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{{Short description|Continent}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=August 2016}}

{{Infobox Continent
|title          = Africa
|image          = {{Switcher|[[File:Africa (orthographic projection).svg|frameless]]|Show national borders|[[File:Africa (orthographic projection) blank.svg|frameless]]|Hide national borders|default=1}}
|area           = {{convert|30370000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} &nbsp;([[List of continents by area|2nd]])
|population     = {{UN_Population|Africa}}{{UN_Population|ref}} ({{UN_Population|Year}}; [[List of continents by population|2nd]])
|density        = {{pop density|{{Decomma|{{UN_Population|Africa}}}}|30221532|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} ({{UN Population|Year}})
|religions           = {{unbulleted list
  | [[Christianity in Africa|Christianity]] (49%)
  | [[Islam in Africa|Islam]] (42%)
  | [[African traditional religion|Traditional faiths]] (8%)
  | [[Religion in Africa|Others]]  (1%)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gordonconwell.edu/blog/african-christianity-101/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=a1d4c1d931e6c38110d5c3f059ae64bb66bafafa-1590463375-0-AezHrWRbV9jUadPbMq1KCYOzXRnMTcuigdG5X7oahVbSoI1-HbOZFVzICpNQM3DD6h-V4OowV97KMQvA_Z5xrEIueURh3cAjh_JOwgzb_0xJ8ApebiYm1YKfWINm1tpYbvki0LdD6UCp1tdLlxQ9SRwtdKFDMRidCaiTEuKpAgqahxqDYDT9efnF_jaiIEUQu0uIx-pJ0jUDCQtArMqdHTN8eI_S59hxJlvlxrSqBFOFsKFbiRy66EYOzblYbhaniwzQPIxiovSOAM7Yj6fu-5jMYVAPJtBJplpKoRDBlTtl44pnDC6wJInEyJbLw46dPuXcViyFEB57ebEfmUnpcYoJDlysExw35Ay28x7nvUDx3aIEa6ZhJsxwn62dv-R57g |title=Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, African Christianity, 2020 |date=18 March 2020 |access-date=1 July 2021 |archive-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503132003/https://www.gordonconwell.edu/blog/african-christianity-101/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=a1d4c1d931e6c38110d5c3f059ae64bb66bafafa-1590463375-0-AezHrWRbV9jUadPbMq1KCYOzXRnMTcuigdG5X7oahVbSoI1-HbOZFVzICpNQM3DD6h-V4OowV97KMQvA_Z5xrEIueURh3cAjh_JOwgzb_0xJ8ApebiYm1YKfWINm1tpYbvki0LdD6UCp1tdLlxQ9SRwtdKFDMRidCaiTEuKpAgqahxqDYDT9efnF_jaiIEUQu0uIx-pJ0jUDCQtArMqdHTN8eI_S59hxJlvlxrSqBFOFsKFbiRy66EYOzblYbhaniwzQPIxiovSOAM7Yj6fu-5jMYVAPJtBJplpKoRDBlTtl44pnDC6wJInEyJbLw46dPuXcViyFEB57ebEfmUnpcYoJDlysExw35Ay28x7nvUDx3aIEa6ZhJsxwn62dv-R57g |url-status=live}}</ref>}}
|GDP_PPP        = {{nowrap|$8.05&nbsp;trillion (2022 est; 4th)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPGDP@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|title=GDP PPP, current prices|publisher=International Monetary Fund|date=2022|access-date=16 January 2022|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122001107/https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPGDP@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
|GDP_nominal    = $2.96&nbsp;trillion (2022 est; [[List of continents by GDP (nominal)|5th]])<ref>{{cite web|title=GDP Nominal, current prices|url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPD@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|publisher=International Monetary Fund|date=2022|access-date=16 January 2022|archive-date=25 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225211431/https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPD@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|url-status=live}}</ref>
|GDP_per_capita = $2,180 (Nominal; 2022 est; [[List of continents by GDP (nominal)#GDP per capita (nominal) by continents|6th]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPDPC@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|title=Nominal GDP per capita|publisher=International Monetary Fund|date=2022|access-date=16 January 2022|archive-date=11 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111084550/https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPDPC@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD|url-status=live}}</ref>    
|demonym        = [[List of ethnic groups of Africa|African]]
|countries      = 54 recognized states, 2 partially recognized states, 4 dependent territories
|list_countries = List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa
|dependencies   = {{Collapsible list
|list_style     = text-align:left;
|title          = [[List of African dependencies#External territories|External]] (<span class="ltr">4</span>)
| 1 = {{flagdeco|Norway}} [[Bouvet Island]] | 2 = {{flag|French Southern and Antarctic Lands|name=French Southern Territories}} | 3 = {{flag|Heard Island and McDonald Islands}}  | 4 = {{flag|Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha}}
 }}
 {{Collapsible list
|list_style     = text-align:left;
|title          = [[List of African dependencies#Internal territories|Internal]] (6+1 disputed)
| 1 = {{flag|France}} ''([[Mayotte]] and [[Réunion]])'' | 2 = {{flag|Italy}} ''([[Pantelleria]] and [[Pelagie Islands]])'' | 3 = {{flag|Morocco}} ''([[Southern Provinces]])'' | 4 = {{flag|Portugal}} ''([[Madeira]])'' | 5 = {{flag|Spain}} ''([[Alboran Island]], [[Canary Islands]], [[Ceuta]], [[Melilla]], and [[Plazas de soberanía]])'' | 6 = {{flag|Tanzania}} ''([[Zanzibar]])'' | 7 = {{flag|Yemen}} ''([[Socotra]])''
 }}
|languages      = [[Languages of Africa|1250–3000 native languages]]
|time           = [[UTC-1]] to [[UTC+4]]
|cities         = [[List of urban agglomerations in Africa|Largest urban areas]]:<!--
 -->{{hlist
|item_style=white-space:break;
|[[Cairo]]
|[[Lagos]]
|[[Kinshasa]]
|[[Johannesburg]]
|[[Luanda]]
|[[Khartoum]]
| [[Onitsha]]
|[[Dar es Salaam]]
|[[Abidjan]]
|[[Alexandria]]
|[[Kigali]]
|[[Nairobi]]
|[[Algiers]]
|[[Cape Town]]
|[[Kano (city)|Kano]]
|[[Dakar]]
|[[Casablanca]]
|[[Addis Ababa]]
|[[Kampala]]}}
}}
[[File:MapAfricaSize.gif|thumb|The size of Africa compared to other continents]]
'''Africa''' is the world's second-largest and second-most populous [[continent]] after [[Asia]]. At about 30.3&nbsp;million km<sup>2</sup> (11.7&nbsp;million square&nbsp;miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of [[Earth]]'s land area and 6% of its total surface area.<ref name=Sayre>Sayre, April Pulley (1999), ''Africa'', Twenty-First Century Books. {{ISBN|0-7613-1367-2}}.</ref> With {{#expr:{{formatnum:{{UN_Population|Africa}}|R}}/1e9 round 1}} billion people{{UN_Population|ref}} as of {{UN_Population|Year}}, it accounts for about {{percent|{{UN Population|Africa}}|{{UN Population|World}}}} of the world's [[human population]]. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents;<ref>{{cite news|title=5 ways the world will look dramatically different in 2100|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/08/17/5-ways-the-world-will-look-dramatically-different-in-2100/|last=Swanson|first=Ana|date=17 August 2015|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=26 September 2017|archive-date=26 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926194109/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/08/17/5-ways-the-world-will-look-dramatically-different-in-2100/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=[[Njideka Harry|Harry]]|first=Njideka U.|date=11 September 2013|title=African Youth, Innovation and the Changing Society|work=Huffington Post|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/njideka-u-harry/african-youth-innovation-_b_3904408.html|access-date=27 September 2013|archive-date=20 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920184934/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/njideka-u-harry/african-youth-innovation-_b_3904408.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[median]] age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4.<ref>{{cite web|title=item, 4 of the provisional agenda&nbsp;– General debate on national experience in population matters: adolescents and youth|url=https://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/cpd2012/Agenda%20item%204/UN%20system%20statements/ECA_Item4.pdf|author=Janneh, Abdoulie|date=April 2012|work=United Nations Economic Commission for Africa|access-date=15 December 2015|archive-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110111359/http://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/cpd2012/Agenda%20item%204/UN%20system%20statements/ECA_Item4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite a wide range of [[natural resource]]s, 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 of Africa|geography]], [[Climate of Africa|climate]],<ref name="Africa Slow" /> [[corruption]],<ref name="Africa Slow">{{cite journal |last1=Collier |first1=Paul |last2=Gunning |first2=Jan Willem |title=Why Has Africa Grown Slowly? |journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives |date=1 August 1999 |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=3–22 |doi=10.1257/jep.13.3.3 |doi-access=free |issn = 0895-3309}}</ref> [[Scramble for Africa|colonialism]], the [[Cold War]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Alemazung |first1=Joy Asongazoh |title=Post-colonial colonialism: an analysis of international factors and actors marring African socio-economic and political development |journal=Journal of Pan African Studies |date=1 September 2010 |volume=3 |issue=10 |pages=62–85 |id={{Gale|A306596751}} |s2cid=140806396 |url=http://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol3no10/3.10Post-Colonial.pdf |access-date=24 October 2021 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127024827/http://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol3no10/3.10Post-Colonial.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bayeh |first1=Endalcachew |title=The political and economic legacy of colonialism in the post-independence African states |journal=International Journal in Commerce, IT & Social Sciences |date=February 2015 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=89–93 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/poldev/78 |s2cid=198939744 |doi=10.4000/poldev.78 |access-date=24 October 2021 |url-status=live |doi-access=free |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117051740/https://journals.openedition.org/poldev/78|archive-date=Nov 17, 2021}}</ref> 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. Africa has a large quantity of [[Natural resources of Africa|natural resources]] and food resources, including [[diamond]]s, [[sugar]], [[salt]], [[gold]], [[iron]], [[cobalt]], [[uranium]], [[copper]], [[bauxite]], [[silver]], [[petroleum]], [[natural gas]], [[cocoa bean]]s, and [[:Category:Fruits originating in Africa|tropical fruit]].

The continent is surrounded by the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the north, the [[Isthmus of Suez]] and the [[Red Sea]] to the northeast, the [[Indian Ocean]] to the southeast and the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the west. The continent includes [[Madagascar]] and various [[archipelago]]s. It contains [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa|54 fully recognised sovereign state]]s, eight [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa|cities and islands that are part of non-African states]], and two ''de facto'' independent [[List of states with limited recognition|states with limited or no recognition]]. This count does not include [[Malta]] and [[Sicily]], which are geologically part of the African continent. [[Algeria]] is Africa's largest country by area, and [[Nigeria]] is its largest by population. African nations cooperate through the establishment of the [[African Union]], which is headquartered in [[Addis Ababa]].

Africa straddles the [[equator]] and the [[prime meridian]]. It is the only continent to stretch from the northern [[temperate]] to the southern temperate zones.<ref>{{cite web|title=Africa. General info|url=http://www.visualgeography.com/continents/africa.html|publisher=Visual Geography|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424072430/http://www.visualgeography.com/continents/africa.html|archive-date=24 April 2011|access-date=24 November 2007}}</ref> The majority of the continent and its countries are in the [[Northern Hemisphere]], with a substantial portion and a number of countries in the [[Southern Hemisphere]]. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of [[Western Sahara]], [[Algeria]], [[Libya]] and [[Egypt]], the northern tip of [[Mauritania]], and the entire territories of [[Morocco]], [[Ceuta]], [[Melilla]], and [[Tunisia]] which in turn are located above the [[tropic of Cancer]], in the [[temperate zone|northern temperate zone]]. In the other extreme of the continent, southern [[Namibia]], southern [[Botswana]], great parts of [[South Africa]], the entire territories of [[Lesotho]] and [[Eswatini]] and the southern tips of [[Mozambique]] and Madagascar are located below the [[tropic of Capricorn]], in the [[temperate zone|southern temperate zone]].

Africa is highly [[biodiverse]];<ref>{{Cite web |last=Studies |first=the Africa Center for Strategic |title=African Biodiversity Loss Raises Risk to Human Security |url=https://africacenter.org/spotlight/african-biodiversity-loss-risk-human-security/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=Africa Center for Strategic Studies |language=en-US |archive-date=12 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712114954/https://africacenter.org/spotlight/african-biodiversity-loss-risk-human-security/ |url-status=live}}</ref> it is the continent with the largest number of [[megafauna]] species, as it was least affected by the [[Late Pleistocene extinctions#Introduction|extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna]]. However, Africa also is [[Environmental issues in Africa|heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues]], including desertification, deforestation, [[water scarcity]], and [[pollution]]. These entrenched environmental concerns are expected to worsen as [[Climate change in Africa|climate change impacts Africa]]. The UN [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] has identified Africa as the continent most [[Climate change vulnerability|vulnerable to climate change]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Schneider, S.H.|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg2/en/ch19s19-3-3.html|title=Chapter 19: Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change|publisher=Print version: CUP. This version: IPCC website|year=2007|isbn=978-0-521-88010-7|editor=Parry, M.L.|series=Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability: contribution of Working Group II to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)|location=Cambridge University Press (CUP): Cambridge, UK|contribution=19.3.3 Regional vulnerabilities|display-authors=etal|access-date=15 September 2011|display-editors=etal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312104158/http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg2/en/ch19s19-3-3.html|archive-date=12 March 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Niang, I., O.C. Ruppel, M.A. Abdrabo, A. Essel, C. Lennard, J. Padgham, and P. Urquhart, "2014: Africa". In: ''Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability''. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Barros, V.R., C.B. Field, D.J. Dokken et al. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, and New York, pp. 1199–1265. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/WGIIAR5-Chap22_FINAL.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619170833/https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/WGIIAR5-Chap22_FINAL.pdf |date=19 June 2020}}</ref>

The [[history of Africa]] is long, complex, and varied, and has often been under-appreciated by the global [[African historiography|historical community]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=1 July 2017|title=One of Africa's best kept secrets – its history|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40420910|access-date=29 July 2021|archive-date=29 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729162629/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40420910|url-status=live}}</ref> Africa, particularly [[East Africa|Eastern Africa]], is widely accepted to be the place of origin of humans and the [[Hominidae]] [[clade]], also known as the [[great ape]]s. The earliest [[hominids]] and their ancestors have been dated to around 7 million years ago, including ''[[Sahelanthropus]]'', ''[[Australopithecus africanus]]'', ''[[Australopithecus afarensis|A. afarensis]]'', ''[[Homo erectus]]'', ''[[Homo habilis|H. habilis]]'' and ''[[Homo ergaster|H. ergaster]]'', the earliest ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' (modern human) remains, found in [[Omo remains|Ethiopia]], [[Florisbad Skull|South Africa]], and [[Jebel Irhoud|Morocco]], date to circa 233,000, 259,000, and 300,000 years ago, respectively, and ''Homo sapiens'' is believed to have originated in Africa around 350,000–260,000 years ago.{{efn|<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.utah.edu/unews/releases/05/feb/homosapiens.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024234234/http://web.utah.edu/unews/releases/05/feb/homosapiens.html|url-status=dead|title=Homo sapiens: University of Utah News Release: 16 February 2005|archive-date=24 October 2007}}</ref><ref name="Schlebusch2017">{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.aao6266 |pmid=28971970 |title=Southern African ancient genomes estimate modern human divergence to 350,000 to 260,000 years ago |journal=Science |volume=358 |issue=6363 |pages=652–655 |year=2017 |last1=Schlebusch |first1=Carina M |last2=Malmström |first2=Helena |last3=Günther|first3=Torsten |last4=Sjödin |first4=Per |last5=Coutinho |first5=Alexandra |last6=Edlund |first6=Hanna |last7=Munters |first7=Arielle R |last8=Vicente |first8=Mário|last9=Steyn |first9=Maryna |last10=Soodyall |first10=Himla |last11=Lombard |first11=Marlize |last12=Jakobsson |first12=Mattias |bibcode=2017Sci...358..652S |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/07/oldest-homo-sapiens-bones-ever-found-shake-foundations-of-the-human-story|title=Oldest ''Homo sapiens'' bones ever found shake foundations of the human story|last=Sample|first=Ian|work=The Guardian|date=7 June 2017|access-date=7 June 2017|archive-date=31 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031005024/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/07/oldest-homo-sapiens-bones-ever-found-shake-foundations-of-the-human-story|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20190910">{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |title=Scientists Find the Skull of Humanity's Ancestor{{snd}}on a Computer{{snd}}By comparing fossils and CT scans, researchers say they have reconstructed the skull of the last common forebear of modern humans. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/science/human-ancestor-skull-computer.html |date=10 September 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=10 September 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231125331/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/science/human-ancestor-skull-computer.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NAT-20190910">{{cite journal |last1=Mounier |first1=Aurélien |last2=Lahr |first2=Marta |title=Deciphering African late middle Pleistocene hominin diversity and the origin of our species |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=3406 |doi=10.1038/s41467-019-11213-w |pmid=31506422 |pmc=6736881 |year=2019 |bibcode=2019NatCo..10.3406M}}</ref><ref name="Vidal22">{{Cite journal|last1=Vidal|first1=Celine M.|last2=Lane|first2=Christine S.|last3=Asfawrossen|first3=Asrat|display-authors=etal| date=Jan 2022|title=Age of the oldest known Homo sapiens from eastern Africa|journal=Nature|volume=601|issue=7894|pages=579–583|doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04275-8 |pmid=35022610|pmc=8791829|bibcode=2022Natur.601..579V}}</ref>}} Africa is also considered by anthropologists to be the most genetically diverse continent as a result of being the longest inhabited.<ref>{{cite web |title=The genetic diversity in Africa is greater than in any other region in the world |date=19 July 2018 |url=https://blogs.bcm.edu/2018/07/19/genetic-diversity-in-africa-is-greater-than-in-any-other-region-in-the-world/ |access-date=24 October 2021 |archive-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024023512/https://blogs.bcm.edu/2018/07/19/genetic-diversity-in-africa-is-greater-than-in-any-other-region-in-the-world/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New study confirms that Africans are the most genetically diverse people on Earth. And it claims to pinpoint our center of origin. |url=https://ksj.mit.edu/tracker-archive/new-study-confirms-africans-are-most-gen/ |access-date=24 October 2021 |archive-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024023511/https://ksj.mit.edu/tracker-archive/new-study-confirms-africans-are-most-gen/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Africa is most genetically diverse continent, DNA study shows |date=9 June 2009 |url=https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_91054 |access-date=24 October 2021 |archive-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024023512/https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_91054 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Civilisations, such as [[Ancient Egypt]], [[Kerma culture|Kerma]], [[Land of Punt|Punt]], and the [[Tichitt culture|Tichitt Tradition]] emerged in [[History of North Africa|North]], [[History of East Africa|East]] and [[History of West Africa|West Africa]] during the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, while the [[Bantu expansion]] from 4000 BC until 1000 AD was substantial in laying the foundations for societies and states in [[Central Africa|Central]], [[East Africa|East]], and [[Southern Africa]]. A complex historical patchwork of civilisations, [[List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history|kingdoms, and empires]] followed, with most [[List of Indigenous peoples#Africa|African societies]] recording their [[State (polity)|state apparatus]], [[Oral literature|literature]], and history via [[oral tradition]]. Many empires achieved [[hegemony]] in their respective regions, such as [[Ghana Empire|Ghana]], [[Kanem Empire|Kanem]], [[Mali Empire|Mali]], [[Songhai Empire|Songhai]], and [[Sokoto Caliphate|Sokoto]] in West Africa; [[Ancient Egypt]], [[Kushite Empire|Kush]], [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]], the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]], [[Almoravids]], [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohads]], [[Ayyubids]], and [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluks]] in North Africa; [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksum]], [[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]], [[Adal Sultanate|Adal]], [[Kitara Empire|Kitara]], [[Kilwa Sultanate|Kilwa]], and [[Merina Kingdom|Imerina]] in East Africa; [[Kingdom of Kongo|Kongo]], [[Luba Empire|Luba]], and [[Kingdom of Lunda|Lunda]] in Central Africa; and [[Mapungubwe]], [[Kingdom of Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe]], [[Mutapa Empire|Mutapa]], [[Rozvi Empire|Rozvi]], [[Maravi]], [[Mthwakazi]], and [[Zulu Kingdom|Zulu]] in Southern Africa. Within Africa [[Slavery in Africa|slavery]] was historically widespread and internal [[Slave market|slave markets]] were used to fuel various exporting [[History of slavery|slave trades]], creating various [[African diaspora|diasporas]], including [[African diaspora in the Americas|in the Americas]]. From the late 19th century to early 20th century, driven by the [[Second Industrial Revolution]], Africa was [[Scramble for Africa|rapidly conquered and colonised]] by [[Colonial empire|European nations]], reaching a point when only [[Ethiopia]] and [[Liberia]] were independent polities.<ref>The [[Egba United Government]], a government of the [[Egba people]], was legally recognized by the British as independent until being annexed into the [[Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria]] in 1914: {{cite journal |last1=Daly |first1=Samuel Fury Childs |title=From Crime to Coercion: Policing Dissent in Abeokuta, Nigeria, 1900–1940 |journal=The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History |date=4 May 2019 |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=474–489 |doi=10.1080/03086534.2019.1576833 |s2cid=159124664 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03086534.2019.1576833 |issn=0308-6534 |access-date=5 July 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407145030/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03086534.2019.1576833 |url-status=live}}</ref> European rule had [[Analysis of Western European colonialism and colonization|significant impacts on Africa's societies]] and the suppression of communal autonomy disrupted [[Tradition|traditional local customary practices]] and caused the irreversible transformation of Africa's [[Socioeconomics|socioeconomic systems]].<ref name="CitizenSubject">{{cite book|last1=Mamdani|first1=Mahmood|title=Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9780691027937|edition=1st|language=en|year=1996}}</ref> Most present states in Africa emerged from a process of [[Decolonisation of Africa|decolonisation]] following [[World War II]], and established the [[Organisation of African Unity]] in 1963, the predecessor to the African Union. <ref name="Hargreaves 1996">{{Cite book |last=Hargreaves |first=John D. |title=Decolonization in Africa |date=1996 |publisher=Longman |isbn=0-582-24917-1 |edition=2nd |location=London |oclc=33131573}}</ref> The nascent countries chose to keep their colonial borders, with [[List of current non-sovereign African monarchs|traditional power structures]] often utilised in governance to varying degrees. 

