Africa

We explain what Africa is, its history, its physical and cultural characteristics. In addition, how is its economy, religion and the history of this continent.

What is Africa?

Africa It is one of the six continents of the Earth and the third of larger after Asia and America. It borders the north with Europe, to the south with Antarctica, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east. It has a total extension of 30.3 million square kilometers, which represents 20.3 % of the total earth’s surface of the planet Earth.

A distinctive characteristic of Africa is The high level of poverty that most continent countries have. According to him World Bank9 of the 10 poorest countries in the world are in Africa. They are Central African Republic, Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan and Guinea Bissau. In these countries, indicators such as the malnutrition rate or infant mortality are well above the world average.

Why is it called that? The origin of the name “Africa” ​​is not completely clear, but it is believed that it has its origin in the term of Latin Africuswhich means “southern wind.” This term was used by the Romans to refer to the lands to the south of the Mediterranean Sea where the warm and dry winds that came from Africa originated.

Characteristics of Africa

• It is the third most extensive continent, after Asia and America.
• The tropical climate predominates, although it is desert and very hot in the north of the continent.
• It is the home of several of the most threatened species in the world, such as real zebra, mountain gorilla and the Ethiopian wolf.
• The cradle of culture and civilization is considered, because in the territories of Mesopotamia and Egypt the first hominid species were developed.
• It presents a great diversity of cultures, such as Arabic, the Egyptian and the European.
• It presents one of the most wide linguistic diversities in the world, although the main official languages ​​are English and French. Many Africans speak Igbo, Suajili, Kanuri and Yoruba, among other languages.

Extension, population and countries in Africa

The African continent has An area of ​​30,300,000 square kilometersand extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the North to Cape Aguljas in the south. In addition, it is surrounded by Atlantic and Indian oceans, and separated from Asia by the Red Sea and the isthmus of Suez.

Africa is composed of 54 sovereign states. Most of them were European colonies during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, mainly from Great Britain, France, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy.

The most extensive countries of the African continent are: Algeria, with 2.38 million square kilometers, Democratic Republic of Congo with 2.34 million and Sudan with 1.8 million.

In 2023 it was estimated that The total population of the continent amounts to 1447 million inhabitantswhich represents 16.5 % of the total world population. The most populated countries are Nigeria with 218 million inhabitants, Ethiopia with 123 million and Egypt with 110 million.

Physical-Natural characteristics of Africa

Africa has a relatively low average altitude, about 650 meters above sea level. This continent is crossed by some mountain chainslike the Atlas Montes in the north, the mountains of Ahaggar and Tibesti in the Sahara desert and the East Africa mountains where Mount Kilimanjaro is located, which with 5890 meters high is the highest point of the continent.

Because of its location around Ecuador and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the African continent has a predominantly warm climate. According to their latitude and level of rainfall, the following climatic zones can be differentiated:

• Warm Equatorial Climate. It extends in the center of the continent, in the areas near the line of Ecuador. It is characterized by having high temperatures and very abundant rainfall throughout the year.
• Wet tropical climate. It extends to the north and south of the equatorial climate. It has high temperatures and abundant rainfall but with a marked dry season.
• Dry tropical climate. It extends in average latitudes. It has very warm summers and colder winters. Precipitation throughout the year are very scarce.
• Desert climate. It extends in the regions of Sahara and Kalahari. It has very high temperatures and is characterized by the virtually total absence of rainfall throughout the year.
• Mediterranean climate. It extends at the north end of the continent, in the region near the Mediterranean Sea. It is characterized by having warm and dry summers, and rainy and colder winters.

Due to the rainy weather and its predominantly flat relief, the African continent is characterized by the presence of long and caudalous rivers. The most extensive and caudalosos are:

• The Nile River, with 6650 kilometers, is the second most extensive in the world.
• The Congo River, with 4700 kilometers.
• The Niger River, with 4100 kilometers.

The jungle regions of Africa have a great diversity of animal and plant species. The African savanna, meanwhile, also has a great diversity of fauna But it is also characterized by being the only ecoregion of the world that houses large animals such as giraffes, elephants and rhinos.

