Here are some things you probably may not have known about Africa:
- There are 54 countries and one “non-self-governing territory”, the Western Sahara, in Africa.
- All of Africa was colonized by foreign powers during the “scramble for Africa”, except Ethiopia and Liberia.
- Before colonial rule Africa comprised up to 10,000 different states and autonomous groups with distinct languages and customs.
- The Pharaonic civilization of ancient Egypt is one of the world’s oldest and longest-lasting civilizations.
- African continent is the world’s oldest populated area.
- Arabic is spoken by 170 million people on the continent, followed in popularity by English (130 million), Swahili (100), French (115), Berber (50), Hausa (50), Portuguese (20) and Spanish (10).
- Over 25% all languages are spoken only in Africa with over 2,000 recognized languages spoken on the continent.
- Africa is the second most populous continent with about 1.1 billion people or 16% of the world’s population.
- Over 50% of Africans are under the age of 25.
- The continent’s populations will more than double to 2.3 billion people by 2050.
- Africa is the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped continent with a continental GDP that accounts for just 2.4% of global GDP.
- Almost 40% of adults in Africa are illiterate – two-thirds are women.
- Adult literacy rates are below 50% in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
- Over 25 million people are HIV-positive on the continent and over 17 million have died of the disease already.
- The Second Congo War claimed over 5.4 million lives and is the deadliest worldwide conflict since World War II.
- There are fewer people with internet connections in Africa than there are in just New York City.
- Approximately 90% of all cases of malaria worldwide occur in Africa, accounting for 24% of all child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.
