Portal:Africa
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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 around 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With nearly 1.4 billion of the world population, Africa's population is the youngest among the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will exceed 3.8 billion people by 2100. Africa is the least wealthy inhabited continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to various factors including geography, climate, corruption, colonialism, the Cold War, and neocolonialism. Despite this low concentration of wealth, the African economy is home to many of the world's fastest-growing economies.
The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states, eight cities and islands that are part of non-African states, and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. This count does not include Malta and Sicily, which are geologically part of the African continent. Algeria is the largest country by area, and Nigeria is largest by population. Nations cooperate through the establishment of the African Union, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa.
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, it 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 varied, and has often been under-appreciated by the global historical community. In African societies the oral word is revered, and they have generally recorded their history via oral tradition, which has led anthropologists to term them "oral civilisations", contrasted with "literate civilisations" which pride the written word. African culture is rich and diverse both within and across regions, encompassing art, cuisine, music and dance, religion, and dress. (Full article...)
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The black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis) is a species of spitting cobra found mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. They are moderately sized snakes that can grow to a length of 1.2 to 2.2 m (3.9 to 7.2 ft) in length. Their coloration and markings can vary considerably. They prey primarily on small rodents. They possess medically significant venom, although the mortality rate for untreated bites on humans is relatively low (~ 5–10%, in endemic regions under 1%). Like other spitting cobras, they can eject venom from their fangs when threatened (one drop over 7 metres (23 ft) and more in perfect accuracy). The cytotoxic venom irritates the skin, causing blisters and inflammation, and can cause permanent blindness if the venom makes contact with the eyes and is not washed off.
Naja nigricollis belongs to the cobra genus Naja under the family Elapidae. It previously included two subspecies that have been moved to the species Naja nigricincta – the zebra spitting cobra (Naja nigricincta nigricincta) and the black spitting cobra (Naja nigricincta woodi). (Full article...)
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Eritrean Railway Credit: User:Tivedshambo
The Eritrean Railway, the only railway system in Eritrea, was constructed between 1887 and 1932 by the Kingdom of Italy for the Italian colony of Eritrea, and connected the port of Massawa with Bishia near the Sudan border. The railway is narrow gauge and is slowly being rebuilt after the devastation wreaked upon it during the war of independence. It still manages to operate, however, despite its newest equipment being nearly fifty years old, with most of it predating World War II. It is one of the few railway systems still in existence (excluding tourist railways) using equipment like the 1930s Italian-built 'Littorina' railcars behind 1930s-vintage Mallet steam locomotives.
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.
Photograph credit: Charles James SharpThe 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.
Mikumi National Park Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Mikumi National Park is a national park in Mikumi, near Morogoro, Tanzania. The park was established in 1964, currently covers an area of 3230 km² and is the fourth largest in the country. The landscape of Mikumi is often compared to that of the Serengeti. The road that crosses the park divides it into two areas with partially distinct environments. The area north-west is characterized by the alluvial plain of the river basin Mkata. The vegetation of this area consists of savannah dotted with acacia, baobab, tamarinds, and some rare palm. In this area, at the furthest from the road, there are spectacular rock formations of the mountains Rubeho and Uluguru. The southeast part of the park is less rich in wildlife, and not very accessible.
Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimAdansonia 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).
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia Photo credit: American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Dept., photographer
Haile Selassie (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975), born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. The heir to a dynasty that traced its origins to the 13th century, and from there by tradition back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Haile Selassie is a defining figure in Ethiopian and African history.
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.
A lioness in Ishasha Southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwestern Uganda) Photo credit: Cody Pope
The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. The lion is the second largest feline species, after the tiger. The male lion, easily recognized by his mane, weighs between 150 and 250 kg (330–500 lb). Females range 120–150 kg (260–330 lb). In the wild, lions live for around 10–14 years, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. Though they were once found throughout much of Africa, Asia and Europe, lions presently exist in the wild only in Africa and India. They enjoy hot climates, and hunt in groups.
Photograph: Sathyan VelumaniThe 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.
Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpThe 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.
Shanty town housing in Soweto, South Africa Soweto (/səˈwɛtoʊ, -ˈweɪt-, -ˈwiːt-/) is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships. Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Suburbs of Johannesburg.- The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an endangered member of the cat family (Felidae), a poor climber that hunts by speed and stealth. It is the fastest of all land animals and can reach speeds of more than 105 kilometres per hour (65 mph) in short bursts up to 460 metres (500 yd), as well as being able to accelerate from 0 to 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) in three seconds. The word "cheetah" is derived from the Sanskrit word citrakāyaḥ चित्रकायः meaning "variegated body", via the Hindi cītā चीता.
Photograph credit: Alexander SavinDallol 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.
Photograph: Poco a pocoPanoramic 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.
Photo: William WarbyPortrait 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.
Photo: NASAA 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.
Banknote design credit: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank; photographed by Andrew ShivaThe 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 one-rupie banknote was issued in 1915, and is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Other denominations:
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Photo credit: LaitcheThe 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.
Sand dunes of Erg Chebbi, Morocco Erg Chebbi (Arabic: عرج شبّي) is the sole Saharan erg in Morocco. In places, the dunes rise up to 150 metres (490 ft) from the surrounding hamada (rocky desert) and altogether, it spans an area of 28 kilometres (17 mi) from north to south and up to 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from east to west, lining the Algerian border.
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that opera singer Charles Holland spent much of his career in Europe as opportunities in classical music for African Americans were limited?
