Countries of Africa

Africa is the second-largest and second-most populous continent in the world after Asia in both aspects. Covering an area of about 30.3 million km² (11.7 million square miles), including adjacent islands, it accounts for 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it represents about 18% of the world's population. Africa has the youngest population of all continents, with a median age of 19.7 years in 2012, compared to the global average of 30.4 years. Despite its wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and the second least wealthy overall after Oceania. Scholars attribute this to various factors including geography, climate, colonialism, the Cold War, lack of democracy, and corruption. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic growth and a large, young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context.

The continent is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Isthmus and Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It comprises 54 fully recognized sovereign states, eight territories, and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Algeria is the largest country in Africa by area, while Nigeria is the most populous. African countries cooperate through the African Union headquartered in Addis Ababa.

Africa lies between the Equator and the Prime Meridian. It is the only continent that stretches from the northern temperate zone to the southern temperate zone. Most of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a significant portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for significant parts of Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt, the northern tip of Mauritania, and entire territories of Morocco, Ceuta, Melilla, and Tunisia, which are located above the Tropic of Cancer in the northern temperate zone. At the other end of the continent, southern Namibia, southern Botswana, large parts of South Africa, entire territories of Lesotho and Eswatini, and the southern tips of Mozambique and Madagascar lie below the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern temperate zone.

Africa is highly biodiverse and hosts the largest number of megafauna species, having been least affected by the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna. However, Africa is also heavily impacted by a wide range of environmental issues including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, and pollution. These entrenched environmental problems are expected to intensify as climate change affects 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 often underestimated by the global historical community. Africa, especially East Africa, is recognized as the origin of humanity. The earliest hominids and their ancestors are dated to around 7 million years ago. Modern human remains found in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Morocco are dated to approximately 233,000, 259,000, and 300,000 years ago respectively, and Homo sapiens is believed to have emerged in Africa around 350,000–260,000 years ago. Africa is also considered by anthropologists to be the most genetically diverse continent due to its long habitation.

Early human civilizations such as Ancient Egypt and Carthage arose in North Africa. Following a long and complex history of civilizations, migration, and trade, Africa became home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, cultures, and languages. Over the past 400 years, European influence on the continent increased. Starting in the 16th century, this was driven by trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, which created a large African diaspora in the Americas. From the late 19th to early 20th century, European countries colonized nearly all of Africa, leaving only Ethiopia and Liberia as independent states. Most current African states emerged through decolonization after World War II.