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{{Infobox Continent
|title          = Africa
|image          = [[File:Africa (orthographic projection).svg|200px]]
|area           = {{convert|30,370,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}},&nbsp;2nd
|population     = 1.2 billion<ref name="2016 World Population Data Sheet">{{cite web|url=http://www.prb.org/pdf16/prb-wpds2016-web-2016.pdf|title=2013 World Population Data Sheet|last=Kaneda|first=Toshiko|last2=Bietsch|first2=Kristin|date=2016|website=www.prb.org|publisher=[[Population Reference Bureau]]|access-date=3 February 2017}}</ref> (2016, 2nd) 
|density        = {{pop density|1100000000|30221532|km2|sqmi}}
|demonym        = African
|countries      = 54 (and 2 disputed)
|list_countries = List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa
|dependencies   = {{Collapsible list
|list_style     = text-align:left;
|title          = External (3)
| 1 = Mayotte | 2 = Réunion | 3 = Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
}}
{{Collapsible list
|list_style     = text-align:left;
|title          = Internal (4)
| 1 = Canary Islands | 2 = Ceuta
| 3 = Madeira Islands | 4 = Melilla
}}
|languages      = 1250-3000 native languages
|time           = UTC-1 to UTC+4
|cities         = List of cities in Africa<br>{{flagicon|Nigeria}} Lagos<br>{{flagicon|Egypt}} Cairo<br>{{flagicon|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} Kinshasa<br>{{flagicon|South Africa}} Johannesburg<br>{{flagicon|Sudan}} Khartoum<br>{{flagicon|Tanzania}} Dar es Salaam<br>{{flagicon|Egypt}} Alexandria<br>{{flagicon|Ivory Coast}} Abidjan<br>{{flagicon|Algeria}} Algiers<br>{{flagicon|Nigeria}} Kano<br>{{flagicon|Morocco}} Casablanca<br>{{flagicon|Nigeria}} Ibadan<br>{{flagicon|Kenya}} Nairobi <br>{{flagicon|Nigeria}} Abuja
}}
[[File:AfricaCIA-HiRes.jpg|thumb|upright|Map of Africa]]

'''Africa''' is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20.4 % of its total land area.<ref name=Sayre>Sayre, April Pulley (1999), ''Africa'', Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 0-7613-1367-2.</ref> With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition.

Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents;<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/08/17/5-ways-the-world-will-look-dramatically-different-in-2100/ Washington Post]</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/njideka-u-harry/african-youth-innovation-_b_3904408.html|work=Huffington Post|first=Njideka U.|last=Harry|title=African Youth, Innovation and the Changing Society|date=11 September 2013}}</ref> the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/cpd2012/Agenda%20item%204/UN%20system%20statements/ECA_Item4.pdf|title=item,4 of the provisional agenda - General debate on national experience in population matters: adolescents and youth|work=UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA|author=ABDOULIE JANNEH|date=April 2012|accessdate=15 December 2015}}</ref> [[Algeria]] is Africa's largest country by area, and [[Nigeria]] by population. Africa, particularly central Eastern Africa, is widely accepted as the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and their ancestors, as well as later ones that have been dated to around seven million years ago, including ''Sahelanthropus tchadensis'', ''Australopithecus africanus'', ''A. afarensis'', ''Homo erectus'', ''Homo habilis'' and ''Homo ergaster'' – with the earliest ''Homo sapiens'' (modern human) found in [[Ethiopia]] being dated to circa 200,000 years ago.<ref>[http://web.utah.edu/unews/releases/05/feb/homosapiens.html Homo sapiens: University of Utah News Release: 16 February 2005] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024234234/http://web.utah.edu/unews/releases/05/feb/homosapiens.html |date=24 October 2007 }}</ref> Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visualgeography.com/continents/africa.html|title=Africa. General info|author=Visual Geography|accessdate=24 November 2007}}</ref>

Africa hosts a large diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa. Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century.
==Geography==
[[File:187 1003703 africa dxm.png|thumb|Satellite photo of Africa. The Sahara Desert in the north can be clearly seen.]]
[[File:Africa-asia-america-to-scale.jpg|thumb|left|A composite satellite image of Africa (centre) with North America (left) and Eurasia (right), to scale]]
Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the largest landmass of the Earth. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez (transected by the Suez Canal), {{convert|163|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide.<ref>Drysdale, Alasdair and Gerald H. Blake. (1985) ''The Middle East and North Africa'', Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-503538-0</ref> (Geopolitically, [[Egypt]]'s Sinai Peninsula east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of Africa, as well.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=africa&Rootmap=&Mode=d|title=Atlas - Xpeditions @ nationalgeographic.com|publisher=National Geographic Society|date=2003|accessdate=1 March 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303230811/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=africa&Rootmap=&Mode=d|archivedate=3 March 2009| deadurl=no}}</ref>