==Etymology==
[[File:AS17-148-22733 (21516723298).jpg|thumb| Africa seen by the [[Apollo 17]] crew in 1972]]
''[[Afri]]'' was a [[Latin]] name used to refer to the inhabitants of what was then known as [[North Africa|northern Africa]], located west of the [[Nile]] river, and in its widest sense referring to all lands south of the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], also known as [[Ancient Libya]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Georges|first1=Karl Ernst|editor1-last=Georges|editor1-first=Heinrich|encyclopedia=Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch|date=1913–1918|location=Hannover|edition=8th|url=http://latin_german.deacademic.com/1644|access-date=20 September 2015|language=de|title=Afri|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116044500/http://latin_german.deacademic.com/1644|archive-date=16 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Lewis|first1=Charlton T.|last2=Short|first2=Charles|encyclopedia=A Latin Dictionary|date=1879|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3DAfer|access-date=20 September 2015|title=Afer|archive-date=16 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116044500/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3DAfer|url-status=live}}</ref> This name seems to have originally referred to a native Libyan tribe, an ancestor of modern [[Berbers]]; see [[Terence#Biography|Terence]] for discussion. The name had usually been connected with the [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] word ''{{lang|phn|ʿafar}}'' meaning "dust",<ref>Venter & Neuland, ''NEPAD and the African Renaissance'' (2005), p. 16</ref> but a 1981 hypothesis<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michel-desfayes.org/namesofcountries.html |title=The Names of Countries |last=Desfayes |first=Michel |website=michel-desfayes.org |quote=Africa. From the name of an ancient tribe in Tunisia, the ''Afri'' (adjective: ''Afer''). The name is still extant today as ''Ifira'' and ''Ifri-n-Dellal'' in Greater Kabylia (Algeria). A Berber tribe was called ''Beni-Ifren'' in the Middle Ages and ''Ifurace'' was the name of a Tripolitan people in the 6th century. The name is from the Berber language ''ifri'' 'cave'. Troglodytism was frequent in northern Africa and still occurs today in southern Tunisia. Herodote wrote that the Garamantes, a North African people, used to live in caves. The Ancient Greek called ''troglodytēs'' an African people who lived in caves. ''Africa'' was coined by the Romans and {{'}}''Ifriqiyeh''{{'}} is the arabized Latin name. (Most details from Decret & Fantar, 1981). |date=25 January 2011 |access-date=9 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627022921/http://michel-desfayes.org/namesofcountries.html |archive-date=27 June 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> has asserted that it stems from the [[Berber languages|Berber]] word ''ifri'' (plural ''ifran'') meaning  "cave", in reference to cave dwellers.<ref name="Michell">{{Cite journal|jstor = 714549|title = The Berbers|journal = Journal of the Royal African Society|volume = 2|issue = 6|pages = 161–194|last1 = Babington Michell|first1 = Geo|year = 1903|doi = 10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a093193|url = https://zenodo.org/record/1782363|access-date = 30 August 2020|archive-date = 30 December 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201230012624/https://zenodo.org/record/1782363|url-status = live}}</ref> The same word<ref name="Michell" /> may be found in the name of the [[Banu Ifran]] from [[Algeria]] and [[Tripolitania]], a Berber tribe originally from [[Yafran]] (also known as ''Ifrane'') in northwestern [[Libya]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SLSzNfdcqfoC&pg=PA200 Edward Lipinski, ''Itineraria Phoenicia''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116044459/https://books.google.com/books?id=SLSzNfdcqfoC&pg=PA200 |date=16 January 2016}}, Peeters Publishers, 2004, p. 200. {{ISBN|90-429-1344-4}}</ref> as well as the city of [[Ifrane]] in [[Morocco]].

Under [[Roman Empire|Roman]] rule, [[Carthage]] became the capital of the province then named ''[[Africa Proconsularis]]'', following its defeat of the [[Ancient Carthage|Carthaginians]] in the [[Third Punic War]] in 146 BC, which also included the coastal part of modern [[Libya]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.consultsos.com/pandora/africa.htm |title=Africa African Africanus Africus |publisher=Consultos.com |access-date=14 November 2006 |archive-date=29 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129111458/http://www.consultsos.com/pandora/africa.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The Latin suffix ''[[wikt:-ica#Latin|-ica]]'' can sometimes be used to denote a land (e.g., in ''[[Gallia Celtica|Celtica]]'' from ''[[Celts|Celtae]]'', as used by [[Julius Caesar]]). The later Muslim region of [[Ifriqiya]], following its conquest of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine (Eastern Roman)]] Empire's ''[[Exarchate of Africa|Exarchatus Africae]]'', also preserved a form of the name.

According to the Romans, Africa lies to the west of Egypt, while "Asia" was used to refer to [[Anatolia]] and lands to the east. A definite line was drawn between the two continents by the geographer [[Ptolemy]] (85–165 CE), indicating [[Alexandria]] along the [[Prime Meridian]] and making the isthmus of Suez and the [[Red Sea]] the boundary between Asia and Africa. As Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of "Africa" expanded with their knowledge.

Other etymological hypotheses have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":
* The 1st-century Jewish historian [[Flavius Josephus]] (''Ant. 1.15'') asserted that it was named for [[Epher]], grandson of [[Abraham]] according to [[Book of Genesis|Gen.]] 25:4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya.
* [[Isidore of Seville]] in his 7th-century ''[[Etymologiae]]'' XIV.5.2. suggests "Africa" comes from the Latin ''aprica'', meaning "sunny".
* Massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian ''af-rui-ka'', meaning "to turn toward the opening of the Ka." The [[Egyptian soul#Ka|Ka]] is the energetic double of every person and the "opening of the Ka" refers to a womb or birthplace. Africa would be, for the Egyptians, "the birthplace."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gerald-massey.org.uk/massey/cmc_nile_genesis.htm|title=Nile Genesis: the opus of Gerald Massey|publisher=Gerald-massey.org.uk|date=29 October 1907|access-date=18 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130200159/http://gerald-massey.org.uk/massey/cmc_nile_genesis.htm|archive-date=30 January 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Michèle Fruyt in 1976 proposed<ref>{{cite journal|author=Fruyt, M. |title= D'Africus ventus a Africa terrain |journal=Revue de Philologie|volume= 50|year= 1976|pages= 221–238}}</ref> linking the Latin word with ''africus'' "south wind", which would be of Umbrian origin and mean originally "rainy wind".
* Robert R. Stieglitz of [[Rutgers University]] in 1984 proposed: "The name Africa, derived from the Latin ''*Aphir-ic-a'', is cognate to Hebrew [[Ophir]] ['rich']."<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/3209914|jstor=3209914|title=Long-Distance Seafaring in the Ancient Near East|journal=The Biblical Archaeologist|volume=47|issue=3|pages=134–142|year=1984|last1=Stieglitz|first1=Robert R.|s2cid=130072563}}</ref>
* [[Ibn Khallikan]] and some other historians claim that the name of Africa came from a [[Himyarite Kingdom|Himyarite]] king called Afrikin ibn Kais ibn Saifi ("Afrikus son of Abraham") who subdued Ifriqiya.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3cdLAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA35|title=Kitab Wafayat Ala'yan. Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary Transl. by (Guillaume) B(aro)n Mac-Guckin de Slane|last=Hallikan|first='Abu-l-'Abbas Sams-al-din 'Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ibn|date=1842|publisher=Benjamin Duprat|language=en|access-date=30 July 2018|archive-date=24 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924231636/https://books.google.com/books?id=3cdLAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mcN7AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|title=Science in the Medieval World|last=al-Andalusi|first=Sa'id|year=2010|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0292792319|language=en|access-date=30 July 2018|archive-date=24 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924231632/https://books.google.com/books?id=mcN7AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbo5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA113|title=Travels in the Arabian Desert: With Special Reference to the Arabian Horse and Its Pedigree|last=Upton|first=Roger D.|date=1881|publisher=C.K. Paul & Company|language=en|access-date=30 July 2018|archive-date=24 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924231639/https://books.google.com/books?id=pbo5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA113|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Arabic ''afrīqā'' (feminine noun) and ''ifrīqiyā'', now usually pronounced ''afrīqiyā'' (feminine) 'Africa', from ''‘afara'' [‘ = ''‘ain'', not ''’alif''] 'to be dusty' from ''‘afar'' 'dust, powder' and ''‘afir'' 'dried, dried up by the sun, withered' and ''‘affara'' 'to dry in the sun on hot sand' or 'to sprinkle with dust'.<ref>Modified from Wilhelm Sturmfels and Heinz Bischof: ''Unsere Ortsnamen im ABC erklärt nach Herkunft und Bedeutung'', Bonn, 1961, Ferdinand Dümmlers Verlag.</ref>
* Possibly Phoenician ''faraqa'' in the sense of 'colony, separation'.<ref>Serge Losique: ''Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de pays et de peuples'', Paris, 1971, Éditions Klincksieck.</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Africa}}
{{See also|History of North Africa|History of West Africa|History of Central Africa|History of East Africa|History of Southern Africa|List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history}}
{{Further|General History of Africa|Cambridge History of Africa}}
===Prehistory===
{{Main|Prehistoric Africa}}
{{See also|Recent African origin of modern humans}}
[[File:Lucy blackbg.jpg|thumb|[[Lucy (Australopithecus)|Lucy]], an ''[[Australopithecus afarensis]]'' skeleton discovered in [[Ethiopia]]'s [[Afar Triangle]] in 1974]]
Africa is considered by most [[paleoanthropology|paleoanthropologists]] to be the [[cradle of Humankind|oldest inhabited territory]] on Earth, with the Human species originating from the continent.<ref name="HerreraGarcia-Bertrand2018">{{cite book|first1=Rene J.|last1=Herrera|first2=Ralph|last2=Garcia-Bertrand|title=Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF1gDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA61|year=2018|publisher=Elsevier Science|isbn=978-0-12-804128-4|pages=61–|access-date=18 October 2020|archive-date=30 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032459/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF1gDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA61|url-status=live}}</ref> During the mid-20th century, [[Anthropology|anthropologists]] discovered many [[fossil]]s and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as seven million years ago ([[Before Present|Before present]], BP). Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have [[Evolution|evolved]] into modern humans, such as ''[[Australopithecus afarensis]]'' [[Radiometric dating|radiometrically dated]] to approximately 3.9–3.0&nbsp;million years BP,<ref>Kimbel, William H. and Yoel Rak and Donald C. Johanson. (2004) ''The Skull of Australopithecus Afarensis'', Oxford University Press US. {{ISBN|0-19-515706-0}}</ref> ''[[Paranthropus boisei]]'' (c. 2.3–1.4&nbsp;million years BP)<ref>Tudge, Colin. (2002) ''The Variety of Life.'', Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-860426-2}}</ref> and ''[[Homo ergaster]]'' (c. 1.9&nbsp;million–600,000 years BP) have been discovered.<ref name=Sayre/>

After the evolution of ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' approximately 350,000 to 260,000 years BP in Africa,<ref name="Schlebusch2017"/><ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="NYT-20190910"/><ref name="NAT-20190910"/> the continent was mainly populated by groups of [[hunter-gatherer]]s.<ref>Mokhtar, G. (1990) ''UNESCO [[General History of Africa]], Vol. II, Abridged Edition: Ancient Africa'', University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-85255-092-8}}</ref><ref>Eyma, A.K. and C.J. Bennett. (2003) ''Delts-Man in Yebu: Occasional Volume of the Egyptologists' Electronic Forum No. 1'', Universal Publishers. p. 210. {{ISBN|1-58112-564-X}}</ref> These first modern humans left Africa and populated the rest of the [[globe]] during the [[Recent African origin of modern humans|Out of Africa II]] migration dated to approximately 50,000 years BP, exiting the continent either across [[Bab-el-Mandeb]] over the [[Red Sea]],<ref>Wells, Spencer (December 2002) [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1212_021213_journeyofman.html The Journey of Man] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427020944/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1212_021213_journeyofman.html |date=27 April 2011}}. ''National Geographic''</ref><ref>Oppenheimer, Stephen. [http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/gates2.html The Gates of Grief] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530001241/http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/gates2.html |date=30 May 2014 }}. bradshawfoundation.com</ref> the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] in Morocco,<ref>{{Cite web|title=15. Strait of Gibraltar, Atlantic Ocean/Mediterranean Sea|url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/humanimprints/slide_15.html|website=www.lpi.usra.edu|access-date=13 May 2020|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126205023/https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/humanimprints/slide_15.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fregel |first1=Rosa |last2=Méndez |first2=Fernando L. |last3=Bokbot |first3=Youssef |last4=Martín-Socas |first4=Dimas |last5=Camalich-Massieu |first5=María D. |last6=Santana |first6=Jonathan |last7=Morales |first7=Jacob |last8=Ávila-Arcos |first8=María C. |last9=Underhill |first9=Peter A. |last10=Shapiro |first10=Beth |last11=Wojcik |first11=Genevieve |last12=Rasmussen |first12=Morten |last13=Soares |first13=André E. R. |last14=Kapp |first14=Joshua |last15=Sockell |first15=Alexandra |last16=Rodríguez-Santos |first16=Francisco J. |last17=Mikdad |first17=Abdeslam |last18=Trujillo-Mederos |first18=Aioze |last19=Bustamante |first19=Carlos D. |title=Ancient genomes from North Africa evidence prehistoric migrations to the Maghreb from both the Levant and Europe |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=26 June 2018 |volume=115 |issue=26 |pages=6774–6779 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1800851115 |pmid=29895688 |pmc=6042094 |bibcode=2018PNAS..115.6774F |doi-access=free }}</ref> or the [[Isthmus of Suez]] in Egypt.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/arheo/ska/tekstovi/out_of_africa.pdf|doi=10.1007/s10963-006-9002-z|title=Getting "Out of Africa": Sea Crossings, Land Crossings and Culture in the Hominin Migrations|journal=Journal of World Prehistory|volume=19|issue=2|pages=119–132|year=2005|last1=Derricourt|first1=Robin|s2cid=28059849|access-date=26 December 2013|archive-date=22 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222031934/http://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/arheo/ska/tekstovi/out_of_africa.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Other migrations of modern humans within the African continent have been dated to that time, with evidence of early human settlement found in Southern Africa, Southeast Africa, North Africa, and the [[Sahara]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Goucher, Candice|author2=Walton, Linda|title=World History: Journeys from Past to Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gY7cAAAAQBAJ|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-72354-6|pages=2–20|access-date=5 February 2018|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611044204/https://books.google.com/books?id=gY7cAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Emergence of civilization ===
{{See also|Cradle of civilization#Ancient Egypt}}
[[File:Mathendous giraffes.jpg|thumb|[[Saharan rock art]] in [[Fezzan]], Libya, in December 2004]]
 [[File:Abu Simbel Main Temple (2346939149).jpg|thumb|Colossal statues of [[Ramesses II]] in [[Abu Simbel]], Egypt, dating from around 1250 BC, seen in March 2008]]
The size of the Sahara has historically been extremely variable, with its area rapidly fluctuating and at times disappearing depending on global climatic conditions.<ref>{{cite book|author=Keenan, Jeremy|title=The Sahara: Past, Present and Future|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KUKPAQAAQBAJ|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-97001-9|access-date=5 February 2018|archive-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228175639/https://books.google.com/books?id=KUKPAQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> At the end of the [[Ice age]]s, estimated to have been around 10,500 BCE, the Sahara had again become a green fertile valley, and its African populations returned from the interior and coastal highlands in [[sub-Saharan Africa]], with [[Saharan rock art|rock art paintings]] depicting a fertile Sahara and large populations discovered in [[Tassili n'Ajjer]] dating back perhaps 10 millennia.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mercier|first1=Norbert|display-authors=etal|date=2012|title=OSL dating of quaternary deposits associated with the parietal art of the Tassili-n-Ajjer plateau (Central Sahara)|journal=Quaternary Geochronology|volume=10|pages=367–373|doi=10.1016/j.quageo.2011.11.010|bibcode=2012QuGeo..10..367M }}</ref> However, the warming and drying climate meant that by 5000 BC, the Sahara region was becoming increasingly dry and hostile. Around 3500 BC, due to a tilt in the Earth's [[orbit]], the Sahara experienced a period of rapid desertification.<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/07/990712080500.htm "Sahara's Abrupt Desertification Started by Changes in Earth's Orbit, Accelerated by Atmospheric and Vegetation Feedbacks"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307060153/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/07/990712080500.htm|date=7 March 2014 }}, ''Science Daily''</ref> The population trekked out of the Sahara region towards the Nile Valley below the [[Cataracts of the Nile|Second Cataract]] where they made permanent or semi-permanent settlements. A major climatic recession occurred, lessening the heavy and persistent rains in Central and [[East Africa|Eastern Africa]]. Since this time, dry conditions have prevailed in Eastern Africa and, increasingly during the last 200 years, in [[Ethiopia]].

The domestication of cattle in Africa preceded agriculture and seems to have existed alongside hunter-gatherer cultures. It is speculated that by 6000 BC, cattle were domesticated in North Africa.<ref>Diamond, Jared. (1999) ''Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies''. New York: Norton, p. 167. {{ISBN|978-0813498027}}</ref> In the Sahara-Nile complex, people domesticated many animals, including the donkey and  a small screw-horned goat which was common from Algeria to [[Nubia]]. Between 10,000 and 9,000 BC, pottery was independently invented in the region of Mali in the savannah of West  Africa.<ref name="Pottery">{{cite journal |last1=Jesse |first1=Friederike |title=Early Pottery in Northern Africa – An Overview |issue=2 |pages=219–238 |journal=[[Journal of African Archaeology]]|volume=8 |jstor=43135518 |year=2010 |doi=10.3213/1612-1651-10171 }}</ref><ref name="swissinfo">[http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Archive/Swiss_archaeologist_digs_up_West_Africas_past.html?cid=5675736 Simon Bradley, ''A Swiss-led team of archaeologists has discovered pieces of the oldest African pottery in central Mali, dating back to at least 9,400BC''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306002155/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Archive/Swiss_archaeologist_digs_up_West_Africas_past.html?cid=5675736 |date=6 March 2012 }}, SWI swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), 18 January 2007</ref> In the [[steppe]]s and [[savanna]]hs of the Sahara and [[Sahel]] in Northern West Africa, people possibly ancestral to modern [[Nilo-Saharan]] and [[Mandé]] cultures started to collect wild [[millet]],<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-89839-1_22 | doi=10.1007/978-3-319-89839-1_22 | chapter=Evidence of Sorghum Cultivation and Possible Pearl Millet in the Second Millennium BC at Kassala, Eastern Sudan | title=Plants and People in the African Past | year=2018 | last1=Beldados | first1=Alemseged | last2=Manzo | first2=Andrea | last3=Murphy | first3=Charlene | last4=Stevens | first4=Chris J. | last5=Fuller | first5=Dorian Q. | pages=503–528 | isbn=978-3-319-89838-4 | access-date=20 May 2022 | archive-date=20 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520170752/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-89839-1_22 | url-status=live }}</ref> around 8000 to 6000 BCE. Later, [[gourd]]s, [[watermelon]]s, [[castor bean]]s, and [[cotton]] were also collected.<ref>Ehret (2002), pp. 64–75.</ref> Sorghum was first domesticated in Eastern [[Sudan]] around 4000 BC, in one of the earliest instances of agriculture in human history. Its cultivation would gradually spread across Africa, before spreading to India around 2000 BC.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/693898?journalCode=ca | doi=10.1086/693898 | title=Evidence for Sorghum Domestication in Fourth Millennium BC Eastern Sudan: Spikelet Morphology from Ceramic Impressions of the Butana Group | year=2017 | last1=Winchell | first1=Frank | last2=Stevens | first2=Chris J. | last3=Murphy | first3=Charlene | last4=Champion | first4=Louis | last5=Fuller | first5=Dorianq. | journal=Current Anthropology | volume=58 | issue=5 | pages=673–683 | s2cid=149402650 | access-date=20 May 2022 | archive-date=20 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520170745/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/693898?journalCode=ca | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2017 |title=Earliest Evidence of Domesticated Sorghum Discovered &#124; Sci.News |url=https://www.sci.news/archaeology/earliest-evidence-domesticated-sorghum-05271.html |website=Sci.News: Breaking Science News |access-date=16 May 2023 |archive-date=9 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209081124/https://www.sci.news/archaeology/earliest-evidence-domesticated-sorghum-05271.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

People around modern-day Mauritania started making [[pottery]] and built stone settlements (e.g., [[Tichitt]], [[Oualata]]). Fishing, using bone-tipped [[harpoon]]s, became a major activity in the numerous streams and lakes formed from the increased rains.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/getting-food/katanda-bone-harpoon-point|title=Katanda Bone Harpoon Point|date=22 January 2010|website=The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program|language=en|access-date=19 February 2019|archive-date=14 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814055506/https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/getting-food/katanda-bone-harpoon-point|url-status=live}}</ref> In West Africa, the wet phase ushered in an expanding [[rainforest]] and wooded savanna from [[Senegal]] to [[Cameroon]]. Between 9,000 and 5,000 BC, [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo speakers]] domesticated the [[Elaeis guineensis|oil palm]] and [[raffia palm]]. [[Black-eyed pea]]s and [[voandzeia]] (African groundnuts), were domesticated, followed by [[okra]] and [[kola nut]]s. Since most of the plants grew in the forest, the Niger–Congo speakers invented polished stone axes for clearing forest.<ref>Ehret (2002), pp. 82–84.</ref>

Around 4000 BC, the Saharan climate started to become drier at an exceedingly fast pace.<ref name="O'Brien">O'Brien, Patrick K. ed. (2005) ''Oxford Atlas of World History''. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 22–23. {{ISBN|978-0199746538}}</ref> This climate change caused lakes and rivers to shrink significantly and caused increasing [[desertification]]. This, in turn, decreased the amount of land conducive to settlements and encouraged migrations of farming communities to the more tropical climate of West Africa.<ref name="O'Brien"/> During the first millennium BC, a reduction in wild grain populations related to changing climate conditions facilitated the expansion of farming communities and the rapid adoption of rice cultivation around the Niger River.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.066 | title=The Rise and Fall of African Rice Cultivation Revealed by Analysis of 246 New Genomes | year=2018 | last1=Cubry | first1=Philippe | last2=Tranchant-Dubreuil | first2=Christine | last3=Thuillet | first3=Anne-Céline | last4=Monat | first4=Cécile | last5=Ndjiondjop | first5=Marie-Noelle | last6=Labadie | first6=Karine | last7=Cruaud | first7=Corinne | last8=Engelen | first8=Stefan | last9=Scarcelli | first9=Nora | last10=Rhoné | first10=Bénédicte | last11=Burgarella | first11=Concetta | last12=Dupuy | first12=Christian | last13=Larmande | first13=Pierre | last14=Wincker | first14=Patrick | last15=François | first15=Olivier | last16=Sabot | first16=François | last17=Vigouroux | first17=Yves | journal=Current Biology | volume=28 | issue=14 | pages=2274–2282.e6 | pmid=29983312 | s2cid=51600014 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2018CBio...28E2274C }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265663363 |title=Searching for the Origins of African Rice Domestication |date=January 2004 |journal=[[Antiquity (journal)|Antiquity]] |issue=78 |author=Shawn Sabrina Murray |via=researchgate.net}}</ref>

