Africa is the world's second largest and second-most populous
continent after
Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of
Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With 1.4 billion people0 as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's
human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the
median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of
natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent
per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of
Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including
geography,
climate,
lack of democracy,
tribalism,
corruption,
colonialism, the
Cold War, and
neocolonialism. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context.
The sitatunga is mostly confined to swampy and marshy habitats. Here they occur in tall and dense vegetation as well as seasonal swamps, marshy clearings in forests, riparian thickets and mangrove swamps. (Full article...)
Adansonia digitata is a sub-Saharan African species of baobab tree. The genus, scientifically known as Adansonia, consists of nine species native to Madagascar, Africa, Arabia and Australia, and can reach heights of 5 to 30 m (16 to 98 ft) with trunk diameters of 7 to 11 m (23 to 36 ft).
The Rose Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) is a plant indigenous to various parts of southern Africa, and in particular
South Africa. This specific species has great importance in the
perfume industry. Its
cultivars have a wide variety of smells, including
rose,
citrus,
mint,
coconut and
nutmeg, as well as various
fruits.
The dromedarycamel (Camelus dromedarius) is a large
even-toed ungulate native to northern
Africa and western
Asia. It is often referred to as the one-humped camel, Arabian camel, or simply as the "dromedary".
A
composite satellite image of the geography of Africa, the Earth's second-largest continent, and its adjacent islands. Separated from Europe by the
Mediterranean Sea and from much of Asia by the
Red Sea, Africa is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the
Isthmus of Suez. For
geopolitical purposes, the
Sinai Peninsula – east of the
Suez Canal – is often considered part of Africa, although geographically it belongs in Asia. Africa can be divided into a number of geographic zones: The
Atlas Mountains in the north, the
Sahara, the coastal plains, and the inner plateaus.
Banknote design credit: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank; photographed by
Andrew Shiva
The rupie was the unit of currency of
German East Africa between 1890 and 1916. During
World War I, the colony was cut off from Germany as a result of a wartime
blockade and the colonial government needed to create an emergency issue of banknotes. Paper made from
linen or
jute was initially used, but because of wartime shortages, the notes were later printed on commercial paper in a variety of colours, wrapping paper, and in one instance, wallpaper. This five-rupie banknote was issued in 1915, and is now part of the
National Numismatic Collection at the
Smithsonian Institution.
Other denominations: '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000013-QINU`"'
Photo credit: Portuguse National Archives of Torre do Tombo, Lisbon
A pre-
Mercatornautical chart of 1571, from
Portuguese cartographer
Fernão Vaz Dourado (c. 1520 – c.1580). It belongs to the so-called plane chart model, where observed
latitudes and magnetic directions are plotted directly into the
plane, with a constant scale, as if the Earth were plane. The Moors from Spain had maps of the known world, and had been traveling to and from Mecca, Arabia for many years. In 1492, Christopher Columbus had possession of the Maps of the Moors, which had been confiscated from Andalusia and were now in service to Portuguese and Spanish Explorers. The African Moors already knew at that time, well into the 1500's, that the world was round.
Dallol is a
cinder-cone volcano in the
Danakil Depression, northeast of the
Erta Ale Range in Ethiopia. The area lies up to 120 m (390 ft) below sea level, and has been repeatedly flooded in the past when waters from the Red Sea have inundated it. The Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places on Earth, and the evaporation of seawater after these flooding episodes produced thick deposits of
salt, as seen in this landscape. The deposits at Dallol include significant quantities of the carbonate, sulfate and chloride salts of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Hot springs discharge brine to form the blueish ponds, and small, temporary
geysers produce cones of salt.
Panoramic view of the Amphitheatre of El Jem, an archeological site in the city of
El Djem, Tunisia. The amphitheatre, one of the best-preserved Roman ruins and a UNESCO
World Heritage Site since 1979, was built around 238 AD, when modern Tunisia belonged to the Roman province of
Africa. It is the third-biggest amphitheatre in the world, with axes of 148 m (486 ft) and 122 m (400 ft) and a seating capacity of 35,000, unique in Africa.
Portrait of a Maasai woman, with shaved head, stretched earlobes, and beaded adornments, typical of the Maasai culture. The Maasai are a
Niloticethnic group of semi-
nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known of African ethnic groups, due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa. Their primary language
Maa (ɔl Maa) is a member of the
Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to
Dinka and
Nuer.
Moshi is a
Tanzanian town with a population of 144,739 (2002 census) in
Kilimanjaro Region. The town is situated on the lower slopes of
Mt Kilimanjaro, a volcanic mountain that is the highest mountain in
Africa. Moshi is home to the
Chagga and
Maasai tribes and lies on the A 23 Arusha-Himo east-west road connecting
Arusha and
Mombasa, Kenya. Just to the east of Moshi is the intersection with the B 1 north-south road eventually connecting with
Tanga and
Dar es Salaam.
