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| Pic: Smutshall.com |
Africa is home to more than 3000 distinct ethnic groups and over 2000 languages. There are approximately 58 countries in Africa.
1. Much of Africa was colonised by European invaders, except Liberia and Ethiopia.
2. Africa is the world's second largest and second most populated continent, with about 1.1 billion people.
3. According to the UN's population estimates, Africa's population will triple between 2000 and 2050, going from roughly 800 million to roughly 2,4 billion.
4. The Sahara desert is the largest desert in the world and is much bigger than the US.
5. Africa has the largest reserves of precious metals with over 40 % of gold reserves, over 90 % of platinum reserves and over 60 % of cobalt.
6. The Nile is the longest river in the world with a total length of 6, 650 km.
7. At about 30, 2 million square km, the African continent covers the 6 % of the earth's total surface area and 20,4 percent of the total land area.
8. Megafauna like zebra, cheetah, giraffe, chimpanzee, hippotamus, gorilla and wildebeest are unique to the continent and only found there.
9. The roots of Western classical music in ancient Egyptian art music via cheironomy and the ancient Egyptian orchestra, which dates to 2,695BCE.
10. More than half of maternal deaths in the world occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
11. The richest African in the world is Aliko Dangote from Nigeria. With a net worth of $14, 4 billion, he is ranked 67th in the world according to Forbes.
12. Asthma was recognised in ancient Egypt and was treated by drinking an incense mixture known as Kyphi.
13. Judaism has been in Africa for around 3000 years, Christianity in Ethiopia for 2000 years and Islam for 1400 years.
14. Africa is home to the world's highest rates of HIV/AIDS. According to Dosomething.org estimates: Out of the 34 million HIV-positive people worldwide, 69% live in sub-Saharan Africa. There are roughly 23.8 million infected persons in all of Africa.
15. Africa has been the second-fastest-growing region in the world over the past 10 years, with average annual growth of 5.1 per cent over the past decade, driven by greater political stability and economic
reforms that have unleashed the private sector in many countries.
16. In 2013, Africa was the world’s fastest-growing continent at 5.6% a year, and GDP is expected to rise by an average of over 6% a year between 2013 and 2023.
17. Nigeria and South Africa ranks among the largest economies in the continent.
18. The largest consumers of electric power in Africa are South Africa, Libya, Namibia, Egypt, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe, which each consume between 1000 and 5000 KWh/m 2 per person, in contrast with African states such as Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Tanzania, where electricity consumption per person is negligible.
Notes:
1. National Geographic
2. African holocaust
3. The Independent
4. Dosomething.org
5. Wikipedia
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