By the first millennium BC, [[Ferrous metallurgy|ironworking]] had been introduced in Northern Africa. Around that time it also became established in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, either through independent invention there or diffusion from the north<ref>[http://princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/history1.htm#Irontechnology Martin and O'Meara, "Africa, 3rd Ed."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011083356/http://princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/history1.htm |date=11 October 2007 }} Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1995</ref><ref name="PB 2014">Breunig, Peter. 2014. Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context: p. 21.</ref> and vanished under unknown circumstances around 500 AD, having lasted approximately 2,000 years,<ref name="FB 1969">Fagg, Bernard. 1969. Recent work in west Africa: New light on the Nok culture. World Archaeology 1(<span class="ltr">1</span>): 41–50.</ref> and by 500 BC, metalworking began to become commonplace in West Africa. [[Ironworking]] was fully established by roughly 500 BC in many areas of East and West Africa, although other regions did not begin ironworking until the early centuries CE. Copper objects from [[Egypt]], North Africa, Nubia, and Ethiopia dating from around 500 BC have been excavated in West Africa, suggesting that [[Trans-Saharan trade]] networks had been established by this date.<ref name="O'Brien"/>

===4th millenium BC – 6th century AD===
{{See also|Ancient Africa|History of Africa#4th millenium BC – 6th century AD}}
====Northeast Africa====
[[File:Ancient Egypt map-en.svg|thumb|Map of [[Ancient Egypt]], showing its major cities and sites, {{Circa|3150 BC to 30 BC}}]]
From 3500 BC, [[nome (Egypt)|nomes]] (ruled by [[nomarch]]s) coalesced to form the kingdoms of [[Lower Egypt]] and [[Upper Egypt]] in northeast Africa. Around 3100 BC [[Upper Egypt]] conquered [[Lower Egypt]] to unify [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] under the [[First Dynasty of Egypt|1st dynasty]], with the process of consolidation and assimilation completed by the time of the [[3rd Dynasty of Egypt|3rd dynasty]] who formed the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt]] in 2686 BC.<ref name="Abu Bakr 1981">{{cite book |last=Abu Bakr |first=Abdel |title=General History of Africa: Volume 2 |chapter=Pharoanic Egypt |year=1981 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000134375}}</ref>{{rp|pages=62–63}} The [[Kerma culture|Kingdom of Kerma]] emerged around this time to become the dominant force in [[Nubia]], controlling territory as large as Egypt between the 1st and 4th [[cataracts of the Nile]].<ref>{{cite book  |year=2012 |publisher= The Encyclopedia of Ancient History |first= J. R. |last= Anderson  |doi= 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah15224 |title = The Encyclopedia of Ancient History|isbn = 9781444338386|chapter = Kerma}} She states, "To date, Kerma-culture has been found from the region of the First Cataract to upstream of the Fourth Cataract."</ref><ref>{{cite web  |url=http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=anthpubs |title= Nubian identity in the Bronze Age. Patterns of cultural and biological variation|year=2011|first= Michele |last= Buzon |access-date= 30 March 2017}}</ref> The [[4th Dynasty of Egypt|4th dynasty]] oversaw the height of the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]], and constructed many [[Egyptian pyramids|great pyramids]], however under the [[6th Dynasty of Egypt|6th dynasty]] power gradually decentralised to the nomarchs, culminating in the disintegration of the kingdom, exacerbated by drought and famine, thus commencing the [[First Intermediate Period]] in 2200 BC. This shattered state would last until 2055 BC when the [[11th Dynasty of Egypt|11th dynasty]], based in [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], conquered the others to form the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt]], with the [[12th Dynasty of Egypt|12th dynasty]] expanding into [[Lower Nubia]] at the expense of [[Kingdom of Kerma|Kerma]].<ref name="Abu Bakr 1981"/>{{rp|pages=68–71}}  In 1700 BC, the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] fractured in two, ushering in the [[Second Intermediate Period]]. The [[Hyksos]], a militaristic people from [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], invaded and conquered Lower Egypt, while [[Kingdom of Kerma|Kerma]] coordinated invasions deep into Egypt to reach its greatest extent.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-7-2003_pg9_1 |title= Tomb Reveals Ancient Egypt's Humiliating Secrets |date= 29 July 2003 |work= [[Daily Times (Pakistan)|Daily Times]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105214410/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-7-2003_pg9_1 |archive-date= 5 November 2013 }}</ref> In 1550 BC, the [[18th Dynasty of Egypt|18th dynasty]] eventually expelled the [[Hyksos]], and established the [[New Kingdom of Egypt]]. Using the advanced military technology the [[Hyksos]] had brought, the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] conquered the [[Levant]] from the [[Canaanites]], [[Mittani]], [[Amorites]], and [[Hittites]], and extinguished [[Kingdom of Kerma|Kerma]], incorporating [[Nubia]] into the empire, and sending the [[Egyptian empire]] into its golden age.<ref name="Abu Bakr 1981"/>{{rp|pages=73}} Internal struggles, drought, famine, and invasions by a [[Sea peoples|confederation of seafaring peoples]] contributed to the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]]'s collapse in 1069 BC, commencing the [[Third Intermediate Period]].<ref name="Abu Bakr 1981"/>{{rp|pages=76–77}}

Egypt's collapse liberated the more Egyptianised [[Kingdom of Kush]] in Nubia, who manoeuvred into power in Upper Egypt and conquered Lower Egypt in 754 BC to form the [[Kushite Empire]]. The Kushites ruled for a century and oversaw a [[Nubian pyramids|revival in pyramid building]], until they were [[Assyrian conquest of Egypt|forcibly driven out of Egypt by the Assyrians]] in 663 BC as reprisal for their expansion towards the [[Assyrian Empire]].<ref name="JE66">{{cite book |last1=Elayi |first1=Josette |title=Sennacherib, King of Assyria |date=2018 |publisher=SBL Press |isbn=978-0-88414-318-5 |pages=66–67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVNtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 |language=en}}</ref> The Assyrians installed a [[26th Dynasty of Egypt|puppet dynasty]] which later gained independence and once more [[Late Period of ancient Egypt|unified Egypt]], until they were conquered by the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in 525 BC.<ref name="Abu Bakr 1981"/>{{rp|pages=77}} Egypt regained independence under the [[28th Dynasty of Egypt|28th dynasty]] in 404 BC however they were later reconquered by the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenids]] in 343 BC. The conquest of [[History of Persian Egypt|Achaemenid Egypt]] by [[Alexander the Great]] in 332 BC marked the beginning of [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic rule]] and the installation of the [[Ancient Macedonian|Macedonian]] [[Ptolemaic dynasty]] in Egypt.<ref>{{cite book |last=Riad |first=Henry |title=General History of Africa: Volume 2 |chapter=Egypt in the Hellenistic era |year=1981 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000134375}}</ref>{{rp|pages=119}} The [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaics]] lost their holdings outside of Africa to the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucids]] in the [[Syrian Wars]], however expanded into [[Cyrenaica]] and subjugated [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]] in the 3rd century BC. In the 1st century BC, [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic Egypt]] became entangled in a [[Caesar's civil war|Roman civil war]], leading to its conquest by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] in 30 BC. The [[Crisis of the Third Century]] in the [[Roman Empire]] freed the Levantine city state of [[Palmyra]] which [[Palmyrene Empire|conquered Egypt]], however their brief rule ended when they were reconquered by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]]. In the midst of this, [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]] regained total independence from Egypt, and they would persist as a major regional power until, having been weakened from internal rebellion amid worsening climatic conditions, invasions by both [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksum]] and the [[Noba]] caused their disintegration into [[Makuria]], [[Alodia]], and [[Nobatia]] in the 5th century AD. The Romans managed to hold on to Egypt for the rest of the ancient period.

====Horn of Africa====
{{Main|Horn of Africa}}
[[File:The Kingdom of Aksum.png|thumb|The [[Kingdom of Aksum]] in the 6th century AD, including the present-day [[Arabian Peninsula]] and [[East Africa]]]]
In the [[Horn of Africa]], there was the [[Land of Punt]], a kingdom on the [[Red Sea]], likely located in modern-day [[Eritrea]] or northern [[Somaliland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25634170-800-we-have-finally-found-the-land-of-punt-where-pharaohs-got-their-gifts/|title=We have finally found the land of Punt, where pharaohs got their gifts|date=2022-12-14|access-date=2023-10-28|website=New Scientist}}</ref> The Ancient Egyptians initially traded via middle-men with Punt until in 2350 BC when they established direct relations. They would become close trading partners for over a millennium. Towards the end of the ancient period, northern [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]] bore the Kingdom of [[D'mt]] beginning in 980 BC. In modern-day [[Somalia]] and [[Djibouti]] there was the [[Macrobians|Macrobian Kingdom]], with archaeological discoveries indicating the possibility of other unknown sophisticated civilisations at this time.<ref name="Nthos">{{cite book|last=Njoku|first=Raphael Chijioke|title=The History of Somalia|year=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0313378577|pages=29–31|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlL2vE_qRQ8C}}</ref><ref name="Titthtw">{{cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|title=The Illustrated Timeline of the History of the World|year=2011|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1448847976|page=131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RO4kS1IR71sC}}</ref> After D'mt's fall in the 5th century BC the [[Ethiopian Highlands|Ethiopian Plateau]] came to be ruled by numerous smaller unknown kingdoms who experienced strong [[Sabaeans|south Arabian influence]], until the growth and expansion of [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksum]] in the 1st century BC.<ref>Pankhurst, Richard K.P. ''Addis Tribune'', "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060109162335/http://www.addistribune.com/Archives/2003/01/17-01-03/Let.htm Let's Look Across the Red Sea I]", January 17, 2003 (archive.org mirror copy)</ref> Along the Horn's coast there were many [[ancient Somali city-states]] which thrived off of the [[Maritime history of Somalia|wider Red Sea trade]] and transported their cargo via [[beden]], exporting [[myrrh]], [[frankincense]], [[spice]]s, [[Natural gum|gum]], [[incense]], and [[ivory]], with freedom from Roman interference causing Indians to give the cities a lucrative monopoly on [[cinnamon]] from [[History of India#Iron Age (c. 1800 – 200 BCE)|ancient India]].<ref>Eric Herbert Warmington, ''The Commerce Between the Roman Empire and India'', p. 187.</ref>

The [[Kingdom of Aksum]] grew from a [[principality]] into a major power on the [[Indo-Roman trade relations|trade route between Rome and India]] through conquering its unfortunately unknown neighbours, gaining a monopoly on [[Indian Ocean trade]] in the region.  Aksum's rise had them rule over much of the regions from [[Lake Tana]] to the valley of the [[Nile]], and they further conquered parts of the ailing [[Kingdom of Kush]], led campaigns against the [[Noba]] and [[Beja people|Beja]] peoples, and [[GDRT|expanded into South Arabia]].<ref>George Hatke, ''Aksum and Nubia: Warfare, Commerce, and Political Fictions in Ancient Northeast Africa'' (New York University Press, 2013), pp. 44. {{ISBN|0-7486-0106-6}}</ref><ref name="dx.doi.org2">{{Cite journal |date=August 1910 |title=The Christian Topography of Cosmas Indicopleustes |url=https://archive.org/details/christiantopogra00cosmuoft |journal=Nature |volume=84 |issue=2127 |pages=133–134 |bibcode=1910Natur..84..133. |doi=10.1038/084133a0 |issn=0028-0836 |s2cid=3942233 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2027/coo1.ark:/13960/t07w6zm1b}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Uhlig |first1=Siegbert |title=Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C |pages=175}}</ref> This led the Persian prophet [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]] to consider Aksum as one of the four [[great power]]s of the 3rd century AD alongside [[Sassanian Empire|Persia]], [[Roman Empire|Rome]], and [[Three Kingdoms|China]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Munro-Hay |first=Stuart |title=Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity |date=1991 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=0748601066 |location=Edinburgh |page=17}}</ref> In the 4th century AD [[Ezana of Axum|Aksum's king]] converted to Christianity and Aksum's population, who had followed [[Traditional African religions|syncretic mixes of local beliefs]], slowly followed. The end of the 5th century saw Aksum allied with the [[Byzantine Empire]], who viewed themselves as defenders of [[Christendom]], balanced against the [[Sassanid Empire]] and the [[Himyarite Kingdom]] in Arabia.

====Northwest Africa====
{{Main|Ifriqiya|Maghreb}}
[[File:Carthage 323 BC.png|thumb|[[Ancient Carthage]] in 323 BC]]
[[File:Map depicting the Romano-Berber Kingdoms.png|thumb|Romanised-Berber kingdoms: [[Kingdom of Altava|Altava]], [[Kingdom of Ouarsenis|Ouarsenis]], Hodna, [[Kingdom of the Aures|Aures]], [[Nemencha]], [[Kingdom of Capsus|Capsus]], Dorsale, and [[Cabaon]]]]
The [[Maghreb]] and [[Ifriqiya]] were mostly cut off from the [[cradle of civilisation]] in Egypt by the [[Libyan desert]], exacerbated by [[Ancient Egyptian royal ships|Egyptian boats]] being tailored to the [[Nile]] and not coping well in the open [[Mediterranean Sea]]. This caused its societies to develop contiguous to those of [[Southern Europe]], until [[Phoenician settlement of North Africa|Phoenician settlement]]s came to dominate the most lucrative trading locations in the [[Gulf of Tunis]].<ref name="Warmington 1981">{{cite book |last=Warmington |first=Brian |title=General History of Africa: Volume 2 |chapter=The Carthaginian Period |year=1981 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000134375}}</ref>{{rp|pages=247}} Phoenician settlements subsequently grew into [[Ancient Carthage]] after gaining independence from [[Phoenicia]] in the 6th century BC, and they would build an [[Ancient Carthage#Independence, expansion and hegemony|extensive empire]] and a strict [[Trade|mercantile]] network, all secured by one of the largest and most powerful navies in the [[Classical antiquity|ancient Mediterranean]].<ref name="Warmington 1981"/>{{rp|pages=251–253}} Carthage would meet its demise in the [[Punic Wars]] against the expansionary [[Roman Republic]], however momentum in these wars was not linear, with Carthage initially experiencing considerable success in the [[Second Punic War]] following [[Hannibal]]'s infamous [[Hannibal's crossing of the Alps|crossing of the alps]] into northern [[Italy]].<ref name="Warmington 1981"/>{{rp|pages=256–257}} Their defeat and subsequent collapse of their empire would produce two further polities in the Maghreb; [[Numidia]], which had assisted the Romans in the Second Punic War, [[Mauretania]], a [[Mauri]] [[chiefdom|tribal kingdom]] and home of the legendary [[Atlas (mythology)#King of Mauretania|King Atlas]], and various tribes such as [[Garamantes]], [[Musulamii]], and [[Bavares]]. The [[Third Punic War]] would result in Carthage's total defeat in 146 BC and the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] established the province of [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]], with [[Numidia]] assuming control of many of Carthage's African ports. Towards the end of the 2nd century BC [[Mauretania]] fought alongside Numidia's [[Jugurtha]] in the [[Jugurthine War]] against the Romans after he had usurped the Numidian throne from a Roman ally. Together they inflicted heavy casualties that quaked the [[Roman Senate]], with the war only ending inconclusively when Mauretania's [[Bocchus I]] sold out [[Jugurtha]] to the Romans.<ref name="Warmington 1981"/>{{rp|pages=258}} 

At the turn of the millennium, they both would face the same fate as Carthage and be conquered by the Romans who established [[Mauretania#Roman province(<span class="ltr">s</span>)|Mauretania]] and [[Numidia (Roman province)|Numidia]] as provinces of their empire, while [[Musulamii]], led by [[Tacfarinas]], and [[Garamantes]] were eventually defeated in war in the 1st century AD however weren't conquered.<ref name="UNESCO Publishing">{{cite book |last1=Mahjoubi |first1=Ammar |last2=Salama |first2=Pierre |title=General History of Africa: Volume 2 |chapter=The Roman and post-Roman period in North Africa |year=1981 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000134375}}</ref>{{rp|pages=261–262}} In the 5th century AD the [[Vandal conquest of Roman Africa|Vandals conquered north Africa]] precipitating the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|fall of Rome]]. Swathes of [[Berbers|indigenous peoples]] would regain self-governance in the [[Mauro-Roman Kingdom]] and its numerous successor polities in the Maghreb, namely the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Ouarsenis|Ouarsenis]], [[Kingdom of the Aurès|Aurès]], and [[Kingdom of Altava|Altava]]. The [[Vandal Kingdom|Vandals]] ruled [[Ifriqiya]] for a century until [[Vandalic War|Byzantine reconquest]] in the early 6th century AD. The Byzantines and the Berber kingdoms fought minor inconsequential conflicts, such as in the case of [[Garmul]], however largely coexisted.<ref name="UNESCO Publishing"/>{{rp|pages=284}} Further inland to the Byzantine [[Exarchate of Africa]] were the [[Sanhaja]] in modern-day [[Algeria]], a broad grouping of three groupings of [[Confederation|tribal confederations]], one of which is the [[Masmuda]] grouping in modern-day [[Morocco]], along with the nomadic [[Zenata]]; their composite tribes would later go onto shape much of [[History of North Africa|North African history]].

====West Africa====
{{Main|West Africa}}
[[File:Sculpture nok-Nigeria (<span class="ltr">1</span>).jpg|thumb|A [[Nok culture|Nok]] sculpture from present-day [[Nigeria]], now housed in the [[Louvre]] in Paris]]
[[File:Ghana empire map.png|thumb|The [[Ghana Empire]]]]
In the western [[Sahel]] the rise of settled communities occurred largely as a result of the domestication of [[millet]] and of [[sorghum]]. Archaeology points to sizable urban populations in West Africa beginning in the 4th millennium BC, which had crucially developed [[Iron metallurgy in Africa|iron metallurgy]] by 1200 BC, in both [[smelting]] and [[forging]] for tools and weapons.<ref>Duncan E. Miller and N.J. Van Der Merwe, 'Early Metal Working in Sub Saharan Africa' ''Journal of African History'' 35 (1994) 1–36; Minze Stuiver and N.J. Van Der Merwe, 'Radiocarbon Chronology of the Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa' ''Current Anthropology'' 1968.</ref> Extensive east-west belts of [[Sahel|deserts]], [[West Sudanian savanna|grasslands]], and [[Guinean forest–savanna mosaic|forests]] from north to south were crucial for the moulding of their respective societies and meant that prior to the accession of [[Trans-Saharan trade|trans-Saharan trade routes]], symbiotic trade relations developed in response to the opportunities afforded by north–south diversity in ecosystems.{{sfnp|Collins|Burns|2007|pp=79–80}} Various civilisations prospered in this period. From 4000 BC, the [[Tichitt culture]] in modern-day [[Mauritania]] and [[Mali]] was the oldest known [[Complex society|complexly organised society]] in West Africa, with a four tiered [[hierarchical]] social structure.<ref name="Holl 1985 73–115">{{cite journal |last=Holl |first=Augustine |year=1985 |title=Background to the Ghana empire: Archaeological investigations on the transition to statehood in the Dhar Tichitt region (mauritania) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0278416585900054 |journal=Journal of Anthropological Archaeology |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=73–115 |doi=10.1016/0278-4165(<span class="ltr">85</span>)90005-4}}</ref> Other civilisations include the [[Kintampo Complex|Kintampo culture]] from 2500 BC in modern-day [[Ghana]],<ref name="anquandah1995">Anquandah, James (1995) The Kintampo Complex: a case study of early sedentism and food production in sub-Sahelian west Africa, pp. 255–259 in Shaw, Thurstan, Andah, Bassey W and Sinclair, Paul (1995). The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-11585-X}}</ref> the [[Nok culture]] from 1500 BC in modern-day [[Nigeria]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context|last=Eggert|first=Manfred|publisher=Africa Magna Verlag Press|year=2014|editor-last=Breunig|editor-first=P|location=Frankfurt, Germany|pages=51–59|chapter=Early iron in West and Central Africa}}</ref> the [[Daima|Daima culture]] around [[Lake Chad]] from 550 BC, [[Djenné-Djenno]] from 250 BC in modern-day [[Mali]], and the [[Serer prehistory|Serer civilisation]] in modern-day [[Senegal]] which built the [[Senegambian stone circles]] from the 3rd century BC. There is also detailed [[List of the Ogiso|record]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.edoworld.net/Ogisos_40BC_1100AD.html |title=THE EVOLUTION OF OGIESHIP OR KINGSHIP INSTITUTION IN EDO SOCIETY AND THE RISE OF OGISO IGODO (ABOUT 40.B.C -16 A.D) |website=Benin Kingdom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316111202/https://www.edoworld.net/Ogisos_40BC_1100AD.html |archive-date=16 March 2024}}</ref> of [[Igodomigodo]], a small kingdom founded presumably in 40 BC which would later go on to form the [[Benin Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Peavy |first1=Daryl |title=Kings, Magic, and Medicine |date=2010 |isbn=978-0557183708 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgqwAgAAQBAJ}}</ref>  