Snake charming is the practice of apparently
hypnotising a
snake by simply playing an instrument. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerous acts. The practice is most common in India, though it is also practiced in the North African countries of
Egypt,
Morocco, and
Tunisia. This photo depicts snake charmers in late 19th-century Morocco.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The government is an
absolute monarchy, the last of its kind in Africa, and the country has been ruled by King
Mswati III since 1986. One of the country's important cultural events is
Umhlanga, the reed-dance festival, held in August or September each year. This photograph shows Princess
Sikhanyiso Dlamini, the eldest daughter of Mswati III, at the 2006 festival.
The sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) is an
antelope which inhabits wooded
savanna in
eastern and
southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separate population in Angola. The species is
sexually dimorphic, with the male heavier and about one-fifth taller than the female. It has a compact and robust build, characterized by a thick neck and tough skin, and both sexes have ringed horns which arch backward. The sable antelope has four subspecies.
This picture shows an adult male common sable antelope (H. n. niger) in the
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa.
The roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) is a species of
savanna antelope found in western, central and southern Africa. Named for its reddish-brown coat, it has a black face with white patches around the eyes and the mouth, and a short erect mane of greyish brown hair extending from the back of the neck to the rump. This roan antelope, of the
subspeciesH. e. koba, was photographed in Senegal; the subspecies's range extends from Senegal to Benin in western Africa.
The Larabanga Mosque was built in the
Sudanese architectural style in the village of
Larabanga,
Ghana. It is the oldest mosque in the country and one of the oldest in West Africa, and has been called the "
Mecca of West Africa". It has undergone
restoration several times since it was founded. The
World Monuments Fund has contributed substantially to its restoration, and lists it as one of the 100 most endangered sites.
The lion (Panthera leo) is a
mammal of the family
Felidae and one of four "
big cats" in the
genusPanthera. The lion is the second largest feline species, after the
tiger. The male lion, easily recognized by his
mane, weighs between 150 and 250 kg (330–500 lb). Females range 120–150 kg (260–330 lb). In the wild, lions live for around 10–14 years, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. Though they were once found throughout much of
Africa,
Asia and
Europe, lions presently exist in the wild only in Africa and
India. They enjoy hot climates, and hunt in groups.
The Cape to Cairo Railway is an uncompleted project to cross
Africa from south to north by
rail. The plan was initiated at the end of the 19th century, largely under the vision of
Cecil Rhodes, in the attempt to connect adjacent African possessions of the
British Empire through a continuous line from
Cape Town,
South Africa to
Cairo,
Egypt. While most sections of the Cape to Cairo railway are in operation, a major part is missing between
Sudan and
Uganda.
In his 11 years as president, he changed
Egypt's trajectory, departing from many political and economic tenets of
Nasserism, reinstituting a
multi-party system, and launching the
Infitah economic policy. As President, he led Egypt in the
Yom Kippur War of 1973 to regain Egypt's
Sinai Peninsula, which
Israel had occupied since the
Six-Day War of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt and, for a time, the wider
Arab World. Afterwards, he engaged in
negotiations with Israel, culminating in the
Egypt–Israel peace treaty; this won him and Menachem Begin the Nobel Peace Prize, making Sadat the first
Muslim Nobel laureate. Although reaction to the treaty—which resulted in the return of Sinai to Egypt—was generally favorable among Egyptians, it was rejected by the country's
Muslim Brotherhood and the left, which felt Sadat had abandoned efforts to ensure a
Palestinian state. With the exception of Sudan, the Arab world and the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) strongly opposed Sadat's efforts to make a separate peace with Israel without prior consultations with the Arab states. His refusal to reconcile with them over the Palestinian issue resulted in Egypt being suspended from the
Arab League from 1979 to 1989. The peace treaty was also one of the primary factors that led to his assassination; on 6 October 1981, militants led by
Khalid Islambouli opened fire on Sadat with automatic rifles during the
6 October parade in Cairo, killing him. (Full article...)
Since most of the territory is located in the Ubangi and Shari river basins, the French called the colony it carved out in this region
Ubangi-Shari, or
Oubangui-Chari in French. The colony became a semi-autonomous territory of the
French Community in 1958 and then an independent nation on 13 August 1960. The first fair democratic elections, held in 1993, brought
Ange-Félix Patassé to power. Patassé was
overthrown by French-backed General
François Bozizé in 2003, who won a
democratic election in May 2005 and remains in power today.
(Read more...)
Image 3An Ethiopian woman preparing Ethiopian coffee at a
traditional ceremony. She roasts, crushes, and brews the coffee on the spot. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 21Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performing
Adumu, a traditional dance (from Culture of Africa)
Image 22Traditional male dancers from Northern Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Image 23A terra-cotta head sculpture (1100-1500) of the
Yoruba, showing extraordinary naturalism. This head represents the oni or king of
Ife. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 35Areas controlled by European powers in 1939. British (red) and Belgian (marroon) colonies fought with the Allies. Italian (light green) with the Axis. French colonies (dark blue) fought alongside the Allies until the Fall of France in June 1940. Vichy was in control until the Free French prevailed in late 1942. Portuguese (dark green) and Spanish (yellow) colonies remained neutral. (from History of Africa)