From the most northerly point, Ras ben Sakka in Tunisia (37°21' N), to the most southerly point, Cape Agulhas in South Africa (34°51'15" S), is a distance of approximately {{convert|8,000|km|mi|abbr=on}};<ref>Lewin, Evans. (1924) ''Africa'', Clarendon press</ref> from Cape Verde, 17°33'22" W, the westernmost point, to Ras Hafun in Somalia, 51°27'52" E, the most easterly projection, is a distance of approximately {{convert|7,400|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name=MW>(1998) ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary (Index)'', Merriam-Webster, pp. 10–11. ISBN 0-87779-546-0</ref> The coastline is {{convert|26,000|km|mi|abbr=on}} long, and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is illustrated by the fact that Europe, which covers only {{convert|10,400,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} – about a third of the surface of Africa – has a coastline of {{convert|32,000|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name=MW/>

Africa's largest country is Algeria, and its smallest country is Seychelles, an archipelago off the east coast.<ref name=Hoare>Hoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publications. p. 11. ISBN 0-7534-5569-2</ref> The smallest nation on the continental mainland is The Gambia.

Geologically, Africa includes the Arabian Peninsula; the Zagros Mountains of Iran and the Anatolian Plateau of Turkey mark where the African Plate collided with Eurasia. The Afrotropic ecozone and the Saharo-Arabian desert to its north unite the region biogeographically, and the Afro-Asiatic language family unites the north linguistically.

===Climate===

[[File:Africa map of Köppen climate classification.svg|thumb|Africa map of Köppen climate classification]]
The climate of Africa ranges from tropical to subarctic on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily desert, or arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna plains and dense jungle (rainforest) regions. In between, there is a convergence, where vegetation patterns such as sahel and steppe dominate. Africa is the hottest continent on earth and 60% of the entire land surface consists of drylands and deserts.<ref name="environmentalatlas">[http://www.africa.upenn.edu/afrfocus/afrfocus061708.html "Africa: Environmental Atlas, 06/17/08."] [http://www.africa.upenn.edu African Studies Center], University of Pennsylvania. Accessed June 2011.</ref> The record for the highest-ever recorded temperature, in Libya in 1922 ({{convert|58|C|F}}), was discredited in 2013.<ref name=newRecord>{{cite journal|last=El Fadli|first=KI|title=World Meteorological Organization Assessment of the Purported World Record 58°C Temperature Extreme at El Azizia, Libya (13 September 1922)|url=http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00093.1|journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|date=September 2012|doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00093.1|volume=94|issue=2|pages=199|display-authors=etal}} (The 136 °F (57.8 °C), claimed by 'Aziziya, Libya, on 13 September 1922, has been officially deemed invalid by the World Meteorological Organization.)</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=World Meteorological Organization World Weather / Climate Extremes Archive |url=http://wmo.asu.edu/world-highest-temperature |accessdate=10 January 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104143844/http://wmo.asu.edu:80/world-highest-temperature |archivedate=4 January 2013 |df= }}</ref>

===Fauna===
[[File:Zebras, Serengeti savana plains, Tanzania.jpg|left|thumb|Savanna at Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania]]
Africa boasts perhaps the world's largest combination of density and "range of freedom" of wild animal populations and diversity, with wild populations of large carnivores (such as lions, hyenas, and cheetahs) and herbivores (such as [[African buffalo|buffalo]], elephants, camels, and giraffes) ranging freely on primarily open non-private plains. It is also home to a variety of "jungle" animals including snakes and primates and aquatic life such as crocodiles and amphibians. In addition, Africa has the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna.

===Ecology and biodiversity===
[[File:Mauritius beach.png|thumb||Tropical beach in Trou-aux-Biches, Mauritius]]
Africa has over 3,000 protected areas, with 198 marine protected areas, 50 biosphere reserves, and 80 wetlands reserves. Significant habitat destruction, increases in human population and poaching are reducing Africa's biological diversity and arable land. Human encroachment, civil unrest and the introduction of non-native species threaten biodiversity in Africa. This has been exacerbated by administrative problems, inadequate personnel and funding problems.<ref name="environmentalatlas"/>