Towards the end of the 3rd century AD, a [[Monsoon#Africa (West African and Southeast African)|wet period]] in the Sahel created areas for human habitation and exploitation which had not been habitable for the best part of a millennium, with the [[Ghana Empire#Rise of the Empire|Kingdom of Wagadu]], the local name of the [[Ghana Empire]], rising out of the [[Tichitt culture]], growing wealthy following the introduction of the [[Dromedary|camel]] to the western Sahel, revolutionising the [[trans-Saharan trade]] which linked their capital and [[Aoudaghost]] with [[Tiaret|Tahert]] and [[Sijilmasa]] in North Africa.<ref name="Gestrich 2019">{{cite book |last=Gestrich |first=Nikolas |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedias: African history |chapter=Ghana Empire |year=2019 |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-396}}</ref> Soninke traditions likely contain content from prehistory, mentioning multiple previous foundings of Wagadu, and holds that the final founding of Wagadu occurred after their first king killed ''Bida'', a serpent deity, who was guarding a well, although accounts differ, with some stating he did a deal with Bida to sacrifice one maiden a year in exchange for assurance regarding plenty of rainfall and gold supply.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Conrad |first1=David |last2=Fisher |first2=Humphrey |year=1983 |title=The Conquest That Never Was: Ghana and the Almoravids, 1076. II. The Local Oral Sources |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/history-in-africa/article/conquest-that-never-was-ghana-and-the-almoravids-1076-ii-the-local-oral-sources/01C98BFDB91C78BFAC421A8F42C02407 |journal=History in Africa |volume=10}}</ref> Wagadu's core traversed modern-day southern [[Mauritania]] and western [[Mali]], and [[Soninke people|Soninke]] [[Oral tradition|tradition]] portrays early Ghana as warlike, with horse-mounted warriors key to increasing its territory and population, although details of their expansion are extremely scarce.<ref name="Gestrich 2019"/> Wagadu made its profits from maintaining a monopoly on [[gold]] heading north and [[salt]] heading south, despite not controlling the gold fields themselves, located in the [[Guinean forest–savanna mosaic|forest regions]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vitaminedz.com/articlesfiche/7182/7182321.pdf |title=The Origins of the Empire of Ghana |last=Abbou |first=Tahar |date=August 2020 |website=Vitaminedz.com}}</ref> It is probable that Wagadu's dominance on trade allowed for the gradual consolidation of many [[Polity|polities]] into a [[confederation|confederated state]], whose composites stood in varying relations to the core, from fully administered to nominal tribute-paying parity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McIntosh |first=Susan |title=Reconceptualizing Early Ghana |journal=Canadian Journal of African Studies |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=347–373 |year=2008 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40380172?seq=1}}</ref> Based on [[Tumulus#Africa|large tumuli]] scattered across West Africa dating to this period, it has been stipulated that relative to Wagadu there were further simultaneous and preceding kingdoms which have unfortunately been lost to time.<ref>{{cite book |last=Posnansky |first=Merrick |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000184265&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_976b4f2f-4e7c-44ec-a92e-2014aa9d86f0%3F_%3D184265engo.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000184265/PDF/184265engo.pdf#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A2903%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22XYZ%22%7D%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C0%5D |title=General History of Africa: Volume 2 |publisher=UNESCO |year=1981 |page=729 |chapter=The societies of Africa south of the Sahara in the Early Iron Age}}</ref><ref name="Holl 1985 73–115"/>

====Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa====
{{Main|Central Africa|Eastern Africa|Southern Africa}}
[[File:Bantu Phillipson.png|thumb|The [[Bantu expansion]]<br>'''1''' = 2000–1500 BC origin<br />'''2''' = {{Circa|1500 BC}} first dispersal<br />{{nbsp|4}} '''2.a''' = Eastern Bantu<br>{{nbsp|4}} '''2.b''' = Western Bantu<br />'''3''' = 1000–500 BC [[Urewe]] nucleus of Eastern Bantu<br />'''4'''–'''7''' = southward advance<br />'''9''' = 500–1 BC Congo nucleus<br />'''10''' = AD 1–1000 last phase<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.txstate.edu/anthropology/cas/journal_articles/herder.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325021249/http://www.txstate.edu/anthropology/cas/journal_articles/herder.pdf|url-status=dead|title=The Chronological Evidence for the Introduction of Domestic Stock in Southern Africa|archive-date=25 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thuto.org/ubh/bw/bhp1.htm|title=Botswana History Page 1: Brief History of Botswana|access-date=13 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://elaine.ihs.ac.at/~isa/diplom/node59.html|title=5.2 Historischer Überblick|access-date=13 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016165014/http://elaine.ihs.ac.at/~isa/diplom/node59.html|archive-date=16 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
In Central Africa the [[Sao civilisation|Sao Civilisation]] flourished for over a millennium beginning in the 6th century BC. The Sao lived by the [[Chari River]] south of [[Lake Chad]] in territory that later became part of present-day [[Cameroon]] and [[Chad]]. Sao artifacts show that they were skilled workers in [[bronze]], [[copper]], and [[iron]],<ref name="Fanso 19">Fanso 19.</ref> with finds including bronze sculptures, terracotta statues of human and animal figures, coins, funerary urns, household utensils, jewellery, highly decorated pottery, and spears.<ref>Fanso 19; Hudgens and Trillo 1051.</ref> Nearby, around [[Lake Ejagham]] in south-west [[Cameroon]], the [[Ekoi people#History|Ekoi Civilisation]] rose circa 2nd century AD, and are most notable for constructing the [[Ikom monoliths]]. Further east, the northern part of the [[Swahili coast]] was home to the elusive [[Azania]], most likely a [[Southern Cushitic language|Southern Cushitic]] polity.<ref>{{Cite book |title=JournalInsert Hilton, John (1993-10). "Peoples of Azania". Electronic Antiquity: Communicating the Classics. 1 (<span class="ltr">5</span>). ISSN 1320-3606. Check date values in: {{!}}date= (help)}}</ref>

The [[Bantu expansion]] constituted a major series of migrations of [[Bantu peoples]] from central Africa to eastern and southern Africa and was substantial in the settling of the continent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Amazing Bantu Migration and the Fascinating Bantu People |url=https://www.south-africa-tours-and-travel.com/bantu.html |website=www.south-africa-tours-and-travel.com |access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref> Commencing in the 2nd millennium BC, the Bantu began to migrate from [[Cameroon]] to central, eastern, and southern Africa, laying the foundations for future states such as the [[Kingdom of Kongo]] in the [[Congo Basin]], the [[Empire of Kitara]] in the [[African Great Lakes]], the [[Luba Empire]] in the [[Upemba Depression]], the [[Kilwa Sultanate]] in the [[Swahili coast]] by crowding out [[Azania]], with [[Rhapta]] being its last stronghold by the 1st century AD,<ref name="Fage2526">{{cite book |last1=Fage |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXa4AQAAQBAJ |title=A History of Africa |date=23 October 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1317797272 |pages=25–26 |access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref> and forming [[List of Swahili settlements of the East African coast|various city states]] constituting the [[Zanj|Swahili civilisation]]. These migrations also prefaced the [[Kingdom of Mapungubwe]] in the [[Zambezi basin]]. After reaching the [[Zambezi]], the Bantu continued southward, with eastern groups continuing to modern-day [[Mozambique]] and reaching [[Maputo]] in the 2nd century AD. Further to the south, settlements of Bantu peoples who were iron-using agriculturists and herdsmen were well established south of the [[Limpopo River]] by the 4th century AD, displacing and absorbing the original [[Khoisan languages|Khoisan]]. To their west in the [[Tsodilo|Tsodilo hills]] of [[Botswana]] there were the [[San people|San]], a [[semi-nomadic]] [[hunter-gatherer]] people who are thought to have descended from the first inhabitants of Southern Africa 100,000 years [[Before Present|BP]], making them one of the oldest cultures on Earth.<ref name="Anton & Shelton">{{cite book |last1=Anton |first1=Donald K. |last2=Shelton |first2=Dinah L. |title=Environmental Protection and Human Rights |date=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-76638-8 |page=640 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_dFYq4oFeYC&q=san+kalahari }}</ref>

===Ninth to 18th centuries===
{{Main|Medieval and early modern Africa}}
[[File:Bronze ornamental staff head, 9th century, Igbo-Ukwu.JPG|thumb|The intricate 9th century bronzes from [[Archaeology of Igbo-Ukwu|Igbo-Ukwu]], in [[Nigeria]] displayed a level of technical accomplishment that was notably more advanced than European bronze casting of the same period.<ref name="Honour-2005">{{cite book |last1=Honour |first1=Hugh |title=A world history of art |last2=Fleming |first2=John |date=2005 |publisher=Laurence King |isbn=978-1856694513 |edition=7th |location=London}}</ref>]]
Pre-colonial Africa possessed perhaps as many as 10,000 different states and polities<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/01/11/DI2006011101372.html|title=The Fate of Africa – A Survey of Fifty Years of Independence|access-date=23 July 2007|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Martin|last=Meredith|date=20 January 2006|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502070029/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/01/11/DI2006011101372.html|url-status=live}}</ref> characterized by many different sorts of political organization and rule. These included small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the [[San people]] of southern Africa; larger, more structured groups such as the family clan groupings of the [[Bantu languages|Bantu-speaking]] [[Bantu peoples|peoples]] of central, southern, and eastern Africa; heavily structured clan groups in the [[Horn of Africa]]; the large [[Sahelian kingdoms]]; and autonomous city-states and kingdoms such as those of the [[Akan people|Akan]]; [[Kingdom of Benin|Edo]], [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]], and [[Igbo people]] in West Africa; and the [[Swahili people|Swahili]] coastal trading towns of Southeast Africa.

By the ninth century AD, a string of dynastic states, including the earliest [[Hausa Kingdoms|Hausa]] states, stretched across the sub-Saharan savannah from the western regions to central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were [[Ghana Empire|Ghana]], [[Gao Region|Gao]], and the [[Kanem Empire|Kanem-Bornu Empire]]. [[Ghana]] declined in the eleventh century, but was succeeded by the [[Mali Empire]] which consolidated much of western Sudan in the thirteenth century. Kanem accepted Islam in the eleventh century.

In the forested regions of the West African coast, independent kingdoms grew with little influence from the [[Muslim]] north. The [[Kingdom of Nri]] was established around the ninth century and was one of the first. It is also one of the oldest kingdoms in present-day Nigeria and was ruled by the [[Eze Nri]]. The Nri kingdom is famous for its elaborate [[Igbo-Ukwu#Bronzes|bronzes]], found at the town of [[Igbo-Ukwu]]. The bronzes have been dated from as far back as the ninth century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Igbo-Ukwu (c. 9th century) &#124; Thematic Essay &#124; Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/igbo/hd_igbo.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204053356/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/igbo/hd_igbo.htm |archive-date=4 December 2008 |access-date=18 May 2010 |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref>

[[File:Great Zimbabwe Closeup.jpg|thumb|Ruins of [[Great Zimbabwe]], which flourished in the eleventh to fifteenth centuries]]
The [[Ifẹ|Kingdom of Ife]], historically the first of these Yoruba city-states or kingdoms, established government under a priestly [[oba (ruler)|oba]] ('king' or 'ruler' in the [[Yoruba language]]), called the ''Ooni of Ife''. Ife was noted as a major religious and cultural centre in West Africa, and for its unique naturalistic tradition of bronze sculpture. The Ife model of government was adapted at the [[Oyo Empire]], where its obas or kings, called the ''Alaafins of Oyo'', once controlled a large number of other Yoruba and non-Yoruba city-states and kingdoms; the [[Fon people|Fon]] ''Kingdom of [[Dahomey]]'' was one of the non-Yoruba domains under Oyo control.

The [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravids]] were a [[Berber people|Berber]] dynasty from the Sahara that spread over a wide area of northwestern Africa and the Iberian peninsula during the eleventh century.<ref>Glick, Thomas F. (2005) ''Islamic And Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages''. Brill Academic Publishers, p. 37. {{ISBN|978-9004147713}}</ref> The [[Banu Hilal]] and [[Maqil|Banu Ma'qil]] were a collection of [[Arab]] [[Bedouin]] tribes from the [[Arabian Peninsula]] who migrated westwards via Egypt between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Their [[Human migration|migration]] resulted in the fusion of the Arabs and Berbers, where the locals were [[Arabization|Arabized]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/mauritania/8.htm|title=Mauritania – Arab Invasions|website=countrystudies.us|access-date=25 April 2010|archive-date=23 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623125418/http://countrystudies.us/mauritania/8.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Arabs|Arab]] culture absorbed elements of the local culture, under the unifying framework of Islam.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Genetic Evidence for the Expansion of Arabian Tribes into the Southern Levant and North Africa |date=1 April 2010 |pmc=379148 |volume=70|issue=6|pmid=11992266|last1=Nebel|first1=A|display-authors=etal|pages=1594–1596 |doi=10.1086/340669 |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics}}</ref>

Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named [[Sonni Ali]] (1464–1492) founded the [[Songhai Empire]] in the region of middle [[Niger]] and the western [[Sudan (region)|Sudan]] and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized [[Timbuktu]] in 1468 and [[Djenné|Jenne]] in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor [[Askia Mohammad I]] (1493–1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought to Gao Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship.<ref name="multiple">Lapidus, Ira M. (1988) ''A History of Islamic Societies'', Cambridge.</ref> By the eleventh century, some [[Hausa Kingdoms|Hausa]] states – such as [[Kano (city)|Kano]], [[Jigawa]], [[Katsina]], and [[Gobir]] – had developed into walled towns engaging in trade, servicing [[camel train|caravans]], and the manufacture of goods. Until the fifteenth century, these small states were on the periphery of the major Sudanic empires of the era, paying tribute to Songhai to the west and Kanem-Borno to the east.

===Height of the slave trade===
{{See also|Trans-Saharan slave trade|Atlantic slave trade|Indian Ocean slave trade|Red Sea slave trade}}
[[File:Africa slave Regions.svg|thumb|Major slave trading regions of Africa between the 15th and 19th centuries]]
[[Slavery]] had long been practiced in Africa.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24157 Historical survey: Slave societies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230184609/https://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24157 |date=30 December 2007 }}, ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref><ref>[http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/10/01/html/ft_20011001.6.html Swahili Coast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206102932/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/10/01/html/ft_20011001.6.html |date=6 December 2007 }}, National Geographic</ref> Between the 15th and the 19th centuries, the Atlantic slave trade took an estimated 7–12&nbsp;million slaves to the New World.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24156 Welcome to Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Black History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223090720/https://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24156 |date=23 February 2007 }}, ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1523100.stm|title=Focus on the slave trade|publisher=BBC News – Africa|work=bbc.co.uk|date=3 September 2001|access-date=28 February 2008|archive-date=28 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728134034/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1523100.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Lovejoy, Paul E. |title=Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa|url=https://archive.org/details/transformationsi0000love|url-access=registration |year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-78430-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/transformationsi0000love/page/25 25]}}</ref> In addition, more than 1 million Europeans were captured by [[Barbary pirates]] and sold as slaves in North Africa between the 16th and 19th centuries.<ref>Rees Davies, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/white_slaves_01.shtml "British Slaves on the Barbary Coast"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425235016/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/white_slaves_01.shtml |date=25 April 2011 }}, [[BBC]], 1 July 2003</ref>

In West Africa, the decline of the Atlantic slave trade in the 1820s caused dramatic economic shifts in local polities. The gradual decline of slave-trading, prompted by a lack of demand for slaves in the [[New World]], increasing [[abolitionism|anti-slavery]] legislation in Europe and America, and the [[Royal Navy|British Royal Navy's]] increasing presence off the West African coast, obliged African states to adopt new economies. Between 1808 and 1860, the British [[West Africa Squadron]] seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2007/03/20/abolition_navy_feature.shtml Jo Loosemore, Sailing against slavery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103004954/https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2007/03/20/abolition_navy_feature.shtml |date=3 November 2008 }}. BBC</ref>

Action was also taken against African leaders who refused to agree to British treaties to outlaw the trade, for example against "the usurping King of [[Lagos]]", deposed in 1851. Anti-slavery treaties were signed with over 50 African rulers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pdavis.nl/Background.htm#WAS|title=The West African Squadron and slave trade|publisher=Pdavis.nl|access-date=18 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610030306/http://www.pdavis.nl/Background.htm|archive-date=10 June 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> The largest powers of West Africa (the [[Asante Confederacy]], the [[Dahomey|Kingdom of Dahomey]], and the [[Oyo Empire]]) adopted different ways of adapting to the shift. Asante and Dahomey concentrated on the development of "legitimate commerce" in the form of [[palm oil]], [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]], timber and gold, forming the bedrock of West Africa's modern export trade. The Oyo Empire, unable to adapt, collapsed into civil wars.<ref>Simon, Julian L. (1995) ''State of Humanity'', Blackwell Publishing. p. 175. {{ISBN|1-55786-585-X}}</ref>

===Colonialism===
{{Main|Colonial Africa}}
{{Further|Scramble for Africa}}
{{Excerpt|Scramble for Africa| only=paragraphs}}

===Independence struggles===
[[File:Scramble-for-Africa-1880-1913-v2.png|thumb|Comparison of Africa between 1880 and 1913]]
[[File:Africa map 1939, colours.svg|thumb|European colonial presence in Africa as of 1939]]
Imperial rule by Europeans would continue until after the conclusion of [[World War II]], when almost all remaining colonial territories gradually obtained formal independence. [[African independence movements|Independence movements in Africa]] gained momentum following World War II, which left the major European powers weakened. In 1951, Libya, a former Italian colony, gained independence. In 1956, [[Tunisia]] and [[Morocco]] won their independence from France.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bély, Lucien|title=The History of France|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ltzav890zpIC&pg=PA118|year=2001|publisher=Editions Jean-paul Gisserot|isbn=978-2-87747-563-1|page=118|access-date=5 February 2018|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611045035/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ltzav890zpIC&pg=PA118|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ghana]] followed suit the next year (March 1957),<ref>{{cite book|author1=Aryeetey, Ernest|author2=Harrigan, Jane|first3=Nissanke|last3=Machiko|title=Economic Reforms in Ghana: The Miracle and the Mirage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=87V55ZHppSYC&pg=PA5|year=2000|publisher=Africa World Press|isbn=978-0-86543-844-6|page=5|access-date=5 February 2018|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611044656/https://books.google.com/books?id=87V55ZHppSYC&pg=PA5|url-status=live}}</ref> becoming the first of the sub-Saharan colonies to be granted independence. Over the next decade, waves of [[decolonization]] took place across the continent, culminating in the 1960 [[Year of Africa]] and the establishment of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] in 1963.<ref name="Hargreaves 1996"/>

Portugal's overseas presence in [[sub-Saharan Africa]] (most notably in [[Portuguese Angola|Angola]], Cape Verde, [[Portuguese Mozambique|Mozambique]], [[Portuguese Guinea|Guinea-Bissau]], and São Tomé and Príncipe) lasted from the 16th century to 1975, after the [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]] regime was overthrown in [[Carnation Revolution|a military coup in Lisbon]]. [[Rhodesia]] [[Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence|unilaterally declared independence]] from the United Kingdom in 1965, under the [[White minority rule|white minority]] government of [[Ian Smith]], but was not internationally recognized as an independent state (as [[Zimbabwe]]) until 1980, when black nationalists gained power after a [[Rhodesian Bush War|bitter guerrilla war]]. Although South Africa was one of the first African countries to gain independence, the state remained under the control of the country's white minority, initially through qualified voting rights and from 1956 by a system of [[racial segregation]] known as [[South Africa under apartheid|apartheid]], until 1994.

===Post-colonial Africa===
{{Main|Postcolonial Africa}}
{{See also|Decolonisation of Africa|Neocolonialism|Status of forces agreement|Non-Aligned Movement}}

Today, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Touval |first=Saadia |title=The Organization of African Unity and African Borders |journal=International Organization |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=102–127 |date=1967 |doi=10.1017/S0020818300013151 |jstor=2705705 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2705705}}</ref> Since independence, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of the [[presidential system]] of rule. However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic governments on a permanent basis—per the criteria laid out by Lührmann et al. (2018), only [[Botswana]] and [[Mauritius]] have been consistently democratic for the entirety of their post-colonial history. Most African countries have experienced several [[Coup d'état|coups]] or periods of [[military dictatorship]]. Between 1990 and 2018, though, the continent as a whole has trended towards more democratic governance.<ref>tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13510347.2019.1613980</ref>

Upon independence an overwhelming majority of Africans lived in [[extreme poverty]]. The continent suffered from the lack of infrastructural or industrial development under [[Colonialism|colonial]] rule, along with political instability. With limited financial resources or access to global markets, relatively stable countries such as [[Kenya]] still experienced only very slow economic development. Only a handful of African countries succeeded in obtaining rapid economic growth prior to 1990. Exceptions include Libya and Equatorial Guinea, both of which possess large oil reserves.

Instability throughout the continent after decolonization resulted primarily from [[Institutional racism|marginalization of ethnic groups]], and [[Political corruption|corruption]]. In pursuit of personal [[Divide and rule|political gain]], many leaders deliberately promoted ethnic conflicts, some of which had originated during the colonial period, such as from the grouping of multiple unrelated ethnic groups into a single colony, the splitting of a distinct ethnic group between multiple colonies, or existing conflicts being exacerbated by colonial rule (for instance, the preferential treatment given to ethnic [[Hutu]]s over [[Tutsi]]s in Rwanda during German and Belgian rule).

Faced with increasingly frequent and severe violence, military rule was widely accepted by the population of many countries as means to maintain order, and during the 1970s and 1980s a majority of African countries were controlled by [[military dictatorships]]. Territorial disputes between nations and rebellions by groups seeking independence were also common in independent African states. The most devastating of these was the [[Nigerian Civil War]], fought between government forces and an [[Igbo people|Igbo]] [[Biafra|separatist republic]], which resulted in a famine that killed 1–2 million people. Two [[civil war]]s in Sudan, [[First Sudanese Civil War|the first]] lasting from 1955 to 1972 and [[Second Sudanese Civil War|the second]] from 1983 to 2005, collectively killed around 3 million. Both were fought primarily on ethnic and religious lines.

[[Cold War]] conflicts between the United States and the [[Soviet Union]] also contributed to instability. Both the Soviet Union and the United States offered considerable incentives to African political and military leaders who aligned themselves with the superpowers' foreign policy. As an example, during the [[Angolan Civil War]], the Soviet and Cuban aligned [[MPLA]] and the American aligned [[UNITA]] received the vast majority of their military and political support from these countries. Many African countries became highly dependent on foreign aid. The sudden loss of both Soviet and American aid at the end of the Cold War and [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|fall of the USSR]] resulted in severe economic and political turmoil in the countries most dependent on foreign support.

