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 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest among all 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 reach 3.8 billion people by 2099. Africa is the least wealthy inhabited continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, corruption, colonialism, the Cold War, and neocolonialism. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and a large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. Africa has a large quantity of natural resources resources, including diamonds, sugar, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum, natural gas, cocoa beans, and.
Africa straddles the equator and the prime meridian. It is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to the southern temperate zones. The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, the northern tip of Mauritania, and the entire territories of Morocco and Tunisia, which in turn are located above the tropic of Cancer, in the northern temperate zone. In the other extreme of the continent, southern Namibia, southern Botswana, great parts of South Africa, the entire territories of Lesotho and Eswatini and the southern tips of Mozambique and Madagascar are located below the tropic of Capricorn, in the southern temperate zone.
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, Africa is also 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. During the colonial period, oral sources were deprecated by most historians, who claimed Africa had no history. African historiography became organized at the academic level in the mid-20th century, and saw a movement towards utilising oral sources in a multidisciplinary approach, culminating in the General History of Africa, edited by specialists from across the continent. (Full article...)
Selected article –
The Victoria Falls Conference took place on 26 August 1975 aboard a South African Railways train halfway across the Victoria Falls Bridge on the border between the unrecognised state of Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe) and Zambia. It was the culmination of the "détente" policy introduced and championed by B. J. Vorster, the Prime Minister of South Africa, which was then under apartheid and was attempting to improve its relations with the Frontline States to Rhodesia's north, west and east by helping to produce a settlement in Rhodesia. The participants in the conference were a delegation led by the Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith on behalf of his government, and a nationalist delegation attending under the banner of Abel Muzorewa's African National Council (UANC), which for this conference also incorporated delegates from the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and the Front for the Liberation of Zimbabwe (FROLIZI). Vorster and the Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda acted as mediators in the conference, which was held on the border in an attempt to provide a venue both sides would accept as neutral.
The conference failed to produce a settlement, breaking up on the same day it began with each side blaming the other for its unsuccessful outcome. Smith believed the nationalists were being unreasonable by requesting preconditions for talks—which they had previously agreed not to do—and asking for diplomatic immunity for their leaders and fighters. The nationalists contended that Smith was being deliberately intransigent and that they did not believe he was sincere in seeking an agreement if he was so adamant about not giving diplomatic immunity. Direct talks between the government and the Zimbabwe African People's Union followed in December 1975, but these also failed to produce any significant progress. The Victoria Falls Conference, the détente initiative and the associated ceasefire, though unsuccessful, did affect the course of the Rhodesian Bush War, as they gave the nationalist guerrillas significant time to regroup and reorganise themselves following the decisive security force counter-campaign of 1973–74. A further conference would follow in the Geneva Conference in 1976 . (Full article...)
Featured pictures –
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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. -
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. -
Tanzanians in Dar es Salaam protesting the 2008-2009 Gaza bombardment by Israel. Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Tanzanians in Dar es Salaam protesting the 2008-2009 Gaza bombardment by Israel. International reaction to the conflict was also notable in the level of civilian demonstrations all around the world, which in many cases displayed sentiment significantly different from the official government line. -
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. -
Boy with fodder on bicycle Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
A Tanzanian boy transports fodder on his bicycle, to feed cattle. In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them), rather than that which they forage for themselves (see forage). It includes hay, straw, silage, compressed and pelleted feeds, oils and mixed rations, and also sprouted grains and legumes. -
Dar es Salaam Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: Kinondoni to the north, Ilala in the center of the region, and Temeke to the south. The Dar es Salaam Region had a population of 2,497,940 as of the official 2002 census. Though Dar es Salaam lost its official status as capital city to Dodoma in 1974, it remains the center of the permanent central government bureaucracy and continues to serve as the capital for the Dar es Salaam Region. -
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. -
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). -
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. -
Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: Kinondoni to the north, Ilala in the center of the region, and Temeke to the south. The Dar es Salaam Region had a population of 2,497,940 as of the official 2002 census. Though Dar es Salaam lost its official status as capital city to Dodoma in 1974, it remains the center of the permanent central government bureaucracy and continues to serve as the capital for the Dar es Salaam Region. -
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. -
Shanty town housing in Soweto, South Africa Credit: User:Matt-80Soweto (/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. -
Lion in Namibia Photo credit: yaaaay
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 150–250 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. -
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 ten-rupie banknote was issued in 1916, and is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000015-QINU`"' -
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 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. -
Tadrart Acacus Credit: Luca Galuzzi
Tadrart Acacus (Arabic: تدرارت أكاكوس) is a desert area in western Libya and is part of the Sahara. It is situated close to the Libyan city of Ghat. Tadrart means 'mountain' in the native language of the area (Tamahaq language). The Acacus has a large variation of landscapes, from differently coloured sanddunes to arches, gorges, rocks and mountains. Major landmarks are the arches of Afzejare and Tin Khlega. Although this area is one of the most arid of the Sahara, there is vegetation, such as the callotropis plant. The area is known for its rock-art and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 because of the importance of these paintings and carvings.
