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P:AFRICA

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 1.4 billion people0 as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst 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, tribalism, colonialism, the Cold War, neocolonialism, lack of democracy, and corruption. 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 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 has often been under-appreciated by the global historical community. Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, is widely accepted as the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes). The earliest hominids and their ancestors have been dated to around 7 million years ago, including Sahelanthropus tchadensis, 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...)

For a topic outline, see Outline of Africa.

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Paul Kagame (left) and Juvénal Habyarimana (right), leaders of the RPF and Rwandan Government forces, respectively, for most of the war.

The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1 October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups within the Rwandan population. A 1959–1962 revolution had replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsi to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in Uganda founded the RPF which, under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame, became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s.

The war began on 1 October 1990, when the RPF invaded north-eastern Rwanda, advancing 60 km (37 mi) into the country. They suffered a major setback when Rwigyema was killed in action on the second day. The Rwandan Army, assisted by troops from France, gained the upper hand and the RPF were largely defeated by the end of October. Kagame, who had been in the United States during the invasion, returned to take command. He withdrew troops to the Virunga Mountains for several months before attacking again. The RPF began a guerrilla war, which continued until mid-1992 with neither side able to gain the upper hand. A series of protests forced Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana to begin peace negotiations with the RPF and domestic opposition parties. Despite disruption and killings by Hutu Power, a group of extremists opposed to any deal, and a fresh RPF offensive in early 1993, the negotiations were successfully concluded with the signing of the Arusha Accords in August 1993. (Full article...)

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Image 1
South-West African mark
Banknote: Swakopmund Bookshop (courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)
The South West African mark was a temporary currency issued in South West Africa between 1916 and 1918 as part of the South West Africa campaign. Issued after the conquest of German South West Africa by South Africa, notes were denominated in marks and pfennig, as with the withdrawn German South West African Mark. Many institutions issued banknotes; this two-mark note was issued by the Swakopmund Bookshop. The South-West African mark was replaced in 1918 by the South African pound.
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Image 2
Pelargonium graveolens
Photo credit: Laitche
The Rose Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) is a plant indigenous to various parts of southern Africa, and in particular South Africa. This specific species has great importance in the perfume industry. Its cultivars have a wide variety of smells, including rose, citrus, mint, coconut and nutmeg, as well as various fruits.
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Image 3
Roan antelope
Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp
The roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) is a species of savanna antelope found in western, central and southern Africa. Named for its reddish-brown coat, it has a black face with white patches around the eyes and the mouth, and a short erect mane of greyish brown hair extending from the back of the neck to the rump. This roan antelope, of the subspecies H. e. koba, was photographed in Senegal; the subspecies's range extends from Senegal to Benin in western Africa.
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Image 4
German East African rupie
Banknote design credit: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank; photographed by Andrew Shiva
The rupie was the unit of currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916. During World War I, the colony was cut off from Germany as a result of a wartime blockade and the colonial government needed to create an emergency issue of banknotes. Paper made from linen or jute was initially used, but because of wartime shortages, the notes were later printed on commercial paper in a variety of colours, wrapping paper, and in one instance, wallpaper. This five-rupie banknote was issued in 1915, and is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000013-QINU`"'

* 1 rupie
* 10 rupie
* 20 rupie
* 50 rupie
* 200 rupie
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Image 5
Giza pyramid complex