There was a [[1983–85 famine in Ethiopia|major famine in Ethiopia]] between 1983 and 1985, killing up to 1.2 million people, which most [[historians]] attribute primarily to the forced relocation of farmworkers and seizure of grain by communist [[Derg]] government, further exacerbated by the [[Ethiopian Civil War|civil war]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/703958.stm|title=BBC: 1984 famine in Ethiopia|date=6 April 2000|access-date=1 January 2010|work=BBC News|archive-date=19 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419011700/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/703958.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Robert G. Patman, ''The Soviet Union in the Horn of Africa'' 1990, {{ISBN|0-521-36022-6}}, pp. 295–296</ref><ref>Steven Varnis, ''Reluctant aid or aiding the reluctant?: U.S. food aid policy and the Ethiopian Famine Relief'' 1990, {{ISBN|0-88738-348-3}}, p. 38</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/722691 | jstor=722691 | title=The Consequences of Resettlement in Ethiopia | last1=Woldemeskel | first1=Getachew | journal=African Affairs | year=1989 | volume=88 | issue=352 | pages=359–374 | doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098187 | access-date=20 May 2022 | archive-date=20 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520194833/https://www.jstor.org/stable/722691 | url-status=live }}</ref> In 1994 a [[Rwandan genocide|genocide in Rwanda]] resulted in up to 800,000 deaths, added to [[Great Lakes refugee crisis|a severe refugee crisis]] and fueled the rise of militia groups in neighboring countries. This contributed to the outbreak of the [[First Congo War|first]] and [[Second Congo War|second]] Congo Wars, which were the most devastating military conflicts in modern Africa, with up to 5.5&nbsp;million deaths,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/democraticrepublicofcongo/8792068/Is-your-mobile-phone-helping-fund-war-in-Congo.html|title=Is your mobile phone helping fund war in Congo?|date=27 September 2011|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|first=Gordon|last=Rayner|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018135029/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/democraticrepublicofcongo/8792068/Is-your-mobile-phone-helping-fund-war-in-Congo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> making it by far the deadliest conflict in modern African history and one of the [[List of wars by death toll|costliest wars in human history]].<ref>{{cite news|date=22 January 2008|title=Congo war-driven crisis kills 45,000 a month-study|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-democratic-death-idUSL2280201220080122|access-date=20 May 2022|archive-date=14 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414093820/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/22/us-congo-democratic-death-idUSL2280201220080122|url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:African nations order of independence 1950-1993.gif|An animated map shows the order of [[Decolonisation of Africa|independence of African nations]], 1950–2011
File:Africa’s wars and conflicts, 1980–96.svg|Africa's wars and conflicts, 1980–96<br>{{legend|#cc4c02|Major Wars/Conflict (>100,000 casualties)}}{{legend|#fe9929|Minor Wars/Conflict}}{{legend|#fed98e|Other Conflicts}}
File:Political Map of Africa.svg|Political map of Africa in 2021
</gallery>

Various conflicts between various insurgent groups and governments continue. Since 2003 there has been an ongoing [[War in Darfur|conflict in Darfur]] (Sudan) which peaked in intensity from 2003 to 2005 with notable spikes in violence in 2007 and 2013–15, killing around 300,000 people total. The [[Boko Haram Insurgency]] primarily within Nigeria (with considerable fighting in Niger, Chad, and Cameroon as well) has killed around 350,000 people since 2009. Most African conflicts have been reduced to low-intensity conflicts as of 2022. However, the [[Tigray War]] from 2020 to 2022 killed an estimated 300,000–500,000 people, primarily due to [[Famine in the Tigray War|famine]].

Overall though, violence across Africa has greatly declined in the 21st century, with the end of civil wars in Angola, [[Sierra Leone Civil War|Sierra Leone]], and [[Algerian Civil War|Algeria]] in 2002, [[Second Liberian Civil War|Liberia]] in 2003, and [[Second Sudanese Civil War|Sudan]] and [[Burundian Civil War|Burundi]] in 2005. The Second Congo War, which involved 9 countries and several insurgent groups, ended in 2003. This decline in violence coincided with many countries abandoning communist-style command economies and opening up for market reforms, which over the course of the 1990s and 2000s promoted the establishment of permanent, peaceful trade between neighboring countries (see [[Capitalist peace]]).

Improved stability and economic reforms have led to a great increase in foreign investment into many African nations, mainly from China,<ref name=Africa/> which further spurred economic growth. Between 2000 and 2014, annual GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa averaged 5.02%, doubling its total GDP from $811 billion to $1.63 trillion (constant 2015 [[USD]]).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD?end=2014&locations=ZG&start=2000 | title=GDP (Constant 2015 US$) – Sub-Saharan Africa &#124; Data | access-date=21 May 2022 | archive-date=21 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521052321/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD?end=2014&locations=ZG&start=2000 | url-status=live }}</ref> North Africa experienced comparable growth rates.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344266156 |last1=Onyishi |first1=Augustine |last2=Solomon |first2=Ogbonna |date=2019 |title=The African Continental Free Trade Zone (AFCFTZ): Economic Tsunami Or Development Opportunities In Sub-Sahara Africa |journal=Journal of Development and Administrative Studies. |issue=1 |pages=133–149}}</ref> A significant part of this growth can also be attributed to the facilitated diffusion of information technologies and specifically the mobile telephone.<ref>Jenny Aker, Isaac Mbiti, [https://ssrn.com/abstract=1693963 "Mobile Phones and Economic Development in Africa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032528/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1693963 |date=30 March 2021 }} SSRN</ref> While several individual countries have maintained high growth rates, since 2014 overall growth has considerably slowed, primarily as a result of falling commodity prices, continued lack of [[industrialization]], and epidemics of [[Western African Ebola virus epidemic|Ebola]] and [[COVID-19 pandemic in Africa|COVID-19]].<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article/117/469/543/5038419 | journal=African Affairs | date=October 2018 | volume=117 | issue=469 | pages=543–568 | doi=10.1093/afraf/ady022 | last1=Frankema | first1=Ewout | last2=Van Waijenburg | first2=Marlous | title=Africa rising? A historical perspective | access-date=21 May 2022 | archive-date=21 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521052321/https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article/117/469/543/5038419 | url-status=live | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.un.org/africarenewal/news/development-prospects-africa-undermined-severe-economic-downturn | title=Development prospects in Africa undermined by a severe economic downturn | newspaper=Africa Renewal | date=25 January 2021 | access-date=21 May 2022 | archive-date=21 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521052321/https://www.un.org/africarenewal/news/development-prospects-africa-undermined-severe-economic-downturn | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Geology, geography, ecology, and environment ==
{{Main|Geography of Africa}}
[[File:Topography of africa.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Topography of Africa]]
Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the largest [[landmass]] of the Earth. Separated from Europe by the [[Mediterranean Sea]], it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the [[Suez Canal|Isthmus of Suez]] (transected by the [[Suez Canal]]), {{convert|163|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide.<ref>Drysdale, Alasdair and Gerald H. Blake. (1985) ''The Middle East and North Africa'', Oxford University Press US. {{ISBN|0-19-503538-0}}</ref> [[Geopolitics|Geopolitically]], Egypt's [[Sinai Peninsula]] east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of Africa as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=africa&Rootmap=&Mode=d|title=Atlas – Xpeditions|publisher=National Geographic Society|date=2003|access-date=1 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303230811/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=africa&Rootmap=&Mode=d|archive-date=3 March 2009| url-status=dead}}</ref>

The coastline is {{convert|26000|km|mi|abbr=on}} long, and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is illustrated by the fact that Europe, which covers only {{convert|10400000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} – about a third of the surface of Africa – has a coastline of {{convert|32000|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name=MW/> From the most northerly point, [[Ras ben Sakka]] in Tunisia (37°21' N), to the most southerly point, [[Cape Agulhas]] in South Africa (34°51'15" S), is a distance of approximately {{convert|8,000|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref>Lewin, Evans. (1924) ''Africa'', Clarendon press</ref> [[Cap-Vert|Cape Verde]], 17°33'22" W, the westernmost point, is a distance of approximately {{convert|7400|km|mi|abbr=on}} to [[Ras Hafun]], 51°27'52" E, the most easterly projection that neighbours [[Cape Guardafui]], the tip of the Horn of Africa.<ref name=MW>(1998) ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary (Index)'', Merriam-Webster, pp. 10–11. {{ISBN|0-87779-546-0}}</ref>

Africa's largest country is Algeria, and its smallest country is [[Seychelles]], an [[archipelago]] off the east coast.<ref name=Hoare>Hoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A–Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publications. p. 11. {{ISBN|0-7534-5569-2}}</ref> The smallest nation on the continental mainland is [[The Gambia]].

===African plate===
[[Image:Motion of Nubia Plate.gif|thumb|upright=1.2|Today, the African Plate is moving over Earth's surface at a speed of 0.292° ± 0.007° per million years, relative to the "average" Earth (NNR-MORVEL56)]]
{{Excerpt|African Plate}}

=== Climate ===
{{Main|Climate of Africa}}
The climate of Africa ranges from [[tropical climate|tropical]] to [[Subarctic climate|subarctic]] on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily [[desert]], or [[arid]], while its central and southern areas contain both [[savanna]] plains and dense [[jungle]] (rainforest) regions. In between, there is a convergence, where vegetation patterns such as [[sahel]] and [[steppe]] dominate. Africa is the hottest continent on Earth and 60% of the entire land surface consists of drylands and deserts.<ref name="environmentalatlas">[http://www.africa.upenn.edu/afrfocus/afrfocus061708.html "Africa: Environmental Atlas, 06/17/08."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105193432/http://www.africa.upenn.edu/afrfocus/afrfocus061708.html |date=5 January 2012 }} [http://www.africa.upenn.edu African Studies Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731143110/http://www.africa.upenn.edu/ |date=31 July 2011 }}, University of Pennsylvania. Accessed June 2011.</ref> The record for the highest-ever recorded temperature, in [[Libya]] in 1922 ({{convert|58|C|F}}), was discredited in 2013.<ref name=newRecord>{{cite journal|last=El Fadli|first=KI|title=World Meteorological Organization Assessment of the Purported World Record 58°C Temperature Extreme at El Azizia, Libya (13 September 1922)|journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|date=September 2012|doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00093.1|volume=94|issue=2|page=199|display-authors=etal|bibcode=2013BAMS...94..199E|doi-access=free}} (The 136&nbsp;°F (57.8&nbsp;°C), claimed by [['Aziziya]], [[Libya]], on 13 September 1922, has been officially deemed invalid by the [[World Meteorological Organization]].)</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=World Meteorological Organization World Weather / Climate Extremes Archive |url=http://wmo.asu.edu/world-highest-temperature |access-date=10 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104143844/http://wmo.asu.edu/world-highest-temperature |archive-date= 4 January 2013}}</ref>

=== Climate change ===
{{Excerpt|Climate change in Africa|paragraphs=1-2}}

=== Ecology and biodiversity ===
[[File:Vegetation Africa.png|thumb|upright=1.2|The main biomes in Africa.]]

Africa has over 3,000 [[protected area]]s, with 198 marine protected areas, 50 biosphere reserves, and 80 wetlands reserves. Significant habitat destruction, increases in human population and poaching are reducing Africa's biological diversity and [[arable land]]. Human encroachment, civil unrest and the introduction of non-native species threaten biodiversity in Africa. This has been exacerbated by administrative problems, inadequate personnel and funding problems.<ref name="environmentalatlas"/>

[[Deforestation]] is affecting Africa at twice the world rate, according to the United Nations Environment Programme ([[UNEP]]).<ref>[http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18831 Deforestation reaches worrying level – UN] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206051452/http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18831 |date=6 December 2008 }}. AfricaNews. 11 June 2008</ref> According to the University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center, 31% of Africa's pasture lands and 19% of its forests and woodlands are classified as degraded, and Africa is losing over four million hectares of forest per year, which is twice the average deforestation rate for the rest of the world.<ref name="environmentalatlas"/> Some sources claim that approximately 90% of the original, virgin forests in West Africa have been destroyed.<ref>[http://www.afrol.com/features/10278 Forests and deforestation in Africa – the wasting of an immense resource] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520182556/http://www.afrol.com/features/10278 |date=20 May 2009 }}. afrol News</ref> Over 90% of [[Madagascar]]'s original forests have been destroyed since the arrival of humans 2000 years ago.<ref>{{NatGeo ecoregion|id=at0118|name=Madagascar subhumid forests}}</ref> About 65% of Africa's agricultural land suffers from [[soil degradation]].<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nature-laid-waste-the-destruction-of-africa-844370.html "Nature laid waste: The destruction of Africa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017221918/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nature-laid-waste-the-destruction-of-africa-844370.html |date=17 October 2017 }}, ''The Independent'', 11 June 2008.</ref>

{{see also|Afrotropical realm|Palearctic realm}}

=== Fauna ===
{{Main|Fauna of Africa}}
[[File:Zebras, Serengeti savana plains, Tanzania.jpg|thumb|250px|Savanna at [[Ngorongoro Conservation Area]], [[Tanzania]]]]
Africa boasts perhaps the world's largest combination of density and "range of freedom" of [[wild animal]] populations and diversity, with wild populations of large [[carnivore]]s (such as lions, [[hyena]]s, and cheetahs) and [[herbivore]]s (such as [[African buffalo|buffalo]], elephants, camels, and giraffes) ranging freely on primarily open non-private plains. It is also home to a variety of "jungle" animals including snakes and [[primate]]s and [[aquatic ecosystem|aquatic life]] such as crocodiles and [[amphibian]]s. In addition, Africa has the largest number of [[megafauna]] species, as it was least affected by the [[Quaternary extinction event#The Pleistocene or Ice Age extinction event|extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna]].

=== Environmental issues ===
{{Excerpt|Environmental issues in Africa|paragraphs=1-2|file=no}}

== Infrastructure ==

=== Water resources ===
{{See also|Water scarcity in Africa|Water supply and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa}}
Water development and [[Water resource management|management]] are complex in Africa due to the multiplicity of trans-boundary water resources ([[river]]s, [[lake]]s and [[aquifer]]s).<ref name="Water 2016">{{Cite book |title=The United Nations World Water Development Report 2016: Water and Jobs |publisher=UNESCO |year=2016 |isbn=978-92-3-100146-8 |location=Paris}} [[File:CC_BY-SA_icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by-sa/3.0/igo/|Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)]] license.</ref> Around 75% of sub-Saharan Africa falls within 53 international [[Drainage basin|river basin]] catchments that traverse multiple borders.<ref name="Coop Water">{{Cite web |title=Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA) |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/cooperation-in-international-waters-in-africa |access-date=2016-11-13 |website=www.worldbank.org |archive-date=19 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119001509/https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/cooperation-in-international-waters-in-africa |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Water 2016" /> This particular constraint can also be converted into an opportunity if the potential for trans-boundary cooperation is harnessed in the development of the area's water resources.<ref name="Water 2016" /> A multi-sectoral analysis of the [[Zambezi|Zambezi River]], for example, shows that [[Riparian zone|riparian]] cooperation could lead to a 23% increase in firm energy production without any additional investments.<ref name="Coop Water" /><ref name="Water 2016" /> A number of institutional and legal frameworks for transboundary cooperation exist, such as the Zambezi River Authority, the [[Southern African Development Community]] (SADC) Protocol, [[Volta River Authority]] and the [[Nile Basin Commission]].<ref name="Water 2016" /> However, additional efforts are required to further develop political will, as well as the financial capacities and institutional frameworks needed for win-win multilateral cooperative actions and optimal solutions for all riparians.<ref name="Water 2016" />

== Politics ==
{{See also|List of political parties in Africa by country}}

=== African Union ===
{{Main|African Union}}
[[File:Regions of the African Union.png|thumb|[[Regions of the African Union]]:<br />
{{Color box|#DAA520|'''Northern Region'''|border=darkgray}},
{{Color box|#87CEEB|'''Southern Region'''|border=darkgray}},
{{Color box|#90EE90|'''Eastern Region'''|border=darkgray}},
{{Color box|#FA8072|'''Western Regions A and B'''|border=darkgray}},
{{Color box|#B88FFF|'''Central Region'''|border=darkgray}}]]

The [[African Union]] (<span class="ltr">AU</span>) is a [[continental union]] consisting of 55 [[Member states of the African Union|member states]]. The union was formed, with [[Addis Ababa]], Ethiopia, as its headquarters, on 26 June 2001. The union was officially established on 9 July 2002<ref name="African Union 2002">{{cite web|url=http://www.africa-union.org/official_documents/Speeches_&_Statements/HE_Thabo_Mbiki/Launch%20of%20the%20African%20Union,%209%20July%202002.htm |title=Launch of the African Union, 9 July 2002: Address by the chairperson of the AU, President Thabo Mbeki |author=Mbeki, Thabo |date=9 July 2002 |publisher=africa-union.org |location=ABSA Stadium, Durban, South Africa |access-date=8 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503210549/http://www.africa-union.org/official_documents/Speeches_%26_Statements/HE_Thabo_Mbiki/Launch%20of%20the%20African%20Union%2C%209%20July%202002.htm |archive-date= 3 May 2009}}</ref> as a successor to the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU). In July 2004, the African Union's [[Pan-African Parliament]] (PAP) was relocated to [[Midrand]], in South Africa, but the [[African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights]] remained in Addis Ababa.

The African Union, not to be confused with the [[African Union Commission|AU Commission]], is formed by the [[Constitutive Act of the African Union]], which aims to transform the [[African Economic Community]], a federated commonwealth, into a state under established international conventions. The African Union has a parliamentary government, known as the [[Assembly of the African Union|African Union Government]], consisting of legislative, judicial and executive organs. It is led by the African Union President and Head of State, who is also the President of the [[Pan-African Parliament]]. A person becomes AU President by being elected to the PAP, and subsequently gaining majority support in the PAP. The powers and authority of the President of the African Parliament derive from the Constitutive Act and the [[Pan-African Parliament|Protocol of the Pan-African Parliament]], as well as the inheritance of presidential authority stipulated by African treaties and by international treaties, including those subordinating the Secretary General of the [[Organisation of African Unity|OAU]] Secretariat (AU Commission) to the PAP. The government of the AU consists of all-union, regional, state, and municipal authorities, as well as hundreds of institutions, that together manage the day-to-day affairs of the institution.

Extensive [[Human rights in Africa|human rights abuses]] still occur in several parts of Africa, often under the oversight of the state. Most of such violations occur for political reasons, often as a side effect of civil war. Countries where major human rights violations have been reported in recent times include the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Liberia]], [[Sudan]], [[Zimbabwe]], and [[Ivory Coast]].

===Boundary conflicts===
{{further|The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885|List of conflicts in Africa}}
{{Excerpt|Military history of Africa#Post-colonial|paragraph=1|file=no}}

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Africa|List of African countries by GDP (nominal)|List of African countries by GDP (PPP)}}
{{See also|Economy of the African Union}}
[[File:RECs of the AEC.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Map of the [[African Economic Community]].
{{legend|#691717|[[Community of Sahel-Saharan States|CEN-SAD]]}}
{{legend|#4F4FB1|[[Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa|COMESA]]}}
{{legend|#E88356|[[East African Community|EAC]]}}
{{legend|#272759|[[Economic Community of Central African States|ECCAS]]}}
{{legend|#C43C7F|[[Economic Community of West African States|ECOWAS]]}}
{{legend|#4DB34D|[[Intergovernmental Authority on Development|IGAD]]}}
{{legend|#D22E2E|[[Southern African Development Community|SADC]]}}
{{legend|#7E8000|[[Arab Maghreb Union|UMA]]}}
]]

Although it has abundant [[natural resource]]s, Africa remains the world's poorest and [[Human Development Index|least-developed]] continent (other than [[Antarctica]]), the result of a variety of causes that may include [[Corruption Perceptions Index|corrupt governments]] that have often committed serious [[human rights violations]], failed [[central planning]], high levels of [[illiteracy]], low self-esteem, lack of access to foreign capital, legacies of colonialism, the [[Slavery|slave]] trade, and the Cold War, and frequent tribal and military conflict (ranging from [[guerrilla warfare]] to [[genocide]]).<ref>Sandbrook, Richard (1985) ''The Politics of Africa's Economic Stagnation'', Cambridge University Press.  passim</ref> Its total nominal GDP remains behind that of the United States, China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and France. According to the United Nations' Human Development Report in 2003, the bottom 24 ranked nations (151st to 175th) were all African.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/|title=Human Development Reports – United Nations Development Programme|website=hdr.undp.org|access-date=11 September 2005|archive-date=16 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316042117/http://hdr.undp.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Poverty in Africa|Poverty]], illiteracy, [[malnutrition]] and inadequate [[WASH|water supply and sanitation]], as well as poor health, affect a large proportion of the people who reside in the African continent. In August 2008, the [[World Bank]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/0,,contentMDK:21882162~pagePK:64165401~piPK:64165026~theSitePK:469382,00.html |title=World Bank Updates Poverty Estimates for the Developing World |publisher=World Bank |date=26 August 2008 |access-date=18 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100519204804/http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/0%2C%2CcontentMDK%3A21882162~pagePK%3A64165401~piPK%3A64165026~theSitePK%3A469382%2C00.html |archive-date=19 May 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> announced revised global poverty estimates based on a new international poverty line of $1.25 per day (versus the previous measure of $1.00). Eighty-one percent of the [[sub-Saharan Africa]]n population was living on less than $2.50 (PPP) per day in 2005, compared with 86% for India.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64165259&piPK=64165421&theSitePK=469372&menuPK=64166093&entityID=000158349_20080826113239|title=The developing world is poorer than we thought, but no less successful in the fight against poverty|publisher=World Bank|access-date=16 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323214139/http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64165259&piPK=64165421&theSitePK=469372&menuPK=64166093&entityID=000158349_20080826113239|archive-date=23 March 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Sub-Saharan Africa is the least successful region of the world in reducing poverty ($1.25 per day); some 50% of [[Poverty in Africa|the population living in poverty]] in 1981 (200&nbsp;million people), a figure that rose to 58% in 1996 before dropping to 50% in 2005 (380&nbsp;million people). The average poor person in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to live on only 70 cents per day, and was poorer in 2003 than in 1973,<ref>[https://www.un.org/Depts/rcnyo/newsletter/survs/ecasurv2004.doc Economic report on Africa 2004: unlocking Africa's potential in the global economy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118033000/http://www.un.org/Depts/rcnyo/newsletter/survs/ecasurv2004.doc |date=18 January 2017 }} (Substantive session 28 June–23 July 2004), United Nations</ref> indicating increasing poverty in some areas. Some of it is attributed to unsuccessful economic liberalization programmes spearheaded by foreign companies and governments, but other studies have cited bad domestic government policies more than external factors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolitician.com/21498-africa-malawi-poverty |title=Neo-Liberalism and the Economic and Political Future of Africa |publisher=Globalpolitician.com |date=19 December 2005 |access-date=18 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131200200/http://globalpolitician.com/21498-africa-malawi-poverty |archive-date=31 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=58925 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924092909/http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=58925 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 September 2008 |title=The Number of the Poor Increasing Worldwide while Sub-Saharan Africa is the Worst of All |publisher=Turkish Weekly |date=29 August 2008 |access-date=7 November 2011 }}</ref>

Africa is now at risk of being in debt once again, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries. The last debt [[crisis]] in 2005 was resolved with help from the heavily indebted poor countries scheme (HIPC). The HIPC resulted in some positive and negative effects on the economy in Africa. About ten years after the 2005 debt crisis in sub-Saharan Africa was resolved, Zambia fell back into debt. A small reason was due to the fall in copper prices in 2011, but the bigger reason was that a large amount of the money Zambia borrowed was wasted or pocketed by the elite.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/15/zambias-looming-debt-crisis-is-a-warning-for-the-rest-of-africa|title=Zambia's looming debt crisis is a warning for the rest of Africa|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=19 September 2018|language=en|archive-date=18 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918163443/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/15/zambias-looming-debt-crisis-is-a-warning-for-the-rest-of-africa|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 1995 to 2005, Africa's rate of economic growth increased, averaging 5% in 2005. Some countries experienced still higher growth rates, notably [[Angola]], [[Sudan]] and [[Equatorial Guinea]], all of which had recently begun extracting their petroleum reserves or had expanded their [[oil extraction]] capacity.

