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...)
Selected article –
On 30 August 2023, a coup d'état occurred in Gabon shortly after the announcement that incumbent president Ali Bongo had won the general election held on 26 August. It was the eighth successful coup to occur in West and Central Africa since 2020.
The coup's leader Brice Oligui Nguema is part of the Bongo family and overthrew his cousin Ali Bongo. The coup brought an end to the 56-year-long rule of the father-and-son duo Omar and Ali Bongo over Gabon. It has been described by some as a palace coup. (Full article...)
Featured pictures –
Sphinx, partially excavated Credit: Maison Bonfils
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a statue of a reclining lion with a human head that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile, near modern-day Cairo, in Egypt. It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 73.5 m (241 ft) long, 6 m (20 ft) wide, and 20 m (65 ft) high. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians in the third millennium BC. After the Giza Necropolis was abandoned, the Sphinx became buried up to its shoulders in sand. The first documented attempt at an excavation dates to c. 1400 BC. In 1817 AD, the first modern archaeological dig, supervised by the Italian Captain Giovanni Battista Caviglia, uncovered the Sphinx’s chest completely. The entire Sphinx was finally excavated in 1925.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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).
Giza pyramid complex Photo credit: Ricardo Liberato
The Giza Necropolis stands on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient monuments is located some eight kilometres (5 mi) inland into the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, some 25 kilometres (15 mi) southwest of Cairo city centre. The pyramids are the only remaining monuments of the 7 Wonders of the World.
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 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.
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.
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.- 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.
Male lion and cub eating a cape buffalo in Northern Sabi Sand, South Africa Photo credit: Luca Galuzzi
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.
Mikumi National Park Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Moshi is a Tanzanian town with a population of 144,739 (2002 census) in Kilimanjaro Region. The town is situated on the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, a volcanic mountain that is the highest mountain in Africa. Moshi is home to the Chagga and Maasai tribes and lies on the A 23 Arusha-Himo east-west road connecting Arusha and Mombasa, Kenya. Just to the east of Moshi is the intersection with the B 1 north-south road eventually connecting with Tanga and Dar es Salaam.
A Kirby's Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi) in Tsumeb, Namibia Photo credit: User:Lycaon
Trithemis kirbyi is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae found across most of Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, rivers, and inland karsts.
Ring-tailed Lemur holding twins born the previous night in Colchester Zoo, Essex, England Photo credit: NASA
The Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى, aṣ-ṣaḥrā´, "The Great Desert") is the world's largest hot desert at over 9,000,000 square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi). The Sahara defines the borders of North Africa and has an intermittent history that may go back as much as 2.5 million years.
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 five-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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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.
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that the Indianapolis African-American community raised $100,000 in just ten days in 1911 to establish the Senate Avenue YMCA?
- ... that Rhinotocinclus collinsae was named after Margaret S. Collins, an African-American child prodigy, entomologist and civil rights activist who was known as the "termite lady"?
- ... that South African civil rights activist Thambi Naidoo was arrested along with Mahatma Gandhi and sent outside of Transvaal for refusing to register?
- ... that a critic initially mistook a life-size sculpture in Africa Explores for a real guard?
- ... that Susan Murabana created Africa's first permanent planetarium?
- ... that Patrick Pillay negotiated Seychelles' re-entry into the Southern African Development Community with a reduced membership fee?
Categories
Selected biography –
Richard Joseph Goldstone (born 26 October 1938) is a South African retired judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from July 1994 to October 2003. He joined the bench as a judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa, first in the Transvaal Provincial Division from 1980 to 1989 and then in the Appellate Division from 1990 to 1994. Before that, he was a commercial lawyer in Johannesburg, where he entered legal practice in 1963 and took silk in 1976.
He is considered to be one of several liberal judges who issued key rulings that undermined apartheid from within the system by tempering the worst effects of the country's racial laws. Among other important rulings, Goldstone made the Group Areas Act – under which non-whites were banned from living in "whites only" areas – virtually unworkable by restricting evictions. As a result, prosecutions under the act virtually ceased. (Full article...)
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Chad (Arabic: تشاد; French: Tchad), officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It borders Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west.
Chad has three major geographical regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanian savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad's highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and the largest city is N'Djamena, the capital. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups.
While many political parties are active, power lies firmly in the hands of President Idriss Déby and his Patriotic Salvation Movement. Chad remains plagued by political violence and recurrent attempted coups d'état. Recently, the Darfur conflict in Sudan has spilt over the border and destabilised the nation. (Read more...)
Selected city –
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country's major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA). It is the commercial and economic capital of Cameroon and the entire CEMAC region comprising Gabon, Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Cameroon. Consequently, it handles most of the country's major exports, such as oil, cocoa and coffee, timber, metals and fruits. As of 2025[update], the city and its surrounding area had an estimated population of 4,346,000, while the city proper had an estimated population of 3,816,500. The city sits on the estuary of the Wouri River and its climate is tropical. (Full article...)
In the news
- 6 October 2026 – Piracy off the coast of Somalia
- Four Indonesian seamen return home after Puntland maritime police rescued 17 crew members from the hijacked oil tanker MT Honour 25. Somali pirates had held the crew for more than five months and killed five members. (AFP)
- 6 October 2026 – 2026 Ebola epidemic
- Kenya confirms its first imported case of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebolavirus in Nairobi in a deceased male who traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
- The Nairobi Hospital steps up its infection-control measures, tracing, and staff monitoring following Kenya's first imported case of Ebola. (The Star Kenya)
- 5 October 2026 – 2026 Nigerian Air Force ATR 42 crash
- A Nigerian Air Force ATR 42-500 aircraft carrying 32 people crashes in Ondo State, Nigeria. (DW) (Reuters)
- 5 October 2026 –
- The toll from yesterday's collision between two ships in the Congo River near Lukolela, Democratic Republic of the Congo, increases to 30 people killed and dozens missing. (AP)
- The House of Peoples' Representatives of Ethiopia reelects Abiy Ahmed as Prime Minister. (Anadolu Agency)
Updated: 3:05, 7 October 2026
General images -
The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (from Culture of Africa)
Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of paintings in Tanzania, Kenya and neighbouring countries. (from Culture of Africa)
Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performing Adumu, a traditional dance (from Culture of Africa)
Ruby, Egyptian singer performing (from Culture of Africa)
Map of trade centres and routes on the Zimbabwean Plateau (from History 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)
Display of African cultural apparel (smock) (from Culture of Africa)
A realistic terracotta head sculpture (1100–1500) of the Yoruba representing the oni or king of Ife (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)
Order of independence of African nations, 1950–2011
Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional folklore dance (from Culture of Africa)
Territory of the Mali Empire (from History 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)
Map of Ancient Egypt, showing its major cities and sites, c. 3150 BC to 30 BC (from History of Africa)
Gateway to the Castle of Good Hope in South Africa (from Culture of Africa)
A Yombe sculpture (Louvre, Paris) (from Culture of Africa)
Traditional male dancers from Northern Nigeria (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)
Ancient Kano City Walls, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
One of the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, constructed during the Zagwe dynasty (from History of Africa)
Sudan basket-tray, tabar of weaved natural plant fiber, in different colors (from Culture of Africa)
States of the western Congo Basin, c. 1350 (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
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Central Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa
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