Amazing Facts About Africa.

Africa is such a unique continent and over the decades there have been a lot of untruths, stereotypes and misconceptions about this beautiful continent.

It is surprising to learn that these stereotypes and misconceptions did not only come from outside the continent but also from its inhabitants.

Below is a list of some amazing things most people do not know about Africa. It includes the Good, the Bad and the Ugly things:

1.Africa has 54 Countries and one "non-self governing territory", which is
Western Sahara.


2.Only two countries were not colonised by foreign powers in Africa, they are Ethiopia (Abbysynia) and Liberia.

3.Africa, before colonial rule, comprised of up to 10,000 different states and autonomous groups with distinct languages and customs.

4. 

Over 25% of all the languages in the world are spoken in Africa alone.

5. With a population of over 1.1 billion people or 16% of the world's population, it is the second most populous continent.

6.The Second Congo War (1998-2003) is the deadliest conflict in the world since World War 2. It killed more than 5.4 Million people.

It involved more than eight other African countries on opposing sides. It is also known as "Africa's First World War".

7. Almost 90% of all worldwide malaria infection cases occur in Africa which also accounts for about 24% of all child deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa.

8. 

Africa is the second largest continent in the world with over 30 million square kilometres.

9.The largest country in Africa is Algeria. It is approximately the size of Western Europe.

10. The great Sahara Desert is bigger than Continental U.S.A. It is the largest desert in the world.

11. Africa is the world's hottest continent and has deserts and drylands covering about 60% of the land surface area e.g Kalahari, Sahara, Libya, Namib Deserts e.t.c.

12. It is the world's second driest continent. Australia is the first.

13.Africa has the world's largest natural reserves of precious minerals e.g It has 90% of the world's Platinum, over 40% of the Gold and more than 60% of the Cobalt.

14. There are more than 1 million Chinese citizens living in Africa and more are coming in every day. Angola alone has a population of more than 350,000 Chinese.

15. Lake Victoria is the second largest fresh water lake in the world and the largest lake in Africa. It is a major source of the River Nile.

16.  Lake Malawi has more fish species than any other fresh water system on Earth.

17. The Nile River has has a total lenght of 6,650 kilometres. The longest river in the world.

18. More than 85% of the world's Elephants and more than 99% of the remaining Lions on Earth are on the African continent.

19. The largest wildlife migration on Earth happens on the Serengeti (in Tanzania) with more than 1.2 million Wildebeests marching behind 750,000 Zebras as they cross this amazing landscape. It is an awesome sight to behold.

20. Over 25% of the world's bird species live in Africa.

21. Close to the airport in Dakar (Senegal) is a massive sculpted statue, "The African Rennaisance Monument". It stands 49m tall on top of a 100m high hill. It is the tallest statue in Africa, and most of the world.

22. 

There are more Pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt. Sudan has 223 Pyramids which is double the number in Egypt but the Pyramids of Egypt are generally bigger in size than those in Sudan.

23. The name "Africa" was originally used by ancient Greeks and Romans for only the Northern region of the Continent. Africa in Latin means "sunny" and the word "Aphrike" in Greek means "without cold".