Photo credit: Ricardo Liberato

The Giza Necropolis stands on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient monuments is located some eight kilometres (5 mi) inland into the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, some 25 kilometres (15 mi) southwest of Cairo city centre. The pyramids are the only remaining monuments of the 7 Wonders of the World.
Image 6
Larabanga Mosque
Photograph: Sathyan Velumani
The Larabanga Mosque was built in the Sudanese architectural style in the village of Larabanga, Ghana. It is the oldest mosque in the country and one of the oldest in West Africa, and has been called the "Mecca of West Africa". It has undergone restoration several times since it was founded. The World Monuments Fund has contributed substantially to its restoration, and lists it as one of the 100 most endangered sites.
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Image 7
Eswatini
Photograph credit: Amada44
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The government is an absolute monarchy, the last of its kind in Africa, and the country has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. One of the country's important cultural events is Umhlanga, the reed-dance festival, held in August or September each year. This photograph shows Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini, the eldest daughter of Mswati III, at the 2006 festival.
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Image 8
Geography of Africa
Photo: NASA
A composite satellite image of the geography of Africa, the Earth's second-largest continent, and its adjacent islands. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from much of Asia by the Red Sea, Africa is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez. For geopolitical purposes, the Sinai Peninsula – east of the Suez Canal – is often considered part of Africa, although geographically it belongs in Asia. Africa can be divided into a number of geographic zones: The Atlas Mountains in the north, the Sahara, the coastal plains, and the inner plateaus.
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Image 9
Baobab
Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Adansonia digitata is a sub-Saharan African species of baobab tree. The genus, scientifically known as Adansonia, consists of nine species native to Madagascar, Africa, Arabia and Australia, and can reach heights of 5 to 30 m (16 to 98 ft) with trunk diameters of 7 to 11 m (23 to 36 ft).
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Image 10
Sable antelope
Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
The sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) is an antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in eastern and southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separate population in Angola. The species is sexually dimorphic, with the male heavier and about one-fifth taller than the female. It has a compact and robust build, characterized by a thick neck and tough skin, and both sexes have ringed horns which arch backward. The sable antelope has four subspecies.

This picture shows an adult male common sable antelope (H. n. niger) in the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa.
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Image 11
Maasai people
Photo: William Warby
Portrait of a Maasai woman, with shaved head, stretched earlobes, and beaded adornments, typical of the Maasai culture. The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known of African ethnic groups, due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa. Their primary language Maa (ɔl Maa) is a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer.
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Image 12
Caricature of Cecil John Rhodes, after he announced plans for a telegraph line from Cape Town to Cairo.

Photo credit: Punch

The Cape to Cairo Railway is an uncompleted project to cross Africa from south to north by rail. The plan was initiated at the end of the 19th century, largely under the vision of Cecil Rhodes, in the attempt to connect adjacent African possessions of the British Empire through a continuous line from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt. While most sections of the Cape to Cairo railway are in operation, a major part is missing between Sudan and Uganda.
Image 13
King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus)

Photo credit: User:Franek2

King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) on shore of Île de la Possession or "Possession Island".
Image 14
Nautical chart of Portuguese cartographer Fernão Vaz Dourado (c. 1520 - c. 1580), part of a nautical atlas drawn in 1571 and now kept in the Portuguese National Archives of Torre do Tombo, Lisbon.

Photo credit: Portuguse National Archives of Torre do Tombo, Lisbon

A pre-Mercator nautical chart of 1571, from Portuguese cartographer Fernão Vaz Dourado (c. 1520 – c.1580). It belongs to the so-called plane chart model, where observed latitudes and magnetic directions are plotted directly into the plane, with a constant scale, as if the Earth were plane. The Moors from Spain had maps of the known world, and had been traveling to and from Mecca, Arabia for many years. In 1492, Christopher Columbus had possession of the Maps of the Moors, which had been confiscated from Andalusia and were now in service to Portuguese and Spanish Explorers. The African Moors already knew at that time, well into the 1500's, that the world was round.
Image 15
Dar es Salaam

Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: Kinondoni to the north, Ilala in the center of the region, and Temeke to the south. The Dar es Salaam Region had a population of 2,497,940 as of the official 2002 census. Though Dar es Salaam lost its official status as capital city to Dodoma in 1974, it remains the center of the permanent central government bureaucracy and continues to serve as the capital for the Dar es Salaam Region.
Image 16

Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: Kinondoni to the north, Ilala in the center of the region, and Temeke to the south. The Dar es Salaam Region had a population of 2,497,940 as of the official 2002 census. Though Dar es Salaam lost its official status as capital city to Dodoma in 1974, it remains the center of the permanent central government bureaucracy and continues to serve as the capital for the Dar es Salaam Region.
Image 17
Pod of hippos in Luangwa Valley, Zambia