In a recently published analysis based on [[World Values Survey]] data, the Austrian political scientist Arno Tausch maintained that several African countries, most notably [[Ghana]], perform quite well on scales of mass support for democracy and the [[market economy]].<ref>{{cite web|doi=10.2139/ssrn.3214715|ssrn=3214715|title=Africa on the Maps of Global Values: Comparative Analyses, Based on Recent World Values Survey Data|date=2018|last1=Tausch|first1=Arno|s2cid=158596579|url=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/87966/1/MPRA_paper_87966.pdf|access-date=26 September 2019|archive-date=11 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211141227/https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/87966/1/MPRA_paper_87966.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The following table is projection(<span class="ltr">s</span>) as of 2024 in terms of the peak level of GDP ([[Nominal GDP|nominal]]) and ([[Purchasing Power Parity]]) by the [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]]<ref name="IMF Data">{{Cite web|title=World Economic Outlook Database April 2024|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April|access-date=2024-05-04|website=www.imf.org}}</ref> and the [[World Bank]].
{{Clear}}
{| class="wikitable"  style="text-align: right; float:left; border:1px solid #aaa; margin:10px auto 10px auto"
|- style="background:#dbdbdb;"
! Rank
! Country
! [[List of IMF ranked countries by past and projected GDP (nominal)|GDP]] <small>(nominal, Peak Year)</small><br /><small>millions of [[International dollar|USD]]</small>
! Peak Year
|-
|—||align=left|''{{nowrap|{{flag|African Union}}}}''||2,980,015||2022
|-
| 1 ||align=left|{{flag|Nigeria}}<ref>[https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?end=2014&locations=NG&most_recent_value_desc=true&start=1960 World Bank's data for Nigeria]</ref>||574,184||2014
|-
| 2 ||align=left|{{flag|Egypt}}<ref>[https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?end=2022&most_recent_value_desc=true&start=1960 World Bank's data for Egypt]</ref>||476,748||2022
|-
| 3 ||align=left|{{flag|South Africa}}||458,708||2011
|-
| 4 ||align=left|{{flag|Algeria}} ||266,780||2024
|-
| 5 ||align=left|{{flag|Ethiopia}} ||205,130||2024
|-
| 6 ||align=left|{{flag|Morocco}} ||152,377||2024
|-
| 7 ||align=left|{{flag|Angola}} ||145,712||2014
|-
| 8 ||align=left|{{flag|Kenya}} ||113,701||2022
|-
| 9 ||align=left|{{flag|Libya}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=522,672,&s=NGDPD,&sy=1980&ey=2023&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1|title=Peak GDP (Nominal) for Libya|access-date=2024-05-04|archive-date=2023-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212073114/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=522,672,&s=NGDPD,&sy=1980&ey=2023&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1|url-status=live}}</ref>||92,542||2012
|-
| 10 ||align=left|{{flag|Côte d'Ivoire}}||86,911||2024
|}
{| class="wikitable"  style="text-align: right; float:right; border:1px solid #aaa; margin:10px"
|- style="background:#dbdbdb;"
! Rank
! Country
! [[List of countries by past and projected GDP (PPP)|GDP]] <small>(PPP, Peak Year)</small><br /><small>millions of [[International dollar|USD]]</small>
! Peak Year
|-
|—||align=left|''{{nowrap|{{flag|African Union}}}}''||9,490,335||2024
|-
| 1 ||align=left|{{flag|Egypt}} ||1,898,538||2024
|-
| 2 ||align=left|{{flag|Nigeria}} ||1,443,708||2024
|-
| 3 ||align=left|{{flag|South Africa}}||1,025,930||2024
|-
| 4 ||align=left|{{flag|Algeria}}||768,521||2024
|-
| 5 ||align=left|{{flag|Ethiopia}} ||431,688||2024
|-
| 6 ||align=left|{{flag|Morocco}} ||409,073||2024
|-
| 7 ||align=left|{{flag|Kenya}} ||365,854||2024
|-
| 8 ||align=left|{{flag|Angola}} ||270,981||2024
|-
| 9 ||align=left|{{flag|Tanzania}} ||244,363||2024
|-
| 10 ||align=left|{{flag|Ghana}} ||241,450||2024
|}
{{Clear}}
Tausch's global value comparison based on the [[World Values Survey]] derived the following factor analytical scales: 1. The non-violent and law-abiding society 2. Democracy movement 3. Climate of personal non-violence 4. Trust in institutions 5. Happiness, good health 6. No redistributive religious fundamentalism 7. Accepting the market 8. Feminism 9. Involvement in politics 10. Optimism and engagement 11. No welfare mentality, acceptancy of the Calvinist work ethics. The spread in the performance of African countries with complete data, Tausch concluded "is really amazing". While one should be especially hopeful about the development of future democracy and the market economy in [[Ghana]], the article suggests pessimistic tendencies for [[Egypt]] and [[Algeria]], and especially for Africa's leading economy, South Africa. High [[Human Inequality]], as measured by the [[UNDP]]'s [[Human Development Report]]'s [[Index of Human Inequality]], further impairs the development of [[human security]]. Tausch also maintains that the certain recent optimism, corresponding to economic and human rights data, emerging from Africa, is reflected in the development of a [[civil society]].
[[File:African countries by GDP (PPP) per capita in 2020.png|upright=1.2|thumb|African countries by GDP (PPP) per capita in 2020]]
The continent is believed to hold 90% of the world's [[cobalt]], 90% of its [[platinum]], 50% of its gold, 98% of its [[chromium]], 70% of its [[tantalite]],<ref>"[http://allafrica.com/stories/200802070635.html Africa: Developed Countries' Leverage On the Continent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020072131/http://allafrica.com/stories/200802070635.html |date=20 October 2012 }}". AllAfrica.com. 7 February 2008</ref> 64% of its [[manganese]] and one-third of its [[uranium]].<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3319909.ece Africa, China's new frontier] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629123044/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3319909.ece |date=29 June 2011 }}. ''Times Online''. 10 February 2008</ref> The [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (DRC) has 70% of the world's [[coltan]], a mineral used in the production of [[tantalum capacitor]]s for electronic devices such as cell phones. The DRC also has more than 30% of the world's diamond reserves.<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5209428.stm| title=DR Congo poll crucial for Africa| work=BBC| date=16 November 2006| access-date=10 October 2009| archive-date=2 December 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202153903/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5209428.stm| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Guinea]] is the world's largest exporter of [[bauxite]].<ref>[http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/africa/article2594373.ece China tightens grip on Africa with $4.4bn lifeline for Guinea junta]. The Times. 13 October 2009 {{subscription required}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429071020/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/africa/article2594373.ece |date=29 April 2015 }}</ref> As the growth in Africa has been driven mainly by services and not manufacturing or agriculture, it has been growth without jobs and without reduction in poverty levels. In fact, the [[2007–08 world food price crisis|food security crisis of 2008]] which took place on the heels of the global financial crisis pushed 100 million people into food insecurity.<ref>[http://www.strategicforesight.com/african_decade.htm The African Decade?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613173905/http://www.strategicforesight.com/african_decade.htm |date=13 June 2010 }}. Ilmas Futehally. Strategic Foresight Group.</ref>

In recent years, the [[China]] has built increasingly stronger ties with African nations and is Africa's largest trading partner. In 2007, Chinese companies invested a total of US$1&nbsp;billion in Africa.<ref name=Africa>[http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=690 Malia Politzer, "China and Africa: Stronger Economic Ties Mean More Migration"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140129114909/http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=690 |date=29 January 2014 }}, ''Migration Information Source''. August 2008</ref>

A [[Harvard University]] study led by professor [[Calestous Juma]] showed that Africa could feed itself by making the transition from importer to self-sufficiency. "African agriculture is at the crossroads; we have come to the end of a century of policies that favoured Africa's export of raw materials and importation of food. Africa is starting to focus on agricultural innovation as its new engine for regional trade and prosperity."<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101202124337.htm "Africa Can Feed Itself in a Generation, Experts Say"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017221141/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101202124337.htm |date=17 October 2017}}, ''[[Science Daily]]'', 3 December 2010</ref>

=== Electricity generation ===
The main source of [[electricity]] is [[hydropower]], which contributes significantly to the current installed capacity for energy.<ref name="Water 2016" /> The [[Kainji Dam]] is a typical hydropower resource generating electricity for all the large cities in [[Nigeria]] as well as their neighbouring country, [[Niger]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-10-14 |title=An inside look at Kainji Dam |url=http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/other-sections/star-feature/14058-an-inside-look-at-kainji-dam |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014181017/http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/other-sections/star-feature/14058-an-inside-look-at-kainji-dam |archive-date=2012-10-14 |access-date=2020-11-28}}</ref> Hence, the continuous investment in the last decade, which has increased the amount of power generated.<ref name="Water 2016" />

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Africa|Genetic history of Africa|Child marriage#Africa{{!}}Child marriage in Africa}}
{{See also|List of African countries by population|List of African countries by life expectancy}}
{{Pie chart
 | caption= [[List of African countries by population|Proportion of total African population by country]]
 | other  = yes
 | label1 = Nigeria
 | value1 = 15.38 | color1=#36A
 | label2 = Ethiopia
 | value2 = 8.37  | color2=#1A9
 | label3 = Egypt
 | value3 = 7.65  | color3=#6A5
 | label4 = Democratic Republic of the Congo
 | value4 = 6.57  | color4=#CC5
 | label5 = Tanzania
 | value5 = 4.55  | color5=#928
 | label6 = South Africa
 | value6 = 4.47 | color6=#E33
 | label7 = Kenya
 | value7 = 3.88  | color7=#E72
 | label8 = Uganda
 | value8 = 3.38  | color8=#FE3
 | label9 = Algeria
 | value9 = 3.36  | color9=#A45
 }}

Africa's population has rapidly increased over the last 40 years, and is consequently relatively young. In some African states, more than half the population is under 25 years of age.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.overpopulation.org/Africa.html|title=Africa Population Dynamics|publisher=overpopulation.org|access-date=26 July 2007|archive-date=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217040305/http://www.overpopulation.org/Africa.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The total number of people in Africa increased from 229 million in 1950 to 630&nbsp;million in 1990.<ref>[http://www.geohive.com/earth/his_proj_africa.aspx Past and future population of Africa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924044751/http://www.geohive.com/earth/his_proj_africa.aspx |date=24 September 2015 }}. Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2013)</ref> As of {{UN_Population|Year}}, the population of Africa is estimated at {{#expr:{{replace|{{UN_Population|Africa}}|,|}} / 1e9 round 1}} billion.{{UN_Population|ref}} Africa's total population surpassing other continents is fairly recent; African population surpassed Europe in the 1990s, while the Americas was overtaken sometime around the year 2000.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/world/asia/india-will-be-most-populous-country-sooner-than-thought-un-says.html|title=India Will Be Most Populous Country Sooner Than Thought, U.N. Says|first=Rick|last=Gladstone|date=29 July 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=14 February 2017|archive-date=1 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201022241/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/world/asia/india-will-be-most-populous-country-sooner-than-thought-un-says.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This increase in number of babies born in Africa compared to the rest of the world is expected to reach approximately 37% in the year 2050; while in 1990 sub-Saharan Africa accounted for only 16% of the world's births.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/22/what-to-do-about-africas-dangerous-baby-boom|title=What to do about Africa's dangerous baby boom|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=26 September 2018|language=en|archive-date=25 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925235351/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/22/what-to-do-about-africas-dangerous-baby-boom|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[total fertility rate]] (children per woman) for Sub-Saharan Africa is 4.7 as of 2018, the highest in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fertility rate, total (births per woman) – Sub-Saharan Africa |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=ZG |website=The World Bank |access-date=29 May 2020 |archive-date=13 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513095844/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=ZG |url-status=live }}</ref> All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had [[Total fertility rate|TFRs]] (average number of children) above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27.1% of [[earth|global]] livebirths.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(<span class="ltr">20</span>)30977-6/fulltext|title=Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2019: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019|publisher=[[The Lancet]]|access-date=14 May 2023|archive-date=11 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230611204109/https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(<span class="ltr">20</span>)30977-6/fulltext|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 29% of global births.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[United Nations]]. Department of Economic and Social Affairs |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf |title=World Population Prospects 2022. Summary of Results |location=New York |page=14 |access-date=6 July 2023 |archive-date=19 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719031934/https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Speakers of [[Bantu languages]] (part of the [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]] family) are the majority in southern, central and southeast Africa. The Bantu-speaking peoples from [[the Sahel]] progressively expanded over most of sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>Luc-Normand Tellier (2009). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC Urban world history: an economic and geographical perspective] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924171325/https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC |date=24 September 2015 }}''. PUQ. p. 204. {{ISBN|2-7605-1588-5}}</ref> But there are also several [[Nilotic]] groups in [[South Sudan]] and East Africa, the mixed [[Swahili people]] on the [[Swahili Coast]], and a few remaining [[Indigenous peoples of Africa|indigenous]] Khoisan ("[[Bushmen|San"]] or "Bushmen") and [[Pygmy peoples]] in Southern and Central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon. In the [[Kalahari Desert]] of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "[[Khoikhoi|Hottentots]]") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other Africans and are the indigenous people of southern Africa.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of central Africa.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article402970.ece Pygmies struggle to survive in war zone where abuse is routine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525095020/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article402970.ece |date=25 May 2010 }}. ''Times Online''. 16 December 2004</ref>

The peoples of West Africa primarily speak [[Niger–Congo languages]], belonging mostly to its non-Bantu branches, though some [[Nilo-Saharan]] and Afro-Asiatic speaking groups are also found. The Niger–Congo-speaking [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]], [[Igbo language|Igbo]], [[Fulani]], [[Akan language|Akan]], and [[Wolof people|Wolof]] ethnic groups are the largest and most influential. In the central Sahara, [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] or [[Mande languages|Mande]] groups are most significant. Chadic-speaking groups, including the [[Hausa language|Hausa]], are found in more northerly parts of the region nearest to the Sahara, and Nilo-Saharan communities, such as the [[Songhai people|Songhai]], [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]] and [[Zarma people|Zarma]], are found in the eastern parts of West Africa bordering Central Africa.
[[Image:African_countries_by_HDI_(2019).png|thumb|upright=1.2|left|
{| width="100%" style="background:transparent;"
| Map of Africa indicating [[Human Development Index]] (2018).
|-Africa
|
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
{{Legend|#00C400|0.800–0.849}}
{{Legend|#00F900|0.750–0.799}}
{{Legend|#D3FF00|0.700–0.749}}
{{Legend|#FFFF00|0.650–0.699}}
{{Legend|#FFD215|0.600–0.649}}
{{Legend|#FFA83C|0.550–0.599}}
{{Col-break}}
{{Legend|#FF852F|0.500–0.549}}
{{Legend|#FF5B00|0.450–0.499}}
{{Legend|#FF0000|0.400–0.449}}
{{Legend|#A70000|≤ 0.399}}
{{Legend|#D9D9D9|No data}}
{{Col-end}}
|}]]
The peoples of North Africa consist of three main indigenous groups: Berbers in the northwest, Egyptians in the northeast, and Nilo-Saharan-speaking peoples in the east. The Arabs who arrived in the 7th century CE introduced the Arabic language and Islam to North Africa. The Semitic [[Phoenicia]]ns (who founded [[Carthage]]) and [[Hyksos]], the Indo-Iranian [[Alans]], the Indo-European [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], Romans, and [[Vandals]] settled in North Africa as well. Significant Berber communities remain within [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]] in the 21st century, while, to a lesser extent, Berber speakers are also present in some regions of Tunisia and Libya.<ref>{{cite news|title=Q&A: The Berbers|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3509799.stm|access-date=30 December 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=12 March 2004|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112181804/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3509799.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Berber-speaking [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] and other often-[[nomad]]ic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. In Mauritania, there is a small but near-extinct Berber community in the north and Niger–Congo-speaking peoples in the south, though in both regions Arabic and Arab culture predominates. In Sudan, although Arabic and Arab culture predominate, it is mostly inhabited by groups that originally spoke Nilo-Saharan, such as the Nubians, Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, who, over the centuries, have variously intermixed with migrants from the Arabian peninsula. Small communities of Afro-Asiatic-speaking Beja nomads can also be found in Egypt and Sudan.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1017/9781108634311.014 |chapter=The Linguistic Prehistory of the Sahara |title=Burials, Migration and Identity in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond |year=2019 |last1=Blench |first1=Roger |pages=431–463 |isbn=978-1-108-63431-1 |s2cid=197854997 }}</ref>

In the [[Horn of Africa]], some Ethiopian and Eritrean groups (like the [[Amhara people|Amhara]] and [[Tigrayans]], collectively known as [[Habesha people|Habesha]]) speak languages from the [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] branch of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]] language family, while the [[Oromo people|Oromo]] and [[Somalis|Somali]] speak languages from the [[Cushitic]] branch of Afro-Asiatic.

Prior to the [[decolonization]] movements of the post-World War II era, [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]] were represented in every part of Africa.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901759-3,00.html "We Want Our Country" (3 of 10)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723000220/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901759-3,00.html |date=23 July 2013 }}. ''Time'', 5 November 1965</ref> Decolonization during the 1960s and 1970s often resulted in the mass emigration of white settlers—especially from Algeria and Morocco (1.6&nbsp;million ''[[pieds-noir]]s'' in North Africa),<ref>Raimondo Cagiano De Azevedo (1994). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=N8VHizsqaH0C&pg=PA25 Migration and development co-operation.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906025429/https://books.google.com/books?id=N8VHizsqaH0C&pg=PA25 |date=6 September 2015 }}''. Council of Europe, p. 25. {{ISBN|92-871-2611-9}}</ref> Kenya, Congo,<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826488-4,00.html "Jungle Shipwreck"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722210703/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826488-4,00.html |date=22 July 2013 }}. ''Time'' 25 July 1960</ref> Rhodesia, Mozambique and Angola.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12079340 "Flight from Angola"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723131954/http://www.economist.com/node/12079340?story_id=12079340 |date=23 July 2013 }}, ''The Economist '', 16 August 1975</ref> Between 1975 and 1977, over a million colonials returned to Portugal alone.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/portugal/48.htm Portugal – Emigration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629081956/http://countrystudies.us/portugal/48.htm |date=29 June 2011 }}, Eric Solsten, ed. Portugal: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1993</ref> Nevertheless, [[White Africans of European ancestry|white Africans]] remain an important minority in many African states, particularly [[Zimbabwe]], [[Namibia]], [[Réunion]], and [[South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite book|first=John A.|last=Holm|title=Pidgins and Creoles: References survey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PcD7p9y3EIcC&pg=PA394|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=1989|page=394|isbn=978-0-521-35940-5|access-date=14 October 2015|archive-date=5 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905192604/https://books.google.com/books?id=PcD7p9y3EIcC&pg=PA394|url-status=live}}</ref> The country with the largest white African population is South Africa.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-africa/ South Africa: People: Ethnic Groups.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110042951/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-africa |date=10 January 2021 }} CIA World Factbook</ref> [[Dutch people|Dutch]] and [[British diaspora in Africa|British]] [[diaspora]]s represent the largest communities of European ancestry on the continent today.<ref name=World>{{cite encyclopedia|date=1989|title=Africa|encyclopedia=[[World Book Encyclopedia]]|publisher=World Book, Inc.|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-7166-1289-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/1989worldbookencyclo22worl}}</ref>

European colonization also brought sizable groups of [[Asian people|Asians]], particularly from the [[Indian subcontinent]], to British colonies. Large [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian communities]] are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and southeast African countries. The large [[Indians in Uganda|Indian community in Uganda]] was [[expulsion of Asians from Uganda|expelled]] by the dictator [[Idi Amin]] in 1972, though many have since returned. The islands in the Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans. The [[Malagasy people]] of Madagascar are an [[Austronesian people]], but those along the coast are generally mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. Malay and Indian ancestries are also important components in the group of people known in South Africa as [[Cape Coloureds]] (people with origins in two or more races and continents). During the 20th century, small but economically important communities of [[Demographics of Lebanon#Diaspora|Lebanese]] and [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese]]<ref name="Africa"/> have also developed in the larger coastal cities of [[West Africa|West]] and East Africa, respectively.<ref>[http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2007-07-10-voa46.html Naomi Schwarz, "Lebanese Immigrants Boost West African Commerce"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224135631/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2007-07-10-voa46.html |date=24 December 2011 }}, VOANews.com, 10 July 2007</ref>

=== Alternative Estimates of African Population, 1–2018 AD (in thousands) ===
Source: Maddison and others. (University of Groningen).<ref name="ggdc.net">{{cite web|url=http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/other_books/appendix_B.pdf|title=Growth of World Population, GDP and GDP Per Capita before 1820|author=Maddison|date=27 July 2016 |access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=12 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212183845/http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/other_books/appendix_B.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable " style="text-align:right"
|-
! scope="col" |Year<ref name="ggdc.net"/>
! scope="col" |1
! scope="col" |1000
! scope="col" |1500
! scope="col" |1600
! scope="col" |1700
! scope="col" |1820
! scope="col" |1870
! scope="col" |1913
! scope="col" |1950
! scope="col" |1973
! scope="col" |1998
! scope="col" |2018
! scope="col" |2100<br>(projected)
|-
|'''Africa'''
|16 500
|33 000
|46 000
|55 000
|61 000
|74 208
|90 466
|124 697
|228 342
|387 645
|759 954
|1 321 000<ref name="worldometers"/>
|3 924 421<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Five key findings from the 2022 UN Population Prospects |url=https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-update-2022 |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=Our World in Data |archive-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616102535/https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-update-2022 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|'''World'''
|230 820
|268 273
|437 818
|555 828
|603 410
|1 041 092
|1 270 014
|1 791 020
|2 524 531
|3 913 482
|5 907 680
|7 500 000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/2018/world-population.html|title=World Population Day: July 11, 2018|website=United States Census Bureau|date=11 July 2018|access-date=18 July 2019|archive-date=18 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718064224/https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/2018/world-population.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|10 349 323<ref name=":6" />
|}

