapidly with a growth rate of approximately 3% per annum.

The total population of Africa is approximately 877,500,000 (2005). The desert regions are the least populated while the most populated areas are in the north, south and around the Gulf of Guinea.
The countries with the highest populations (to the nearest million) are:

Nigeria - 130 million
Egypt - 71 million
Ethiopia - 68 million
Democratic Republic of Congo - 55 million
South Africa - 44 million

Botswana and South Africa are the most economically developed regions while Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producing region.

About 70% of Africa's population rely on agriculture for income and times of drought can produce severe hardship. The climate of Africa together with the effects of the Slave Trade, colonisation, international trade and internal wars and conflicts make Africa the World's poorest continent.


Country List

There are 53 countries in Africa

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo (DRC), Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

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