Culture and religion of Africa

Africa is a culturally very diverse continent. The European colonial history, the expansion of the Arab world and the culture of the African native peoples left in the population a multiplicity of languages ​​that are spoken in different regions of the continent. The most spoken languages ​​are:

• Arab. It is spoken by more than 260 million people.
• English. It is spoken by more than 200 million people.
• French. It is spoken by more than 170 million people.
• Swahili. It is spoken by more than 120 million people.
• Oromo. It is spoken by more than 70 million people.

In addition to these languages, It is estimated that more than 1500 languages ​​and dialects from the original peoples are spoken in Africa that lived in the continent before the arrival of the Arabs and Europeans.

The two predominant religions of the continent are Christianity, with 43 % of the population, especially in the southern and west region, and Islam, with 40 %, especially in the north and east. The rest of the population professes traditional African religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism.

Economic Activities of Africa

Africa is a continent rich in natural resources and for that reason most of the economies of African countries They are based on primary activities such as agriculture, fishing and mining. In some regions these activities are the main source of employment and generate much of the GDP of the countries.

• Agriculture It is an important activity throughout Africa and is the main source of employment for most people living in rural areas. The most common crops are corn, rice, wheat, cassava, coffee, tea and cocoa. Fishing is also an important activity in many coastal regions and represents an important source of employment in countries such as Senegal or Equatorial Guinea.
• Mining It is another important economic activity in Africa, and the continent has a large amount of mineral resources such as gold, diamonds, copper, coltan, iron and oil. Some of the main mineral producers are South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Ghana. For their part, Nigeria and Angola are two of the main oil producers in Africa and the world.
• The industry sectorl. In some countries, such as South Africa, Morocco and Egypt are relatively developed, for example, in food and drinks production, textiles and petrochemistry. However, these industries are usually small and limited compared to other regions of the world.
• Tourism. It is a growing economic activity. Many African countries have important tourist attractions such as national parks, beaches, historical cities and wildlife reserves. Some of the most popular countries for tourists are South Africa, Egypt and Morocco.

Political characteristics of Africa

Africa is composed of 54 countries. All of them have full representation in the United Nations Organizations. In addition, there are other economic and political blocks made up of some of the countries of the continent. The most important are:

• The African union (UA). It is a political and economic organization created in order to promote cooperation between African countries. It was created in 2002 to happen to Organization of the African Unit (OUA) and are members of the 54 African countries.
• The Economic Community of Western Africa (CEDEAO). It is an economic bloc that aims to economic and political integration of Western Africa countries. It was founded in 1975 and has 15 member countries.
• The Sahelo-Saharian states community (CEN-SAD). It is an economic organization that seeks to promote cooperation between the countries of the Sahel and Sahara region. It was founded in 1998 and has 29 member countries.

History of Africa

The African continent is considered as the cradle of human civilization. Archaeological evidence shows the presence and development of hominids, the first primates that walked erect and demonstrated an advanced development of intelligence.

It is estimated that these hominids lived four million years ago. Modern humans inhabited 200,000 years ago in the eastern region of sub -Saharan Africa. Then they extended in the north and the east, to finally move around the rest of the world.

According to archaeological evidence, The oldest African population that inhabited before the arrival of Europeans was located in the current region of Ghana. The Arabs were the first to reach the north and west of Africa through several waves of migrations. They managed to establish part of their culture in African customs, such as their religion, Islam, and their Arabic language.

From the fifteenth and sixteenth century, millions of Africans, mainly young men, were taken as slave labor to America to work in mining and European plantations in that continent.

In the nineteenth century the European presence in the continent intensified. From the Berlin conference From 1885 and 1886 the main European powers decided to politically divide the continent for the exploitation of natural resources and labor. It was the moment in which France, Great Britain, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Italy distributed Africa and began a violent process of political and economic colonization.

In the twentieth century, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, the decolonization process began from which African countries ceased to be European colonies and became independent countries. However, internal conflicts, high levels of poverty and economic dependence on European powers persist, in most of the countries of the continent, until today.

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References

• Flores, J. (2018). Slaves: human trafficking through the Atlantic. Nationalgeographic
• Martos, C. (2022). Languages ​​in Africa: CINTOTICIAS.com/
• Ramodoo, I. (2019). IISD
• ACNUR (2023). The African union. ACNUR