=== Shares of Africa and World Population, 1–2020 AD (% of world total) ===
Source: Maddison and others (University of Groningen).<ref name="ggdc.net"/>

{| class="wikitable " style="text-align:right"
|-
! scope="col" |Year<ref name="ggdc.net"/>
! scope="col" |1
! scope="col" |1000
! scope="col" |1500
! scope="col" |1600
! scope="col" |1700
! scope="col" |1820
! scope="col" |1870
! scope="col" |1913
! scope="col" |1950
! scope="col" |1973
! scope="col" |1998
! scope="col" |2020
! scope="col" |2100<br/>(projected)
|-
|'''Africa'''
|7.1
|12.3
|10.5
|9.9
|10.1
|7.1
|7.1
|7.0
|9.0
|9.9
|12.9
|18.2<ref name="worldometers">{{cite web|url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/|title=Africa Population (LIVE)|website=worldometers.info|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=2 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902033531/https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|39.4<ref name="www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank">{{cite web|website=Pew Research Center|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/worlds-population-is-projected-to-nearly-stop-growing-by-the-end-of-the-century/|title=World's population is projected to nearly stop growing by the end of the century|author1=ANTHONY CILLUFFO|author2=NEIL G. RUIZ|date=17 June 2019|access-date=2 June 2023|archive-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722151827/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/worlds-population-is-projected-to-nearly-stop-growing-by-the-end-of-the-century/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|}

===Religion===
[[File:Religion distribution Africa crop.png|A map showing religious distribution in Africa|thumb|upright=1.1]]
{{Main|Religion in Africa}} {{See also||African divination}}

While Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, the majority of the people respect African religions or parts of them. However, in formal surveys or census, most people will identify with major religions that came from outside the continent, mainly through colonisation. There are several reasons for this, the main one being the colonial idea that African religious beliefs and practices are not good enough. Religious beliefs and statistics on religious affiliation are difficult to come by since they are often a sensitive topic for governments with mixed religious populations.<ref name=stanford>{{cite web|url=http://library.stanford.edu/africa/religion.html|title=African Religion on the Internet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902182749/http://library.stanford.edu/africa/religion.html |archive-date=2 September 2006 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[Stanford University]]}}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last=Onishi |first=Normitsu |date=1 November 2001 |title=Rising Muslim Power in Africa Causing Unrest in Nigeria and Elsewhere |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/01/world/rising-muslim-power-in-africa-causes-unrest-in-nigeria-and-elsewhere.html |access-date=1 March 2009 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> According to the ''[[World Book Encyclopedia]]'', [[Islam in Africa|Islam]] and [[Christianity in Africa|Christianity]] are the two largest religions in Africa. Islam is most prevalent in Northern Africa, and is the state religion of many North African countries, such as Algeria, where 99% of the population practices Islam.<ref>{{Citation |title=Algeria |date=2024-04-11 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/algeria/#people-and-society |access-date=2024-04-16 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104184359/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/algeria/#people-and-society |url-status=live }}</ref> The majority of people in most governments in Southern, Southeast, and Central Africa, as well as in a sizable portion of the Horn of Africa and West Africa, identify as [[Christians]]. The [[Copts|Coptic Christians]] constitute a sizable minority in [[Egypt]], and the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox Church]] is the largest church in Ethiopia, with 36 million and 51 million adherents.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Center |first=Pew Research |date=2017-11-08 |title=Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US |archive-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417210805/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/ |url-status=live }}</ref>  According to [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], 45% of the population are Christians, 40% are Muslims, and 10% follow [[Traditional African religions|traditional religions]].{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} A small number of Africans are [[Hindu]], [[Buddhist]], [[Confucianist]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]], or [[Judaism in Africa|Jewish]]. There is also a minority of people in Africa who are [[Irreligion in Africa|irreligious]].

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Africa}}
{{See also|Writing systems of Africa#Indigenous writing systems}}
By most estimates, well over a thousand [[language]]s ([[UNESCO]] has estimated around two thousand) are spoken in Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=8048&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |title=Africa |date=2005 |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=1 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602050234/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D8048%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html |archive-date= 2 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Most are of African origin, though some are of European or Asian origin. Africa is the most [[Multilingualism|multilingual]] continent in the world, and it is not rare for individuals to fluently speak not only multiple African languages, but one or more European ones as well.{{Explain|reason=Africa is not one country with one single tradition of polyglots|date=February 2023}} There are four major groups indigenous to Africa:
[[File:Map of African language families.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|A simplistic view of language families spoken in Africa]]
* The [[Afroasiatic languages|''Afroasiatic'']] languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout the Horn of Africa, North Africa, the [[Sahel]], and Southwest Asia.
* The [[Nilo-Saharan languages|''Nilo-Saharan'']] languages consist of a group of several possibly related [[Language family|families]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wolff |first1=Ekkehard |title=Linguistic features and typologies in languages commonly referred to as 'Nilo-Saharan' |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=326–381 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335691200 |access-date=22 October 2023}}</ref> spoken by 30 million people between 100 languages. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by ethnic groups in [[Chad]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Kenya]], [[Nigeria]], [[Sudan]], [[South Sudan]], [[Uganda]], and northern [[Tanzania]].
* The [[Niger–Congo languages|''Niger-Congo'']] language family covers much of sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of number of languages, it is the largest language family in Africa and perhaps one of the largest in the world.
* The [[Khoisan languages|''Khoisan'']] languages form a group of three unrelated<ref>{{cite book |last1=Güldemann |first1=Tom |title=Beyond 'Khoisan': Historical relations in the Kalahari Basin |date=29 August 2014 |pages=1–40 |url=https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books/9789027269928#overview |access-date=22 October 2023 |language=en |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024073158/https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books/9789027269928#overview |url-status=live }}</ref> families and two [[Language isolate|isolates]] and number about fifty in total. They are mainly spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 400,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Khoisan Languages|url=http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Khoisan.html|website=The Language Gulper|access-date=2 January 2017|archive-date=25 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125082754/http://languagesgulper.com/eng/Khoisan.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the Khoisan languages are [[endangered language|endangered]]. The [[Khoikhoi|Khoi]] and [[Bushmen|San]] peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa.

Following the end of [[colonialism]], nearly all African countries adopted [[official language]]s that originated outside the continent, although several countries also granted legal recognition to indigenous languages (such as [[Swahili language|Swahili]], [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]], [[Igbo language|Igbo]] and [[Hausa language|Hausa]]). In numerous countries, English and French (''see [[African French]]'') are used for communication in the public sphere such as government, commerce, education and the media. Arabic, [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Afrikaans]] and Spanish are examples of languages that trace their origin to outside of Africa, and that are used by millions of Africans today, both in the public and private spheres. Italian is spoken by some in former [[Italian Colonial Empire|Italian colonies]] in Africa. German is spoken in [[Namibia]], as it was a former German protectorate. In total, at least a fifth of Africans speak the former colonial languages.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oluwole |first=Victor |date=2021-09-12 |title=A comprehensive list of all the English-speaking countries in Africa |url=https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/a-comprehensive-list-of-all-the-english-speaking-countries-in-africa/hdp1610 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=Business Insider Africa |language=en |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902203224/https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/a-comprehensive-list-of-all-the-english-speaking-countries-in-africa/hdp1610 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stein-Smith |first=Kathleen |date=2022-03-17 |title=Africa and the French language are growing together in global importance |url=http://theconversation.com/africa-and-the-french-language-are-growing-together-in-global-importance-179224 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=The Conversation |language=en |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902203224/https://theconversation.com/africa-and-the-french-language-are-growing-together-in-global-importance-179224 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Babbel.com |last2=GmbH |first2=Lesson Nine |title=How Many People Speak Portuguese, And Where Is It Spoken? |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-portuguese-and-where-is-it-spoken |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=Babbel Magazine |language=en |archive-date=11 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711164650/https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-portuguese-and-where-is-it-spoken |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Efn|The previous three references show that there a total of 130 million English speakers, 120 million French speakers, and over 30 million Portuguese speakers in Africa, making them about 20% of Africa's 2022 population of 1.4 billion people.}}

===Health===
[[File:HIV in Africa 2011.svg|thumb|upright=1.1|Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa, total (% of population ages 15–49), in 2011 ([[World Bank]])
{| style="width:100%;"
|-
| valign=top |
{{legend|#2b0000|over 15%}}
{{legend|#800000|5–15%}}
{{legend|#d40000|2–5%}}
{{legend|#ff2a2a|1–2%}}
{{legend|#ff9955|0.5-1%}}
{{legend|#ffb380|0.1–0.5%}}
{{legend|#b9b9b9|not available}}
|}]]

More than 85% of individuals in Africa use traditional medicine as an alternative to often expensive allopathic medical health care and costly pharmaceutical products. The [[Organisation of African Unity|Organization of African Unity]] (OAU) Heads of State and Government declared the 2000s decade as the African Decade on [[African traditional medicine]] in an effort to promote The WHO African Region's adopted resolution for institutionalizing traditional medicine in health care systems across the continent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kofi-Tsekpo |first1=Mawuli |title=Editorial: Institutionalization of African Traditional Medicine in Health Care Systems in Africa |journal=African Journal of Health Sciences |date=11 February 2005 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=i–ii |doi=10.4314/ajhs.v11i1.30772 |pmid=17298111 }}</ref> Public policy makers in the region are challenged with consideration of the importance of traditional/indigenous health systems and whether their coexistence with the modern medical and health sub-sector would improve the equitability and accessibility of health care distribution, the health status of populations, and the social-economic development of nations within sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunlop |first1=David W. |title=Alternatives to 'modern' health delivery systems in Africa: Public policy issues of traditional health systems |journal=Social Science & Medicine |date=November 1975 |volume=9 |issue=11–12 |pages=581–586 |doi=10.1016/0037-7856(<span class="ltr">75</span>)90171-7 |pmid=817397 }}</ref>

[[HIV/AIDS in Africa|AIDS in post-colonial Africa]] is a prevalent issue. Although the continent is home to about 15.2 percent of the world's population,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/world_population.htm|title=World Population by continents and countries – Nations Online Project|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=5 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105110631/http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/world_population.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> more than two-thirds of the total infected worldwide—some 35 million people—were Africans, of whom 15&nbsp;million have already died.<ref name="Enc p8">{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Africa |first1=Anthony |last1=Appiah |first2=Henry Louis |last2=Gates |name-list-style=vanc |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |pages=8}}</ref> [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] alone accounted for an estimated 69 percent of all people living with HIV<ref name="2012 Facts">{{Cite web |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_FactSheet_Global_en.pdf |title="Global Fact Sheet", Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, 20 November 2012 |access-date=18 October 2020 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327233932/http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_factsheet_global_en.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and 70 percent of all AIDS deaths in 2011.<ref name="dUNAIDSi ck 2012">{{cite web|title=UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2012 |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids//documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_UNAIDS_Global_Report_2012_with_annexes_en.pdf |access-date=13 May 2013}}</ref> In the countries of sub-Saharan Africa most affected, AIDS has raised death rates and lowered life expectancy among adults between the ages of 20 and 49 by about twenty years.<ref name="Enc p8" /> Furthermore, the life expectancy in many parts of Africa has declined, largely as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with life-expectancy in some countries reaching as low as thirty-four years.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of The Modern World|last=Stearns|first=Peter N. |name-list-style=vanc |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|pages=556}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Africa}}
[[File:Wassu Stone Circle.jpg|thumb|The [[Senegambian stone circles]], lying in The [[Gambia]] and [[Senegal]], are a [[List of World Heritage Sites in Africa|UNESCO World Heritage Site]].]]

Some aspects of traditional African cultures have become less practised in recent years as a result of neglect and suppression by colonial and post-colonial regimes. For example, African customs were discouraged, and African languages were prohibited in mission schools.<ref name="pearsonhighered.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0205208606.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501070358/http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0205208606.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Pearsonhighered.com|archive-date=1 May 2015}}</ref> Leopold II of Belgium attempted to "civilize" Africans by discouraging polygamy and witchcraft.<ref name="pearsonhighered.com"/>

Obidoh Freeborn posits that colonialism is one element that has created the character of modern African art.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/g/gefame/4761563.0002.103/--crisis-of-appropriating-identity-for-african-art-and-artists?rgn=main;view=fulltext|title=The Crisis of Appropriating Identity for African Art and Artists: The Abayomi Barber School Responsorial Paradigm|journal=Gefame|year=2005|last1=Freeborn|first1=Odiboh|access-date=18 December 2015|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222185342/http://quod.lib.umich.edu/g/gefame/4761563.0002.103/--crisis-of-appropriating-identity-for-african-art-and-artists?rgn=main;view=fulltext|url-status=live}}</ref> According to authors Douglas Fraser and Herbert M. Cole, "The precipitous alterations in the power structure wrought by colonialism were quickly followed by drastic iconographic changes in the art."<ref name="books.google.com">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sSIxOcgE378C&pg=PA95|title=African Art and Leadership|first1=Douglas|last1=Fraser|first2=Herbert M.|last2=Cole|year=2004|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-299-05824-1|page=95|access-date=18 December 2015|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611043035/https://books.google.com/books?id=sSIxOcgE378C&pg=PA95|url-status=live}}</ref> Fraser and Cole assert that, in Igboland, some art objects "lack the vigor and careful craftsmanship of the earlier art objects that served traditional functions."<ref name="books.google.com"/> Author Chika Okeke-Agulu states that "the racist infrastructure of British imperial enterprise forced upon the political and cultural guardians of empire a denial and suppression of an emergent sovereign Africa and modernist art."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ojPJBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT63|title=Postcolonial Modernism: Art and Decolonization in Twentieth-Century Nigeria|first=Chika|last=Okeke-Agulu|year=2015|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-7630-9|page=63|access-date=18 December 2015|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611035844/https://books.google.com/books?id=ojPJBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT63|url-status=live}}</ref> Editors F. Abiola Irele and Simon Gikandi comment that the current identity of African literature had its genesis in the "traumatic encounter between Africa and Europe."<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521832755.021 |chapter=African literature and the colonial factor |title=The Cambridge History of African and Caribbean Literature |year=2000 |last1=Gikandi |first1=Simon |pages=379–397 |isbn=978-1-139-05463-8}}</ref> On the other hand, Mhoze Chikowero believes that Africans deployed music, dance, spirituality, and other performative cultures to (<span class="ltr">re</span>)assert themselves as active agents and indigenous intellectuals, to unmake their colonial marginalization and reshape their own destinies.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o3y9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA8|page=8|title=African Music, Power, and Being in Colonial Zimbabwe|first=Mhoze|last=Chikowero|year=2015|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253018090|access-date=18 December 2015|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611043301/https://books.google.com/books?id=o3y9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA8|url-status=live}}</ref>

There is now a resurgence in the attempts to rediscover and revalue African traditional cultures, under such movements as the [[African Renaissance]], led by [[Thabo Mbeki]], [[Afrocentrism]], led by a group of scholars, including [[Molefi Asante]], as well as the increasing recognition of traditional spiritualism through decriminalization of [[West African Vodun|Vodou]] and other forms of spirituality.

As of March 2023, 98 African properties are listed by [[UNESCO]] as [[World Heritage Site]]s. Among these proprieties, 54 are cultural sites, 39 are natural sites and 5 are mixed sites. The [[List of World Heritage in Danger|List Of World Heritage in Danger]] includes 15 African sites.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Africa |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/africa/ |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Convention |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330132125/https://whc.unesco.org/en/africa/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Visual art===
[[File:Nok sculpture Louvre 70-1998-11-1.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|left| [[Nok culture|Nok]] figure, Nigeria (5th century&nbsp;BCE–5th century&nbsp;CE)]]
[[File:Laas Geel.jpg|thumb|Rock art at the [[Laas Geel]] complex in [[Somalia]], 3,500–2,500 BCE.]]
[[File:Benin Bronze (26501223765).jpg|thumb|left|Two [[Benin bronze]]s from the 18th century]]
{{Excerpt|African art|paragraph=1,2,3,4,5||only=paragraphs}}

===Architecture===
{{Excerpt|Architecture of Africa|paragraph=1,2,3|file=1}}

===Cinema===
{{Excerpt|Cinema of Africa|paragraphs=1-2|file=1}}

===Music===
{{Excerpt|Music of Africa|paragraph=1,2}}

===Dance===
{{Excerpt|African dance|paragraph=1,2|file=no}}

===Sports===
[[File:World cup african countries best results and hosts.png|thumb|Best results of African men's national football teams at the FIFA World Cup]]
[[File:Shikabala_the_captain_of_zamalek_sc_holds_CAF_Confederation_Cup_2024.jpg|alt=Shikabala_the_captain_of_zamalek_sc_holds_CAF_Confederation_Cup_2024|thumb|[[List of presidents of the Confederation of African Football|CAF President]] [[Patrice Motsepe]] handing the [[CAF Confederation Cup]] trophy to [[Zamalek SC|Zamalek's]] captain [[Shikabala]] in 2024]]
Fifty-four African countries have [[Association football|football]] teams in the [[Confederation of African Football]]. Egypt has won the African Cup seven times, and a record-making three times in a row. Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, and Algeria have advanced to the knockout stage of recent [[FIFA World Cup]]s. Morocco made history at the [[2022 FIFA World Cup|2022 World Cup in Qatar]] as the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA Men's World Cup. South Africa hosted the [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010 World Cup tournament]], becoming the first African country to do so. The top clubs in each African football league play the [[CAF Champions League]], while lower-ranked clubs compete in [[CAF Confederation Cup]].

In recent years, the continent has made major progress in terms of state-of-the-art [[basketball]] facilities which have been built in cities as diverse as [[Cairo]], [[Dakar]], [[Johannesburg]], [[Kigali]], [[Luanda]] and [[Rades]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Getting to know Africa's flashy basketball arenas |url=https://www.fiba.basketball/news/getting-to-know-africas-flashy-basketball-arenas |access-date=10 December 2020 |work=[[FIBA]] |date=2 September 2019 |archive-date=7 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107193242/https://www.fiba.basketball/news/getting-to-know-africas-flashy-basketball-arenas |url-status=live}}</ref> The number of African basketball players who drafted into the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] has experienced major growth in the 2010s.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lee |last=Nxumalo |title=Basketball's next frontier is Africa |url=https://www.newframe.com/basketballs-next-frontier-is-africa/ |access-date=11 January 2021 |work=New Frame |date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116062357/https://www.newframe.com/basketballs-next-frontier-is-africa/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Cricket]] is popular in some African nations. [[South Africa national cricket team|South Africa]] and [[Zimbabwe national cricket team|Zimbabwe]] have [[Test cricket|Test]] status, while [[Kenya national cricket team|Kenya]] is the leading non-test team and previously had [[One Day International|One-Day International cricket]] (ODI) status (from [[President's Cup 1997-98|10 October 1997]], until [[2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier#Super Six|30 January 2014]]). The three countries jointly hosted the [[2003 Cricket World Cup]]. [[Namibia national cricket team|Namibia]] is the other African country to have played in a World Cup. [[Morocco]] in northern Africa has also hosted the [[2002 Morocco Cup]], but the national team has never qualified for a major tournament.