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Muhsin Hendricks of South Africa has been described as "the world's first openly gay imam"?
- ... that Olive MacLeod journeyed 6,000 km (3,700 mi) through Africa in 1910–1911 to visit her murdered fiancé's grave, and wrote a book based on her observations?
- ... that Agri-Expo is the oldest agricultural society in Africa?
- ... that in 1890 Cornelius N. Dorsette, often referred to as the first African-American physician in Alabama, founded Hale Infirmary, a hospital for Black patients and staff in Montgomery?
- ... that South African president Jacob Zuma requested a tour of a Sainsbury's supermarket during his state visit to the United Kingdom in 2010?
- ... that enrollment at a school for African-American students in Virginia grew from 14 pupils to 1,300 in its first ten years?
Categories
Selected biography –
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Jomo Kenyatta CGH (c. 1897 – 22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He played a significant role in the transformation of Kenya from a colony of the British Empire into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and a conservative, he led the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party from 1961 until his death.
Kenyatta was born to Kikuyu farmers in Kiambu, British East Africa. Educated at a mission school, he worked in various jobs before becoming politically engaged through the Kikuyu Central Association. In 1929, he travelled to London to lobby for Kikuyu land affairs. During the 1930s, he studied at Moscow's Communist University of the Toilers of the East, University College London, and the London School of Economics. In 1938, he published an anthropological study of Kikuyu life before working as a farm labourer in Sussex during the Second World War. Influenced by his friend George Padmore, he embraced anti-colonialist and Pan-African ideas, co-organising the 1945 Pan-African Congress in Manchester. He returned to Kenya in 1946 and became a school principal. In 1947, he was elected President of the Kenya African Union, through which he lobbied for independence from British colonial rule, attracting widespread indigenous support but animosity from white settlers. In 1952, he was among the Kapenguria Six arrested and charged with masterminding the anti-colonial Mau Mau Uprising. Although protesting his innocence—a view shared by later historians—he was convicted. He remained imprisoned at Lokitaung until 1959 and was then exiled to Lodwar until 1961. (Full article...)
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The Comoros (Arabic: جزر القمر, Ğuzur al-Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (French: 'Union des Comores', Arabic: الإتّحاد القمريّ, Al-Ittiḥād al-Qamariyy) is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel between northern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. Prior to 2002, it was known officially as the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros. At 2,235 km² and with a population estimated at 798,000, the Comoros is the third smallest African nation by area and the sixth smallest by population.
The country officially consists of the four islands in the volcanic Comoros archipelago: Ngazidja (French: Grande Comore), Mwali (French: Mohéli), Nzwani (French: Anjouan), and Mahoré (French: Mayotte), as well as many smaller islands. However, the government of the Union of the Comoros (or its predecessors since independence) has never administered the island of Mayotte, which France considers an overseas community and still administers. (Read more...)
Selected city –
Tripoli, historically known as Tripoli-of-the-West, is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.317 million people in 2021. It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterranean Sea and forming a bay. It includes the port of Tripoli and the country's largest commercial and manufacturing center. It is also the site of the University of Tripoli.
Tripoli was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians, who gave it the Libyco-Berber name Oyat (Punic: 𐤅𐤉𐤏𐤕, romanized: Wyʿt), before passing into the hands of the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica as Oea (Ancient Greek: Ὀία, romanized: Oía). Due to the city's long history, there are many sites of archeological significance in Tripoli. Tripoli may also refer to the sha'biyah (top-level administrative division in the Libyan system), the Tripoli District. (Full article...)