Photo credit: Paul Maritz

The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), from the Greek ‘ιπποπόταμος (hippopotamos, hippos meaning "horse" and potamos meaning "river"), is a large, mostly plant-eating African mammal, one of only two extant and three or four extinct species in the family Hippopotamidae.
Image 18
Dallol
Photograph credit: Alexander Savin
Dallol is a cinder-cone volcano in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range in Ethiopia. The area lies up to 120 m (390 ft) below sea level, and has been repeatedly flooded in the past when waters from the Red Sea have inundated it. The Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places on Earth, and the evaporation of seawater after these flooding episodes produced thick deposits of salt, as seen in this landscape. The deposits at Dallol include significant quantities of the carbonate, sulfate and chloride salts of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Hot springs discharge brine to form the blueish ponds, and small, temporary geysers produce cones of salt.
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Image 19
Amphitheatre of El Jem
Photograph: Poco a poco
Panoramic view of the Amphitheatre of El Jem, an archeological site in the city of El Djem, Tunisia. The amphitheatre, one of the best-preserved Roman ruins and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, was built around 238 AD, when modern Tunisia belonged to the Roman province of Africa. It is the third-biggest amphitheatre in the world, with axes of 148 m (486 ft) and 122 m (400 ft) and a seating capacity of 35,000, unique in Africa.
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Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that the book Love Falls On Us, about the LGBTQ movement in Africa, was praised by author Uzodinma Iweala for "elevating the extraordinary ordinariness of L.G.B.T.Q. Africans"?
... that activist Gerlin Bean co-founded the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent in 1978, an event described as "a watershed in the history of Black women's rights activism"?
... that Louise Fulton was the first African American to win a professional bowling tournament?
... that Ivory Coast won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Final when their goalkeeper scored a penalty and Ghana's goalkeeper missed?
... that Charles Larson became one of the first Americans to teach African literature, after working in Nigeria for the Peace Corps to avoid the Vietnam draft?
... that after the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed, South African artistic gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz livestreamed the routine she was going to perform?

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Bethwell Allan Ogot (born 3 August 1929) is a Kenyan historian and eminent African scholar who specialises in African history, research methods and theory. One of his works starts by saying that "to tell the story of a past so as to portray an inevitable destiny is, for humankind, a need as universal as tool-making. To that extent, we may say that a human being is, by nature, historicus.

Ogot was the Chancellor of Moi University up to early 2013. (Full article...)

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Flag of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire (officially the République de Côte d'Ivoire), formerly known as Ivory Coast, is a country in West Africa. It borders Liberia and Guinea to the west, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.

From independence in 1960 until 1993, it was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny and was closely associated economically and politically with its West African neighbors and maintained close ties to the West, which helped its economic development and political stability. Following the end of Houphoët-Boigny's rule, this stability was destroyed by two coups (1999 and 2001) and the Ivorian Civil War.

Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with strong executive power personified in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the official language is French. The economy is largely market-based and relies heavily on agriculture, with smallholder cash crop production being dominant. (Read more...)

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Tindouf in the 1970s

Tindouf (Arabic: تندوف, romanized: Tindūf) is the main town, and a commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders. The commune has a population of around 160,000, but the census and population estimates do not count the Sahrawi refugees, making the population as of the 2008 census 45,966, up from 25,266 in 1998, giving the town an annual population growth rate of 6.3%.

The region is considered of strategic significance as it houses Algerian military bases and an airport with regular flights to Algiers, as well as flights to other domestic destinations. The settlement of Garet Djebilet lies within the municipal territory of Tindouf near the border with Mauritania; the settlement has an iron mine and a defunct airport, and is approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Âouinet Bel Egrâ. Since 1975, it also contains several Sahrawi refugee camps operated by the Polisario Front, a national liberation movement seeking the self-determination of Western Sahara. (Full article...)