[[Rugby union|Rugby]] is popular in several southern African nations. [[Namibia]] and [[Zimbabwe]] both have appeared on multiple occasions at the [[Rugby World Cup]], while South Africa is the most successful national team at the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament on four occasions, in 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2023/news/608463/rwc-2023-spotlight-south-africa|title=RWC 2023 Spotlight: South Africa ｜ Rugby World Cup 2023|website=www.rugbyworldcup.com|access-date=29 May 2021|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213126/https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2023/news/608463/rwc-2023-spotlight-south-africa|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Territories and regions==
{{Main|List of regions of Africa|List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa}}
{{center|{{Africa Labelled Map}}}}

The countries in this table are categorized according to the [[United Nations geoscheme for Africa|scheme for geographic subregions]] used by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated.
<!--{{editnote | NOTE: If you have arguments or evidence to the contrary, please provide them on the talk page and await until the consensus supports making proposed edits. Thank you!-->

<!--begin country info tables-->
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; border:1px solid #aaa;"
|- style="background:#ececec;"
! class="unsortable" style="width:20px" | [[Coat of arms|Arms]]
! class="unsortable" style="width:20px" | [[Flag]]
! Name of region{{efn|Continental regions as per [[United Nations geoscheme for Africa|UN categorizations/map]].}} and<br>territory, with [[flag]]
! data-sort-type="number" | [[List of countries and dependencies by area|Area]]<br>(km<sup>2</sup>)
! data-sort-type="number" | [[List of countries and dependencies by population|Population]]<ref name="uscen">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov\/cgi-bin/ipc/idbrank.pl|title=IDB: Countries Ranked by Population|date=28 November 1999|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991128111024/http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/idbrank.pl|archive-date=28 November 1999}}</ref>
! Year
! data-sort-type="number" | [[List of countries and dependencies by population density|Density]]<br>(per km<sup>2</sup>)
! Capital
! [[Language|Name(<span class="ltr">s</span>) in official language(<span class="ltr">s</span>)]]
! [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-3|ISO 3166-1]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|colspan="10" style="text-align:center;"|'''North Africa'''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Emblem of Algeria.svg|20px|link=Algeria]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Algeria}}
| [[Algeria]]
|style="text-align:right;"|2,381,740
|style="text-align:right;"|46,731,000
|style="text-align:right;"|2022
|style="text-align:right;"|17.7
|[[Algiers]]
| الجزائر (al-Jazāʾir)/Algérie
| DZA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Canary Islands}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Canary Islands}}
|[[Canary Islands]] (Spain){{efn|The Spanish [[Canary Islands]], of which [[Las Palmas de Gran Canaria]] are [[Santa Cruz de Tenerife]] are co-capitals, are often considered part of Northern Africa due to their relative proximity to [[Morocco]] and [[Western Sahara]]; population and area figures are for 2001.}}
|style="text-align:right;"|7,492
|style="text-align:right;"|2,154,905
|style="text-align:right;"|2017
|style="text-align:right;"|226
|[[Las Palmas de Gran Canaria]],<br>[[Santa Cruz de Tenerife]]
| Canarias
| IC
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Italy}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Italy}}
| style="text-align:left" | [[Pelagie Islands]] (Italy)
|style="text-align:right;"| 25.5
|style="text-align:right;"| 6,556
|style="text-align:right;"| 2019
|style="text-align:right;"| 247
| style="text-align:left" | [[Lampedusa]]
| Pelagie/Isole Pelagie/Ìsuli Pilaggî
| ITA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Ceuta}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Ceuta}}
|[[Ceuta]] (Spain){{efn|The Spanish [[exclave]] of [[Ceuta]] is surrounded on land by Morocco in Northern Africa; population and area figures are for 2001.}}
|style="text-align:right;"|20
|style="text-align:right;"|85,107
|style="text-align:right;"|2017
|style="text-align:right;"|3,575
|—
| Ceuta/Sebta/سَبْتَة (Sabtah)
| EA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Egypt}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Egypt}}
|[[Egypt]]{{efn|[[Egypt]] is generally considered a [[List of transcontinental countries|transcontinental country]] in Northern Africa (UN region) and Western Asia; population and area figures are for African portion only, west of the [[Suez Canal]].}}
|style="text-align:right;"|1,001,450
|style="text-align:right;"|82,868,000
|style="text-align:right;"|2012
|style="text-align:right;"|83
|[[Cairo]]
| مِصر (Miṣr)
| EGY
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Seal of the Government of National Unity (Libya).svg|20px|link=Libya]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Libya}}
|[[Libya]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,759,540
|style="text-align:right;"|6,310,434
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|4
|[[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]]
| ليبيا (Lībiyā)
| LBY
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Madeira}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Madeira}}
|[[Madeira]] (Portugal){{efn|The Portuguese [[Madeira Islands]] are often considered part of Northern Africa due to their relative proximity to Morocco; population and area figures are for 2001.}}
|style="text-align:right;"|797
|style="text-align:right;"|245,000
|style="text-align:right;"|2001
|style="text-align:right;"|307
|[[Funchal]]
| Madeira
| PRT-30
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Melilla}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Melilla}}
|[[Melilla]] (Spain){{efn|The Spanish [[exclave]] of [[Melilla]] is surrounded on land by Morocco in Northern Africa; population and area figures are for 2001.}}
|style="text-align:right;"|12
|style="text-align:right;"|85,116
|style="text-align:right;"|2017
|style="text-align:right;"|5,534
|—
| Melilla/Mlilt/مليلية
| EA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Morocco}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Morocco}}
|[[Morocco]]
|style="text-align:right;"|446,550
|style="text-align:right;"|35,740,000
|style="text-align:right;"|2017
|style="text-align:right;"|78
|[[Rabat]]
| المغرب (al-maḡrib)/ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ (lmeɣrib)/Maroc
| MAR
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Sudan}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Sudan}}
|[[Sudan]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,861,484
|style="text-align:right;"|30,894,000
|style="text-align:right;"|2008
|style="text-align:right;"|17
|[[Khartoum]]
| Sudan/السودان (as-Sūdān)
| SDN
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Tunisia}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Tunisia}}
|[[Tunisia]]
|style="text-align:right;"|163,610
|style="text-align:right;"|10,486,339
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|64
|[[Tunis]]
| تونس (Tūnis)/Tunest/Tunisie
| TUN
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Coat of arms of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.svg|20px|link=Western Sahara]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Western Sahara}}
| [[Western Sahara]]{{efn|name="Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic"|The territory of [[Western Sahara]] is claimed by the [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]] and [[Morocco]]. The [[SADR]] is recognized as a sovereign state by the [[African Union]]. [[Morocco]] claims the entirety of the country as its [[Southern Provinces]]. Morocco administers 4/5 of the territory while the SADR controls 1/5. Morocco's annexation of this territory has not been recognized internationally.}}
|style="text-align:right;"|266,000
|style="text-align:right;"|405,210
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|2
|[[El Aaiún]]
| الصحراء الغربية (aṣ-Ṣaḥrā' al-Gharbiyyah)/Taneẓroft Tutrimt/Sáhara Occidental
| ESH
|- style="background:#eee;"
|colspan="10" style="text-align:center;"|'''East Africa'''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Burundi}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Burundi}}
| [[Burundi]]
|style="text-align:right;"|27,830
|style="text-align:right;"|8,988,091
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|323
|[[Gitega]]
| Uburundi/Burundi/Burundi
| BDI
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Seal of the Comoros.svg|20px|link=Comoros]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Comoros}}
| [[Comoros]]
|style="text-align:right;"|2,170
|style="text-align:right;"|752,438
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|347
|[[Moroni, Comoros|Moroni]]
| Komori/Comores/جزر القمر  (Juzur al-Qumur)
| COM
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Djibouti}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Djibouti}}
| [[Djibouti]]
|style="text-align:right;"|23,000
|style="text-align:right;"|828,324
|style="text-align:right;"|2015
|style="text-align:right;"|22
|[[Djibouti (city)|Djibouti]]
| Yibuuti/جيبوتي (Jībūtī)/Djibouti/Jabuuti
| DJI
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Eritrea}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Eritrea}}
| [[Eritrea]]
|style="text-align:right;"|121,320
|style="text-align:right;"|5,647,168
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|47
|[[Asmara]]
| Eritrea
| ERI
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Ethiopia}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Ethiopia}}
| [[Ethiopia]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,127,127
|style="text-align:right;"|84,320,987
|style="text-align:right;"|2012
|style="text-align:right;"|75
|[[Addis Ababa]]
| ኢትዮጵያ (Ītyōṗṗyā)/Itiyoophiyaa/ኢትዮጵያ/Itoophiyaa/Itoobiya/ኢትዮጵያ
| ETH
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:BlasonTAAF.svg|25px]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|French Southern and Antarctic Lands}}
| [[French Southern and Antarctic Lands|French Southern Territories]] (France)
|style="text-align:right;"|439,781
|style="text-align:right;"|100
|style="text-align:right;"|2019
|style="text-align:right;"|—
|[[Saint-Pierre, Réunion|Saint Pierre]]
| Terres australes et antarctiques françaises
| FRA-TF
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Kenya}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Kenya}}
| [[Kenya]]
|style="text-align:right;"|582,650
|style="text-align:right;"|39,002,772
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|66
|[[Nairobi]]
| Kenya
| KEN
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Seal of Madagascar.svg|20px|link=Madagascar]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Madagascar}}
| [[Madagascar]]
|style="text-align:right;"|587,040
|style="text-align:right;"|20,653,556
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|35
|[[Antananarivo]]
| Madagasikara/Madagascar
| MDG
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Malawi}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Malawi}}
|[[Malawi]]
|style="text-align:right;"|118,480
|style="text-align:right;"|14,268,711
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|120
|[[Lilongwe]]
| Malaŵi/Malaŵi
| MWI
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Mauritius}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Mauritius}}
|[[Mauritius]]
|style="text-align:right;"|2,040
|style="text-align:right;"|1,284,264
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|630
|[[Port Louis]]
| Mauritius/Maurice/Moris
| MUS
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Mayotte}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Mayotte}}
|[[Mayotte]] (France)
|style="text-align:right;"|374
|style="text-align:right;"|223,765
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|490
|[[Mamoudzou]]
| Mayotte/Maore/Maiôty
| MYT
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Emblem of Mozambique.svg|20px|link=Mozambique]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Mozambique}}
|[[Mozambique]]
|style="text-align:right;"|801,590
|style="text-align:right;"|21,669,278
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|27
|[[Maputo]]
| Moçambique/Mozambiki/Msumbiji/Muzambhiki
| MOZ
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Réunion}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Réunion}}
| [[Réunion]] (France)
|style="text-align:right;"|2,512
|style="text-align:right;"|743,981
|style="text-align:right;"|2002
|style="text-align:right;"|296
|[[Saint-Denis, Réunion|Saint Denis]]
| La Réunion
| FRA-RE
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Rwanda}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Rwanda}}
| [[Rwanda]]
|style="text-align:right;"|26,338
|style="text-align:right;"|10,473,282
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|398
|[[Kigali]]
| Rwanda
| RWA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Seychelles}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Seychelles}}
|[[Seychelles]]
|style="text-align:right;"|455
|style="text-align:right;"|87,476
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|192
|[[Victoria, Seychelles|Victoria]]
| Seychelles/Sesel
| SYC
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Somalia}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Somalia}}
|[[Somalia]]
|style="text-align:right;"|637,657
|style="text-align:right;"|9,832,017
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|15
|[[Mogadishu]]
| 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖 (Soomaaliya) /الصومال (aṣ-Ṣūmāl)
| SOM
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Emblem of Somaliland.svg|20px|link=Somaliland]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Somaliland}}
|[[Somaliland]]
|style="text-align:right;"|176,120
|style="text-align:right;"|5,708,180
|style="text-align:right;"|2021
|style="text-align:right;"|25
|[[Hargeisa]]
| Soomaaliland/صوماليلاند (Ṣūmālīlānd)
|
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|South Sudan}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|South Sudan}}
|[[South Sudan]]
|style="text-align:right;"|619,745
|style="text-align:right;"|8,260,490
|style="text-align:right;"|2008
|style="text-align:right;"|13
|[[Juba]]
| South Sudan
| SSD
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Tanzania}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Tanzania}}
|[[Tanzania]]
|style="text-align:right;"|945,087
|style="text-align:right;"|44,929,002
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|43
|[[Dodoma]]
| Tanzania/Tanzania
| TZA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Uganda}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Uganda}}
|[[Uganda]]
|style="text-align:right;"|236,040
|style="text-align:right;"|32,369,558
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|137
|[[Kampala]]
| Uganda/Yuganda
| UGA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Zambia}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Zambia}}
|[[Zambia]]
|style="text-align:right;"|752,614
|style="text-align:right;"|11,862,740
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|16
|[[Lusaka]]
| Zambia
| ZMB
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Zimbabwe}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Zimbabwe}}
|[[Zimbabwe]]
|style="text-align:right;"|390,580
|style="text-align:right;"|11,392,629
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|29
|[[Harare]]
| Zimbabwe
| ZWE
|-
|colspan="10" style="background:#eee; text-align:center;"|'''Central Africa'''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Emblem of Angola.svg|20px|link=Angola]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Angola}}
|[[Angola]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,246,700
|style="text-align:right;"|12,799,293
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|10
|[[Luanda]]
| Angola
| AGO
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Cameroon}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Cameroon}}
|[[Cameroon]]
|style="text-align:right;"|475,440
|style="text-align:right;"|18,879,301
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|40
|[[Yaoundé]]
| Cameroun/Kamerun
| CMR
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Central African Republic}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Central African Republic}}
|[[Central African Republic]]
|style="text-align:right;"|622,984
|style="text-align:right;"|4,511,488
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|7
|[[Bangui]]
| Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka/République centrafricaine
| CAF
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Chad}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Chad}}
|[[Chad]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,284,000
|style="text-align:right;"|10,329,208
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|8
|[[N'Djamena]]
| تشاد (Tšād)/Tchad
| TCD
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Republic of the Congo}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Republic of the Congo}}
|[[Republic of the Congo]]
|style="text-align:right;"|342,000
|style="text-align:right;"|4,012,809
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|12
|[[Brazzaville]]
| Congo/Kôngo/Kongó
| COG
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
|[[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
|style="text-align:right;"|2,345,410
|style="text-align:right;"|69,575,000
|style="text-align:right;"|2012
|style="text-align:right;"|30
|[[Kinshasa]]
| République démocratique du Congo
| COD
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Equatorial Guinea}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Equatorial Guinea}}
|[[Equatorial Guinea]]
|style="text-align:right;"|28,051
|style="text-align:right;"|633,441
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|23
|[[Malabo]]
| Guinea Ecuatorial/Guinée Équatoriale/Guiné Equatorial
| GNQ
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Gabon}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Gabon}}
|[[Gabon]]
|style="text-align:right;"|267,667
|style="text-align:right;"|1,514,993
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|6
|[[Libreville]]
| Gabon
| GAB
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Insigne Insularum Sancti Thomae et Principis.png|25px]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|São Tomé and Príncipe}}
| [[São Tomé and Príncipe]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,001
|style="text-align:right;"|212,679
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|212
|[[São Tomé]]
| São Tomé e Príncipe
| STP
|- style="background:#eee;"
|colspan="10" style="text-align:center;"|'''Southern Africa'''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Botswana}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Botswana}}
|[[Botswana]]
|style="text-align:right;"|600,370
|style="text-align:right;"|1,990,876
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|3
|[[Gaborone]]
| Botswana/Botswana
| BWA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Eswatini}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Eswatini}}
|[[Eswatini]]
|style="text-align:right;"|17,363
|style="text-align:right;"|1,123,913
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|65
|[[Mbabane]]
| eSwatini/Eswatini
| SWZ
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Lesotho}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Lesotho}}
|[[Lesotho]]
|style="text-align:right;"|30,355
|style="text-align:right;"|2,130,819
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|70
|[[Maseru]]
| Lesotho/Lesotho
| LSO
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Namibia}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Namibia}}
| [[Namibia]]
|style="text-align:right;"|825,418
|style="text-align:right;"|2,108,665
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|3
|[[Windhoek]]
| Namibia
| NAM
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Coat of arms of South Africa (heraldic).svg|20px|link=South Africa]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|South Africa}}
|[[South Africa]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,219,912
|style="text-align:right;"|51,770,560
|style="text-align:right;"|2011
|style="text-align:right;"|42
|[[Bloemfontein]], [[Cape Town]], [[Pretoria]]{{efn|[[Bloemfontein]] is the judicial capital of South Africa, while [[Cape Town]] is its legislative seat, and [[Pretoria]] is the country's administrative seat.}}
| yaseNingizimu Afrika/yoMzantsi-Afrika/Suid-Afrika/Afrika-Borwa/Aforika Borwa/Afrika Borwa/Afrika Dzonga/yeNingizimu Afrika/Afurika Tshipembe/yeSewula Afrika
| ZAF
|- style="background:#eee;"
|colspan="10" style="text-align:center;"|'''West Africa'''
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Benin}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Benin}}
| [[Benin]]
|style="text-align:right;"|112,620
|style="text-align:right;"|8,791,832
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|78
|[[Porto-Novo]]
| Bénin
| BEN
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Burkina Faso}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Burkina Faso}}
| [[Burkina Faso]]
|style="text-align:right;"|274,200
|style="text-align:right;"|15,746,232
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|57
|[[Ouagadougou]]
| Burkina Faso
| BFA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:Coat of arms of Cape Verde.svg|20px|link=Cape Verde]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Cape Verde}}
| [[Cape Verde]]
|style="text-align:right;"|4,033
|style="text-align:right;"|429,474
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|107
|[[Praia]]
| Cabo Verde/Kabu Verdi
| CPV
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|The Gambia}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|The Gambia}}
| [[The Gambia]]
|style="text-align:right;"|11,300
|style="text-align:right;"|1,782,893
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|158
|[[Banjul]]
| The Gambia
| GMB
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Ghana}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Ghana}}
| [[Ghana]]
|style="text-align:right;"|239,460
|style="text-align:right;"|23,832,495
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|100
|[[Accra]]
| Ghana
| GHA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Guinea}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Guinea}}
| [[Guinea]]
|style="text-align:right;"|245,857
|style="text-align:right;"|10,057,975
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|41
|[[Conakry]]
| Guinée
| GIN
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Guinea-Bissau}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Guinea-Bissau}}
| [[Guinea-Bissau]]
|style="text-align:right;"|36,120
|style="text-align:right;"|1,533,964
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|43
|[[Bissau]]
| Guiné-Bissau
| GNB
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Ivory Coast}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Ivory Coast}}
|[[Ivory Coast]]
|style="text-align:right;"|322,460
|style="text-align:right;"|20,617,068
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|64
|[[Abidjan]],{{efn|[[Yamoussoukro]] is the official capital of [[Ivory Coast]], while [[Abidjan]] is the ''de facto'' seat.}} [[Yamoussoukro]]
| Côte d'Ivoire
| CIV
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Liberia}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Liberia}}
|[[Liberia]]
|style="text-align:right;"|111,370
|style="text-align:right;"|3,441,790
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|31
|[[Monrovia]]
| Liberia
| LBR
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Mali}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Mali}}
|[[Mali]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,240,000
|style="text-align:right;"|12,666,987
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|10
|[[Bamako]]
| Mali/Maali/مالي (Mālī)/𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Maali)/ߡߊߟߌ (Mali)
| MLI
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[File:National Seal of Mauritania.svg|20px|link=Mauritania]]
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Mauritania}}
|[[Mauritania]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,030,700
|style="text-align:right;"|3,129,486
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|3
|[[Nouakchott]]
| موريتانيا (Mūrītānyā)
| MRT
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Niger}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Niger}}
|[[Niger]]
|style="text-align:right;"|1,267,000
|style="text-align:right;"|15,306,252
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|12
|[[Niamey]]
| Niger
| NER
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Nigeria}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Nigeria}}
|[[Nigeria]]
|style="text-align:right;"|923,768
|style="text-align:right;"|166,629,000
|style="text-align:right;"|2012
|style="text-align:right;"|180
|[[Abuja]]
| Nigeria
| NGA
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|United Kingdom}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha}}
|[[Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]] (United Kingdom)
|style="text-align:right;"|420
|style="text-align:right;"|7,728
|style="text-align:right;"|2012
|style="text-align:right;"|13
|[[Jamestown, Saint Helena|Jamestown]]
| Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
| SHN
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Senegal}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Senegal}}
|[[Senegal]]
|style="text-align:right;"|196,190
|style="text-align:right;"|13,711,597
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|70
|[[Dakar]]
| Sénégal
| SEN
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Sierra Leone}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Sierra Leone}}
|[[Sierra Leone]]
|style="text-align:right;"|71,740
|style="text-align:right;"|6,440,053
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|90
|[[Freetown]]
| Sierra Leone
| SLE
|-
| style="text-align:center" | {{Coat of arms|text=none|Togo}}
| style="text-align:center" | {{flagicon|Togo}}
|[[Togo]]
|style="text-align:right;"|56,785
|style="text-align:right;"|6,019,877
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|106
|[[Lomé]]
| Togo
| TGO
|- style="font-weight:bold; background:#eee;"
| colspan="3" | Africa Total
|style="text-align:right;"|30,368,609
|style="text-align:right;"|1,001,320,281
|style="text-align:right;"|2009
|style="text-align:right;"|33
! colspan="3"|
|}
<!--end country info table + refs-->

==See also==
{{Portal|Africa}}
<!-- *[[Bibliography of Africa]] -->
* [[Index of Africa-related articles]]
* [[African historiography]]
* [[Outline of Africa]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{Cite journal |last=Brantlinger |first=Patrick |title=Victorians and Africans: The Genealogy of the Myth of the Dark Continent |journal=Critical Inquiry |volume=12 |issue=1 |date=1985 |pages=166–203 |jstor=1343467 |s2cid=161311164 |doi=10.1086/448326 |url=http://www.uwf.edu/dearle/imperialadventure/imperial%20adventure/documents/brantlinger%20victorians%20and%20africans.pdf}}
* {{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Robert O. | author1-link = Robert O. Collins | last2=Burns |first2=James M. |year=2007 |title=A History of Sub-Saharan Africa |location=NY |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-68708-9}}
* {{Cite book|last=Malone|first=Jacqui|url= |title=Steppin' on the Blues: the Visible Rhythms of African American Dance|date=1996|publisher=University of Illinois Press|oclc=891842452}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Ronald |first2=John |last2=Gallagher |last3=Denny |first3=Alice |title=Africa and the Victorians: The official mind of imperialism |publisher=Macmillan |date=1961 |ol=17989466M |edition=2 |isbn=9780333310069}}
* {{cite book |last1=Shillington |first1=Kevin |title=History of Africa |date=2005 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-333-59957-0}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Southall |first1=Roger |last2=Melber |first2=Henning |author-link=Henning Melber |title=A New Scramble For Africa?: Imperialism, Investment and Development |publisher=University of KwaZulu-Natal Press |date=2009}}
* {{Cite book|last=Welsh-Asante|first=Kariamu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrbrTfSO3fwC|title=African Dance|date=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2427-8|language=en}}

==Further reading==
{{see also|Africa Bibliography}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Asante|first=Molefi|author-link=Molefi Asante|title=The History of Africa|publisher=Routledge|location=US|date=2007|isbn=978-0-415-77139-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Clark|first=J. Desmond|author-link=J. Desmond Clark|title=The Prehistory of Africa|publisher=Thames and Hudson|location=London|date=1970|isbn=978-0-500-02069-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Crowder|first=Michael|title=The Story of Nigeria|publisher=Faber|location=London|date=1978|isbn=978-0-571-04947-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Davidson|first=Basil|author-link=Basil Davidson|title=The African Past: Chronicles from Antiquity to Modern Times|publisher=Penguin|location=Harmondsworth|date=1966|oclc=2016817}}
* {{cite book|last1=Gordon|first1=April A.|first2=Donald L.|last2=Gordon|title=Understanding Contemporary Africa|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|location=Boulder|date=1996|isbn=978-1-55587-547-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Khapoya|first=Vincent B.|title=The African experience: an introduction|publisher=Prentice Hall|location=Upper Saddle River, NJ|date=1998|isbn=978-0-13-745852-3|url=https://archive.org/details/africanexperienc00khap}}
* Moore, Clark D., and Ann Dunbar (1968). ''Africa Yesterday and Today'', in series, ''The George School Readings on Developing Lands''. New York: Praeger Publishers.
* [[V. S. Naipaul|Naipaul, V.S.]] ''The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief''. Picador, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-330-47205-0}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Wade|first1=Lizzie|title=Drones and satellites spot lost civilizations in unlikely places|journal=Science|doi=10.1126/science.aaa7864|year=2015|doi-access=}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|n=Category:Africa|voy=Africa}}
'''General information'''
* {{GovPubs|Africa}}  
* {{Britannica|7924}}   
* [https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/africa-human-geography/ Africa: Human Geography] at the [[National Geographic Society]] 
* [https://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/ African & Middle Eastern Reading Room] from the United States [[Library of Congress]]
* [http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/ Africa South of the Sahara] from [[Stanford University]]
* [http://www.aluka.org/ Aluka], digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa

'''History'''
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_section10.shtml The Story of Africa] from [[BBC World Service]]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Africa | volume= 1 | pages = 320–358 |short= 1}}

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