Deforestation is affecting Africa at twice the world rate, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).<ref>[http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18831 Deforestation reaches worrying level – UN] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206051452/http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18831 |date=December 6, 2008 }}. AfricaNews. 11 June 2008</ref> According to the University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center, 31% of Africa's pasture lands and 19% of its forests and woodlands are classified as degraded, and Africa is losing over four million hectares of forest per year, which is twice the average deforestation rate for the rest of the world.<ref name="environmentalatlas"/> Some sources claim that approximately 90% of the original, virgin forests in West Africa have been destroyed.<ref>[http://www.afrol.com/features/10278 Forests and deforestation in Africa – the wasting of an immense resource] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520182556/http://www.afrol.com/features/10278 |date=May 20, 2009 }}. afrol News</ref> Over 90% of Madagascar's original forests have been destroyed since the arrival of humans 2000 years ago.<ref>{{NatGeo ecoregion|id=at0118|name=Madagascar subhumid forests}}</ref> About 65% of Africa's agricultural land suffers from soil degradation.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nature-laid-waste-the-destruction-of-africa-844370.html "Nature laid waste: The destruction of Africa"], ''The Independent'', 11 June 2008.</ref>

==Religion==

Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, and statistics on religious affiliation are difficult to come by since they are often a sensitive a topic for governments with mixed religious populations.<ref name=stanford>[http://library.stanford.edu/africa/religion.html "African Religion on the Internet"], Stanford University</ref><ref name=NYT>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00EEDC1030F932A35752C1A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1|date=1 November 2001|title=Rising Muslim Power in Africa Causing Unrest in Nigeria and Elsewhere|first=Normitsu|last=Onishi|work=The New York Times|accessdate=1 March 2009}}</ref> According to the World Book Encyclopedia, Islam is the largest religion in Africa, followed by Christianity. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, 45% of the population are Christians, 40% are Muslims, and 10% follow traditional religions. A small number of Africans are Hindu, Buddhist, Confucianist, Bahá'í Faith, or Jewish. There is also a minority of Africans who are irreligious.
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Asante|first=Molefi|authorlink=Molefi Asante|title=The History of Africa|publisher=Routledge|location=USA|date=2007|isbn=0-415-77139-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Clark|first=J. Desmond|authorlink=J. Desmond Clark|title=The Prehistory of Africa|publisher=Thames and Hudson|location=London|date=1970|isbn=978-0-500-02069-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Crowder|first=Michael|title=The Story of Nigeria|publisher=Faber|location=London|date=1978|isbn=978-0-571-04947-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Davidson|first=Basil|authorlink=Basil Davidson|title=The African Past: Chronicles from Antiquity to Modern Times|publisher=Penguin|location=Harmondsworth|date=1966|oclc=2016817}}
* {{cite book|last=Gordon|first=April A.|author2=Donald L. Gordon|title=Understanding Contemporary Africa|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|location=Boulder|date=1996|isbn=978-1-55587-547-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Khapoya|first=Vincent B.|title=The African experience: an introduction|publisher=Prentice Hall|location=Upper Saddle River, NJ|date=1998|isbn=978-0-13-745852-3}}
* Moore, Clark D., and Ann Dunbar (1968). ''Africa Yesterday and Today'', in series, ''The George School Readings on Developing Lands''. New York: Praeger Publishers.
* Naipaul, V. S. ''The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief''. Picador, 2010. ISBN 978-0-330-47205-0
*  Besenyő, János. [http://www.kalasnyikov.hu/dokumentumok/besenyo_western_sahara.pdf Western Sahara] (2009), free online PDF book, Publikon Publishers, Pécs, ISBN 978-963-88332-0-4, 2009
* {{cite journal|last1=Wade|first1=Lizzie|title=Drones and satellites spot lost civilizations in unlikely places|journal=Science|doi=10.1126/science.aaa7864|year=2015}}

==External links==
;General information
* {{dmoz|Regional/Africa}}
* [http://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/ African & Middle Eastern Reading Room] from the United States [[Library of Congress]]
* [http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/ Africa South of the Sahara] from [[Stanford University]]
* [http://www.afrika.no/index/ The Index on Africa] from ''The Norwegian Council for Africa''
* [http://www.aluka.org/ Aluka] Digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa
* [http://www.usaraf.army.mil/MAP_INTERACTIVE/INTERACTIVE_MAP.swf Africa Interactive Map] from the [[United States Army Africa]]
* [http://www.zmka.hu/docs/Volume11/Issue1/pdf/12.pdf One of the new competitors in Africa]

;History
* [http://www.africankingdoms.com/ African Kingdoms]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_section10.shtml The Story of Africa] from [[BBC World Service]]
* [http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Urgent_Action/menu_APIC.html Africa Policy Information Center (APIC)]
* [http://www.scribd.com/doc/161017303/Hungarian-military-forces-in-Africa-%E2%80%93-past-and-future-Recovering-lost-knowledge-exploiting-cultural-anthropology-resources-creating-a-comprehensive Hungarian military forces in Africa]

;News media
* [http://allafrica.com/ allAfrica.com] current news, events and statistics
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/focus_magazine/index.shtml Focus on Africa] magazine from [[BBC World Service]]
[[Category:Africa| ]]
[[Category:Continents]]