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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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The following are images from various Africa-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A Yombe sculpture (Louvre, Paris) (from Culture of Africa)
Image 2A woman in Kenya wearing kanga (from Culture of Africa)
Image 3Potjiekos is a traditional Afrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 4Ashanti Kente cloth patterns (from Culture of Africa)
Image 5A terra-cotta head sculpture (1100-1500) of the Yoruba, showing extraordinary naturalism. This head represents the oni or king of Ife. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 6BaKongo masks from the Kongo Central region (from Culture of Africa)
Image 7Contemporary political map of Africa (Includes Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa) (from History of Africa)
Image 8Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, one of the most iconic singers in African history (from Culture of Africa)
Image 9Map showing the states, people, and material cultures of the African continent c. 1800 BC, but missing the Kintampo civilisation and Tichitt culture in West Africa. (from History of Africa)
Image 10Vegetation and water bodies in early Holocene (top), between about 12,000 and 7,000 years ago, and Eemian (bottom) (from History of Africa)
Image 11Map of ancient Egypt, showing major cities and sites of the Dynastic period (c. 3150 BC to 30 BC) (from History of Africa)
Image 12Traditional male dancers from Northern Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Image 13Terracotta sculpture, 13th c.; the raised marks and indentations on the back of this hunched Djenné figure may represent disease or, more likely, scarification patterns. The facial expression and pose could depict an individual in mourning or in pain (from History of Africa)
Image 14Areas controlled by European powers in 1939. British (red) and Belgian (marroon) colonies fought with the Allies. Italian (light green) with the Axis. French colonies (dark blue) fought alongside the Allies until the Fall of France in June 1940. Vichy was in control until the Free French prevailed in late 1942. Portuguese (dark green) and Spanish (yellow) colonies remained neutral. (from History of Africa)
Image 15Sudan basket-tray, tabar of weaved natural plant fiber, in different colors (from Culture of Africa)
Image 16Carthaginian Empire in 323 BC (from History of Africa)
Image 17Fresh Moroccan couscous with vegetables and chickpeas (from Culture of Africa)
Image 189th-century bronze staff head in form of a coiled snake, Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria (from History of Africa)
Image 19Gateway to the Castle of Good Hope in South Africa (from Culture of Africa)
Image 20Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of paintings in Tanzania, Kenya and neighbouring countries (from Culture of Africa)
Image 21Reconstruction of "Lucy" (from History of Africa)
Image 22Ethiopian king Menelik II at the Battle of Adwa in 1896 (from History of Africa)
Image 23Dates of independence of African countries (from History of Africa)
Image 24The Kingdom of Aksum in the 6th century AD. (from History of Africa)
Image 25The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (from Culture of Africa)
Image 26An Ethiopian woman preparing Ethiopian coffee at a traditional ceremony. She roasts, crushes, and brews the coffee on the spot. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 27Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performing Adumu, a traditional dance (from Culture of Africa)
Image 28Yoruba drummers at celebration in Ojumo Oro, Kwara State, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Image 29Ancient Kano City Walls, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Image 30Romanised-Berber kingdoms: Altava, Ouarsenis, Hodna, Aures, Nemencha, Capsus, Dorsale, Cabaon. (from History of Africa)
Image 31Ruby, Egyptian singer performing (from Culture of Africa)
Image 32Pre-Neolithic and Neolithic migration events in Africa. (from History of Africa)
Image 33Obelisk at temple of Luxor, Egypt. c. 1200 BC (from History of Africa)
Image 34Central mosque in Nouakchott, Mauritania (from Culture of Africa)
Image 35
1 = 2000–1500 BC origin

2 = c. 1500 BC first dispersal
2.a = Eastern Bantu
2.b = Western Bantu

3 = 1000–500 BC Urewe nucleus of Eastern Bantu

4–7 = southward advance

9 = 500–1 BC Congo nucleus

10 = AD 1–1000 last phase (from History of Africa)
Image 36Fufu (right) is a staple meal in West Africa and Central Africa. It is usually served with some peanut soup. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 37Sample of the Egyptian Book of the Dead of the scribe Nebqed, c. 1300 BC (from Culture of Africa)
Image 38Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional folklore dance (from Culture of Africa)

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More did you know – show different entries

... that Liberia College in the country of Liberia was authorized by the legislature in 1851, but did not start classes until 1863?
... that the forced removal of 700,000 people from slums in Zimbabwe in 2005 was called "a crime against humanity" by the UN?
... that the supreme god of the southern African Bushmen is Cagn, a trickster who shapeshifts into a praying mantis?
... that Bahá'í Faith in Niger began during a period of wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa near the end of its colonial period?