Fun facts about Africa

Geography

1. Africa is the second-largest continent, covering about a fifth of the world’s land.
2. It has 54 UN-member countries.
3. The United States, China and India could fit inside Africa with room to spare.
4. The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.
5. The Nile is one of the two longest rivers in the world, with the Amazon.
6. The Congo River is the deepest river in the world, with depths over 220 metres.
7. Kilimanjaro, at 5,895 metres, is Africa’s highest mountain.
8. Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake.
9. Lake Tanganyika is the second-deepest lake in the world.
10. Lake Assal in Djibouti is the lowest point in Africa.
11. Algeria is Africa’s largest country by area.
12. The Seychelles is Africa’s smallest country by area and population.
13. The Gambia is the smallest country on the mainland.
14. Lesotho lies entirely above 1,000 metres.
15. The equator and the prime meridian meet in the Gulf of Guinea, off West Africa.
16. Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world.
17. Victoria Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world by the width and height of its falling sheet of water.
18. The Namib is often called the oldest desert in the world.

Wildlife

19. The African savanna elephant is the largest land animal.
20. The giraffe is the tallest animal.
21. The cheetah is the fastest land animal.
22. Ostriches lay the largest eggs of any living bird.
23. All of the world’s wild lemurs live in Madagascar and the Comoros.
24. Mountain gorillas live only in Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC.
25. More than a million wildebeest take part in the Great Migration.
26. Africa’s only penguin, the African penguin, lives along South Africa and Namibia.
27. Lake Malawi has more fish species than any other lake.
28. The coco de mer of the Seychelles has the heaviest seed of any plant.
29. The shoebill can stand still for hours waiting for prey.

History and culture

30. Many of the oldest fossils of early humans have been found in Africa.
31. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only surviving wonder of the ancient world.
32. Sudan has more ancient pyramids than Egypt.
33. The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fes, founded in 859, is often called the oldest existing university.
34. The Great Mosque of Djenné is the largest mud-brick building in the world.
35. Ethiopia was never colonised, apart from an Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941.
36. Liberia is Africa’s oldest republic.
37. Ethiopia’s calendar runs about seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar.
38. Africa is home to roughly a third of the world’s languages.
39. South Africa has 12 official languages and three capital cities.
40. Nigeria’s Nollywood is one of the world’s biggest film industries by output.
41. Coffee is thought to have originated in Ethiopia.
42. Great Zimbabwe’s stone city gave the modern country its name.

Modern Africa

43. Africa has the youngest population of any continent.
44. Mobile money services such as Kenya’s M-Pesa changed how millions of people pay.
45. Rwanda banned plastic bags in 2008.
46. South Sudan is the world’s newest country (2011).
47. Kigali is often called one of the cleanest cities in Africa.
48. Morocco’s Noor Ouarzazate is one of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plants.
49. Africa has more than 100 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
50. Many African countries celebrate Africa Day on 25 May.