Africa Travel Guide

From Wiki Globe

Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. The second largest continent on Earth. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean and is divided almost equally by the Equator. Area: 11,717,370 sq mi (30,348,110 sq km). Population (2001 est.): 816,524,000. Including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.72% of the World's human population. Not counting the disputed territory of Western Sahara, there are 53 countries, including Madagascar and various island groups, associated with the continent. Africa is composed largely of a rigid platform of ancient rocks that underlies vast plateau regions in the interior. Its average elevation is about 2,200 ft (670 m), but elevations range from 19,340 ft (5,895 m) at Mount Kilimanjaro to 515 ft (157 m) below sea level at Lake Assal. The peoples of Africa probably speak more languages than those of any other continent. The vast majority of sub-Saharan peoples speak Bantu languages of the Niger-Congo family. Africa as a whole is a developing region. Agriculture is the key sector of the economy in most countries. Diamond and gold mining are especially important in the south, while petroleum and natural gas are produced particularly in the west. In eastern and central Africa the emphasis was on trade with Arabia, and several powerful city-states. Somewhat later these early humans spread into northern Africa and the Middle East and, ultimately, to the rest of the world Africa's first great historical kingdom, Egypt, arose along the Nile c. 3000. Africa is widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind.