WHY AFRICA IS SPECIAL

BY; FUNMINIYI ENIOLA EUNICE

15/03/2021

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. it covers
6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area. Africa's population is the youngest
amongst all the continents. Recent economic expansion and the large and young population make
Africa an important economic market in the broader global context.

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 archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognised
sovereign states (countries), eight territories and two de facto independent states with limited or
no recognition. 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.

HISTORY OF AFRICA

Africa is considered by most paleoanthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth,

with the human species originating from the continent. During the mid-20th century,
anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7
million years ago. Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have
evolved into modern man, Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, is widely accepted as the place of
origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes), the earliest hominids and their ancestors
have been dated to around 7 million years ago, including Sahelanthropus tchadensis,
Australopithecus africanus, A. afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster— the earliest
Homo sapiens (modern human) remains, found in Ethiopia, South Africa, and Morocco, and
Homo sapiens is believed to have originated in Africa.

After the evolution of Homo sapiens the continent was mainly populated by groups of hunter-
gatherers. These first modern humans left Africa and populated the rest of the globe. 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

Today, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries, most of which have borders that were drawn
during the era of European colonialism. Since colonialism, 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, and many
have instead cycled through a series of coups, producing military dictatorships.
In many countries, the military was perceived as being the only group that could effectively
maintain order, and it ruled many nations in Africa during the 1970s and early 1980s. During the
period from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, Africa had more than 70 coups and 13 presidential
assassinations. Border and territorial disputes were also common, with the European-imposed
borders of many nations being widely contested through armed conflicts.

NATURE OF AFRICA

Landscape

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 Isthmus of Suez. Africa's largest country is Algeria, and its smallest country is
Seychelles, an archipelago off the east coast.

Natural and human resources

Africa has a large quantity of natural resources, including diamond, sugar, salt, gold, iron, cobalt,
uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum and cocoa beans, but also woods and tropical fruits
etc. Recent oil reserve discoveries have increased the importance of that commodity on African
economies. Sudan and Nigeria are two of the main oil producers. The United States and
"Europe" took most of the Congo's oil production. Oil is provided by both continental and
offshore productions.

Tourism in Africa

The touristic particularity of Africa lies in the wide variety of points of interest, diversity and
multitudes of landscapes as well as the rich cultural heritage. The successful countries in tourism
are thriving due to a variety of factors. Countries like Morocco and Tunisia benefit from their
beautiful beaches and their relative proximity to Europe. Tourism in Egypt is based on the rich
history of Ancient Egypt, pyramids, artifacts and breathtaking Red Sea beaches. South Africa
and Kenya benefit from wild safari expeditions, attracting tourists to see the wildlife of Africa.

Other reasons why Africa is special

As the second biggest continent in the world, Africa is jam-packed with some of the world’s
biggest things:

• The largest desert in the world, the Sahara Desert (explore it on our Morocco itineraries).

• The longest river in the world, Nile River, which runs for 6,853 km.

• The world’s biggest inland delta, Okavango Delta (see it on our Botswana itineraries).

• Highest freestanding mountain in the world (and one of the Seven Summits), Mount
Kilimanjaro (climb it on our Kilimanjaro treks).
• The world’s oldest desert – the Namib desert in Namibia (see it on our Namibia adventures).

• The world’s largest wildlife migration on Earth takes place in The Serengeti in Tanzania, with
over 750,000 zebra marching ahead of 1.2 million wildebeest as they cross this amazing
landscape (experience it on our Serengeti Explorer).

• It's the home of the largest living land animal, the African elephant, which can weigh up to
seven tons.

• You'll also find four of the five fastest land animals in the world here – the cheetah (70 mph),
wildebeest, lion, and Thomson’s gazelle (all about 50 mph).

• It has the world's largest outdoor art galleries with more rock art sites than any other
continent. Large amounts have been found in the Sahara Desert, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kalahari
and Botswana, though many remain undiscovered because they are situated in remote areas of
the desert or are rarely visited by humans. The oldest known art found has been estimated to be
between 27,000 – 40,000 years old, offering an insight into the ancient people’s beliefs, way of
life and stories (see some of these rock sites on our Namibian Experience trip or on our Ethiopia
Explorer).

Funminiyi Eniola Eunice

07068715840