African countries

Africa is the second-largest and second-most populous continent in the world after Asia in both respects. Covering about 30.3 million km² (11.7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, it accounts for 20% of the Earth’s land area and 6% of its total surface area. With 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it makes up roughly 18% of the world’s population. Africa has the youngest population of any continent—the median age in 2012 was 19.7 years, compared to a global median of 30.4 years. Despite its abundance of natural resources, Africa is the poorest continent by GDP per capita and the second-poorest by total wealth after Oceania. Scholars link this to factors such as geography, climate, colonialism, the Cold War, lack of democracy, and corruption. Nevertheless, recent economic growth and its large, youthful population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context.

The continent is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It includes Madagascar and various island archipelagos. Africa 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 nations cooperate through the African Union, headquartered in Addis Ababa.

Africa straddles the equator and the prime meridian. It is the only continent that spans from the northern temperate zone to the southern temperate zone. Most of its landmass and countries lie in the Northern Hemisphere, with a significant portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. The bulk of the continent lies within the tropics, except for large parts of Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt, the northern tip of Mauritania, and the entire territories of Morocco, Ceuta, Melilla, and Tunisia, which lie north of the Tropic of Cancer in the northern temperate zone. At the other end, southern Namibia, southern Botswana, large areas of South Africa, the entirety 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 extremely biodiverse and hosts more megafauna species than any other continent, since it was least affected by the Pleistocene megafaunal extinction. However, it also faces a wide range of environmental challenges, including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, and pollution. These entrenched issues are expected to intensify as climate change impacts the continent. The 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 underappreciated by the global historical community. Africa, particularly East Africa, is recognized as the cradle of humankind. The earliest hominids and their ancestors date back roughly 7 million years. Modern human remains discovered in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Morocco have been dated to approximately 233,000, 259,000, and 300,000 years ago respectively, and Homo sapiens is thought 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, a result of being the longest continuously inhabited.

Early human civilizations such as Ancient Egypt and Carthage arose in North Africa. Following a long and complex history of civilizations, migrations, and trade, Africa became home to a great diversity of ethnic groups, cultures, and languages. Over the last 400 years European influence increased, beginning in the 16th century with trade—including the transatlantic slave trade, which created a large African diaspora in the Americas. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, European powers colonized nearly the entire continent, leaving only Ethiopia and Liberia independent. Most modern African states were formed through decolonization processes after World War II.