- ... that, while Akilagpa Sawyerr was a law student in London, he petitioned the Privy Council on behalf of men sentenced to death in South Africa's Zulu Rebellion?
- ... that fistfights broke out at a 1903 meeting of African-American leaders, when some challenged Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Compromise?
- ... that a 16th-century ethnic term used in Africa is still used today for a Brazilian religion, a Togolese and Beninese ethnic group, and their language?
- ... that one company has tried to dissolve AFRINIC, which is part of Africa's Internet infrastructure?
- ... that Europeans and Africans voted in different buildings in the 1946 Representative Council election in Bangui?
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Selected biography –
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe GCFR PC (Listen; 16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the first native governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and the first president of Nigeria during the First Nigerian Republic (1963–1966). He is widely regarded as the father of Nigerian nationalism, the founding father of Nigeria, as well as one of the major driving forces behind the country's independence in 1960.
Born in Zungeru in present-day Niger State to Igbo parents from Onitsha, Anambra State, Azikiwe learned to speak Hausa which was the main indigenous language of the Northern Region. He was later sent to live with his aunt and grandmother in his hometown Onitsha, where he learnt the Igbo language. Living in Lagos State exposed him to learning the Yoruba language, and by the time he was in college, he had been exposed to different Nigerian cultures and spoke the three major Nigerian languages. (Full article...)
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Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa and the most populous country in Africa. Nigeria shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south.
Nigeria gained its independence on October 1, 1960, and now consists of 36 states and the federal capital territory. Nigeria re-achieved democracy in 1999, having been ruled from 1966 until 1999 (except for the short-lived second republic) by military dictators.
Nigeria is a federal republic modeled after the United States, with executive power exercised by the president and with overtones of the Westminster System model in the composition and management of the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature. Since 1991, its capital has been the centrally-located city of Abuja; previously, the Nigerian government was headquartered in the coastal city Lagos. (Read more...)
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Kisangani (/kiːsəŋˈɡɑːni/), formerly Stanleyville (Dutch: Stanleystad), is the capital of Tshopo Province, located on the Congo River in the eastern part of the central Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's fifth-most populous urban area, with an estimated population of 1,602,144 as of 2016, and the largest of the cities in the tropical woodlands of the Congo.
Geographically, Kisangani is flanked by Banalia Territory to the north, Bafwasende to the east, Ubundu Territory to the south, and is bordered by both Opala and Isangi Territories to the west. The city spans an area of 1,910 square kilometres (740 sq mi) and is situated within the equatorial forest plain at coordinates 0°30' north latitude and 25°20' east longitude, just 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the equator. Kisangani is located approximately 2,100 kilometres (1,300 mi) from the mouth of the Congo River, making it the furthest navigable point upstream. (Full article...)
In the news
- 2 October 2026 – Ethiopian civil conflict
- 2026 Ethiopian offensive
- Ethiopian government forces push Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels out of Afar Region after recapturing the towns of Abala, Erebti and Megale. (AFP via France 24)
- 2 October 2026 – Sudanese civil war
- Kordofan campaign
- Sudan's armed forces announces that they have recaptured the North Kordofan town of al-Mazroub. (Al Jazeera)
- War crimes in the Sudanese civil war
- The death toll in the Rapid Support Forces drone attack on the University of Kordofan in El Obeid rises to 10. (AFP via Arab News)
Updated: 9:05, 3 October 2026
General images -
Sudan basket-tray, tabar of weaved natural plant fiber, in different colors (from Culture of Africa)
Territory of the Mali Empire (from History of Africa)
Ancient Kano City Walls, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Traditional male dancers from Northern Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Map of trade centres and routes on the Zimbabwean Plateau (from History of Africa)
Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of paintings in Tanzania, Kenya and neighbouring countries. (from Culture of Africa)
A Yombe sculpture (Louvre, Paris) (from Culture of Africa)
The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (from Culture of Africa)
Ruby, Egyptian singer performing (from Culture of Africa)
Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, one of the most iconic singers in African history (from Culture of Africa)
Areas 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)
A realistic terracotta head sculpture (1100–1500) of the Yoruba representing the oni or king of Ife (from Culture of Africa)
An Ethiopian woman preparing Ethiopian coffee at a traditional ceremony. She roasts, crushes, and brews the coffee on the spot. (from Culture of Africa)
States of the western Congo Basin, c. 1350 (from History of Africa)
One of the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, constructed during the Zagwe dynasty (from History of Africa)
Display of African cultural apparel (smock) (from Culture of Africa)
Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional folklore dance (from Culture of Africa)
Order of independence of African nations, 1950–2011
Gateway to the Castle of Good Hope in South Africa (from Culture of Africa)
Potjiekos is a traditional Afrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots. (from Culture of Africa)
Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performing Adumu, a traditional dance (from Culture of Africa)
Fufu (right) is a staple meal in West Africa and Central Africa. It is usually served with some peanut soup. (from Culture of Africa)
Map of Ancient Egypt, showing its major cities and sites, c. 3150 BC to 30 BC (from History of Africa)
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Africa topics
More did you know –
- ...that from 1926 to 1940, the Union Minière du Haut Katanga had a virtual monopoly of the world uranium market?
- ...that Anfillo is an endangered language of Western Ethiopia, spoken only by a few hundred adults above sixty?
- ...that Bono Manso, the capital of Bono state, was an ancient Akan trading town in present-day Ghana, which was frequented by caravans from Djenné as part of the Trans-Saharan trade?
- ...that Reverend John Chilembwe is celebrated as the first Malawian nationalist, and was a martyr for his cause?
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Major Religions in Africa
North Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa
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