Continent of Africa by Dr James Sambo Brief

Continent of Africa by Dr James Sambo

Brief History ●Africa is the 'cradle of humankind', the place where the first human beings lived 5 to 10 million years ago. ●Fossils found in Africa, show that the modern human beings spread from this continent. One of the earliest evidences of human life were found in South Africa. ●Many powerful kingdoms existed on the African continent in the early history and the Middle Ages. ●Between the 5 th and 15 th century, African slaves were traded mainly by Arab traders. ●In the late 19 th century Europeans started conquering Africa which was then colonised in the 19 th and 20 th century mainly from Britain and France, but also from the Dutch, Italian and Germans.

Africa Is Way Bigger Than You Think Africa is bigger than China, India, the contiguous U. S. and most of Europe—combined! True Fact: Algeria, the biggest continent in Africa, is almost double the size of South Africa) - compared to European countries, South Africa is positively massive. South-Africa is five times bigger than the UK!

There are 54 countries in Africa - and 9 territories -with a total of more than 1. 1 billion people living on the continent, which is 15% of the world's total population. Largest Country: Algeria. This country is among the ten largest countries in the world. (Algeria is about 10 times bigger than the UK) Smallest Country: Seychelles, which is a nation of islands in the Indian Ocean (UK is about 535 times bigger than Seychelles)

The Sahara in northern Africa is the largest hot desert in the world. The climate is extremely dry (arid) in this region.

Victoria Falls is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe Holiday Tip: Consider visiting for your African adventure!

People of Africa There are more than 3, 000 different groups of indigenous people living in Africa. Languages in Africa: It is estimated that about 2, 000 different languages are spoken on the African continent! Many Africans speak several African languages and also often another 'European' language. In some African countries, people speak English (Ghana, Nigeria which were formerly British colonies) French (Togo, Ivory Coast) Portuguese (Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome, Principe, Equatorial Guinea) as their Official language. These six nations are referred to as Lusophone Africa These languages are often used in communication and business. Arabic, the language spoken in northern Africa, is also used as official language.

Religion The two major religion in Africa are Christianity & Islam. It was also estimated in 2002 that Christians form 45% of Africa's population, with Muslims forming 40. 6% North Africa and some West African countries (such as Northern parts of Nigeria, Senegal, Mali Gambia), follow Islam. Countries like Gabon, Rwanda and Angola have Christianity as their main religion About 13. 5% of Africans that follow other religion such as Sikhism, Rastafarianism, Hinduism and the worship of their ancestors. True Fact: Did you know that Sao tome & Principe have the highest percentage of Christians in their national population in Africa (96%) Mauritania and Western Sahara are countries in Africa that have the highest percentage of Muslims in their national population in the African continent (nearing 99. 9%).

The most populous city in Africa is Lagos in Nigeria with more than 21 million people. Cairo in Egypt is the second populous city in Africa. Other big cities in Africa are: Kinshasa (DR Congo) Johannesburg (South Africa) Casablanca (Morocco) Nairobi (Kenya) Cape Town (South Africa) Cape Town/South Africa

Biggest Island: Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Madagascar is the 4 th largest island in the world (after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo) Nosy Kombo in Madagascar Tip: Good Holiday destination

Animals: In Africa, you will find some of the largest mammals on this planet. Among them are the largest land mammal, the African elephant, the tallest mammal, the giraffe, and the fastest mammal, the cheetah, which can run with speeds up to 113 km/hour or 70 miles/hour! African Cheetah African Giraffe African Elephant

Some Magnificent Facts about the continent of Africa ●Sahara desert is the driest hot desert on earth ●The Nile is the world's longest river ●Tugela Falls in South Africa are Africa's highest waterfalls ●Blyde River Canyon in South Africa is the world's largest green canyon ●Nice place to visit as a holiday destination Blyde River Canyon South Africa

Which countries in Africa can I go on holiday? ●Cape Town in South Africa ●Masai Mara National Park in Kenya ●Kruger National Park in South Africa Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe ●Namibia: Namib Desert and Etosha National Park ●Mauritius and the Indian Ocean Islands ●Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania ●Morocco - Markets, Deserts and Mountains ●Atlas Mountains in Morocco