Africa

Fun Facts

Africa is a massive continent with a wide variety of geographical features, climates, cultures, languages and more. Here are some fun facts about Africa:

Regions: Africa is generally divided into five regions: Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern, and Western. To read more about those regions, head to my All About Regions In Africa blog.

Countries: Well, that depends on who you ask. I generally listen to the African Union, who says 55 countries (2022). The UN recognizes 54 countries due to the territory dispute surrounding Western Sahara.

Population: More than 1.4 billion people (2022) live on the continent of Africa which means approximately 15% of the world’s population calls Africa home. There are more than 3000 different groups of indigenous people living in Africa. Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa.

Language: In Africa, they speak over 1500 different languages (with some counts exceeding 2000 languages).  Swahili, spoken in many East African countries, has the most native speakers in Africa.

Religion: In Africa, they primarily practice Islam and Christianity, with approximately 10% of the population following traditional African religions. 

Geography: Algeria is the largest country in Africa, while Seychelles is the smallest. The Nile is the longest river and Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain. Lake Victoria is the biggest lake and Al-Kufrah is the driest place.