In the news
- 14 March 2025 – South Africa–European Union relations
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announces that the European Union will invest €4.7 billion (US$5 billion) in aid and development projects in South Africa after the United States ended most of its USAID programs. (DW) (Reuters)
- 14 March 2025 – South Africa–United States relations
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declares South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool a persona non grata for his criticism of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. (Al Jazeera)
- 13 March 2025 – War against the Islamic State
- Puntland forces claim to have killed a senior foreign ISIL commander responsible for orchestrating drone attacks using explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicles in the Lugta-Huraanhur and Togga Raq-Raq valleys of the Cal Miskaad Mountains in Puntland's Bari Region. (Garowe Online) (Hiiraan Online)
- 12 March 2025 – Somali Civil War
- Somali security forces end the 24-hour siege at a hotel in Beledweyne, Hiran, Somalia, with at least fifteen civilians and all six Al-Shabaab attackers killed. (BBC) (AP)
- Following the attack, over 100 Somali parliament members urge President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to resign, citing leadership failures amid worsening security and governance crises. (Idil News) (Garowe Online)
- 12 March 2025 – Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict
- Angola confirms that peace talks between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement will begin on 18 March, after the DRC previously insisted on solely negotiating with Rwanda. (DW)
Updated: 10:05, 15 March 2025
General images -
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Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of paintings in Tanzania, Kenya and neighbouring countries (from Culture of Africa) -
Order of independence of African nations, 1950–2011 -
9th-century bronze staff head in form of a coiled snake, Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria (from History of Africa) -
Sudan basket-tray, tabar of weaved natural plant fiber, in different colors (from Culture of Africa) -
The Kingdom of Aksum in the 6th century AD. (from History of Africa) -
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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 trade centres and routes in precolonial Zimbabwe. (from History of Africa) -
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Gateway to the Castle of Good Hope in South Africa (from Culture of Africa) -
A Yombe sculpture (Louvre, Paris) (from Culture of Africa) -
The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (from Culture of Africa) -
traditional pearl using for differents pearl in the religion. (from Culture of Africa) -
Evolution of the Fatimid Caliphate (from History of Africa) -
Ruby, Egyptian singer performing (from Culture of Africa) -
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The Mali Empire in 1337 CE, with major gold fields, of Bambuk, Bure, Lobi (tended by the Gan and later Lobi people), and Akan, and trade routes, outlined. The desert should extend further south to Koumbi. The Mossi Kingdoms are located north of Lobi. (from History of Africa) -
Mapungubwe Hill, which features some ancient San art in a rock shelter on the east side. (from History of Africa) -
Nok sculpture (from History of Africa) -
Aerial view of the Great Enclosure and Valley Complex at Great Zimbabwe, looking west (from History of Africa) -
Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, one of the most iconic singers in African history (from Culture of Africa) -
DISPLAY OF AFRICAN CULTURAL APPAREL (SMOCK) (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) -
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Ancient Kano City Walls, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa) -
Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional folklore dance (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) -
1 = 2000–1500 BC origin
2 = c. 1500 BC first dispersal
2.a = Eastern Bantu
2.b = Western Bantu
3 = 1000–500 BC Urewe nucleus of Eastern Bantu
4–7 = southward advance
9 = 500–1 BC Congo nucleus
10 = AD 1–1000 last phase (from History of Africa) -
A terra-cotta head sculpture (1100-1500) of the Yoruba, showing extraordinary naturalism. This head represents the oni or king of Ife. (from Culture of Africa) -
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Potjiekos is a traditional Afrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots. (from Culture of Africa) -
Map of the western Sahel and Sudan (northern West Africa) c. 1200. (Songhai is Gao)
Kingdoms in this era were centred around cities and cores, with variations of influence radiating out from these points, borders here are estimates. (from History of Africa) -
Traditional male dancers from Northern Nigeria (from Culture of Africa) -
The Almoravid empire in the 12th century. (from History of Africa) -
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The Kilwa Sultanate in 1310 (from History of Africa) -
Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performing Adumu, a traditional dance (from Culture of Africa) -
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Carthaginian Empire in 323 BC (from History of Africa) -
The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Africa) -
Map of ancient Egypt, showing major cities and sites of the Dynastic period (c. 3150 BC to 30 BC) (from History of Africa) -
Pre-Neolithic and Neolithic migration events in Africa. (from History of Africa)
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Africa topics
More did you know –
- ... that Liberia College in the country of Liberia was authorized by the legislature in 1851, but did not start classes until 1863?
- ... that the forced removal of 700,000 people from slums in Zimbabwe in 2005 was called "a crime against humanity" by the UN?
- ... that the supreme god of the southern African Bushmen is Cagn, a trickster who shapeshifts into a praying mantis?
- ... that Bahá'í Faith in Niger began during a period of wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa near the end of its colonial period?
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Major Religions in Africa
North Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa
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