Interesting Africa Facts – People of Africa

The continent of Africa is considered to be the second most populous country worldwide with over a billion people.

There are more than one thousand languages spoken by individuals in Africa. There are some estimates which put the languages spoken to as close as two thousand.

The remains of the oldest human which was located in Ethiopia and it was estimated to be over 100 thousand years of age.

Islam is the largest religion in Africa closely followed by Christianity. The population of Africa as at 2009 made more than 14 percent of the population of the world.

There are 45 independent African nations with the addition of the disputed Western Sahara territory. Due to the fast growth in population in the continent of Africa over the last 40 years, its population consists of mostly young individuals. In a majority of the African states, over half of the population are below the age of 20.

Africa is the continent that is most centrally situated of all the continents with both the equator and the prime meridian going through it.

The major region of Africa is popularly recognized as sub-Saharan Africa and it excludes a majority of the Islamic countries of North Africa; Morocco, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Libya. Sub-Saharan Africa consists of 42 nations on the African mainland as well as six island nations.

The most populated country in Africa is Nigeria with an estimated population of more than 170 million individuals. Egypt is considered the second most populated country with more than 76 million people.

The common language in Africa with a variety of dialects is Arabic with more than 170 million speakers which are mostly situated in North Africa.

The city with the highest population in Africa is Egypt with an estimation of 17 million individuals situated in the capital of Cairo. The owners of an Edmonton roofing company that specializes in commercial roofing Edmonton, has told me that visiting Egypt is an absolute must when in Africa.

Algeria is the largest country in Africa with a total of 967,490 square miles while the smallest is the nation of Seychelles with a total of 175 square miles. According to experts, it is estimated that Africa consists of over 3,000 different ethnic tribes. Nigeria alone is made up of over 300 tribes recognized in its population.