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P:AFRICA

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km² (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area. With 1.3 billion people as of 2018, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita, in part due to geographic impediments, legacies of European colonization in Africa and the Cold War, undemocratic rule and deleterious policies. 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 straddles the Equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except by for a large part of Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, the northern tip of Mauritania, the entire territories of Morocco, Ceuta, Melilla and Tunisia which in turn are located above the tropic of Cancer, in the northern temperate zone and in the other extreme of the continent southern Namibia, southern Botsuana, great part of South Africa, the entire territories of Lesoto and eSwatini and the southern tips of Mozambique and Madagascar are located below the tropic of Capricorn, in the southern temperate zone.

Africa is home to much biodiversity; it is the continent with the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. However, Africa also is heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues, including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, and other issues. These entrenched environmental concerns are expected to worsen as climate change impacts Africa. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified Africa as the continent most vulnerable to climate change.

Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, is widely accepted as the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes), meaning that Africa has a long and complex history. 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, date to circa 200,000, 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. (Full article...)

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GhanaSat-1 was the first Ghanaian nanosatellite to be launched into space. It was designed and built in two years in conjunction with the Kyushu Institute of Technology Birds-1 program, which has the goal of helping countries build their first satellite.

The satellite took images, collected atmospheric data, measured space radiation, and transmitted uploaded audio. GhanaSat-1 was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Falcon 9 rocket. It was released into space from the Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer on the ISS on 7 July 2017 and was used to monitor environmental activities along Ghana's coastline. The satellite deorbited on 22 May 2019. (Full article...)

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Image 1

Photo credit: User:Matt-80

Soweto is an urban area in the City of Johannesburg, in Gauteng, South Africa. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation, short for South Western Townships.
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Photo credit: yaaaay

The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. The lion is the second largest feline species, after the tiger. The male lion, easily recognized by his mane, weighs between 150–250 kg (330–500 lb). Females range 120–150 kg (260–330 lb). In the wild, lions live for around 10–14 years, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. Though they were once found throughout much of Africa, Asia and Europe, lions presently exist in the wild only in Africa and India.
Image 3

Photo credit: schani

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an endangered member of the cat family (Felidae), a poor climber that hunts by speed and stealth. It is the fastest of all land animals and can reach speeds of more than 105 kilometres per hour (65 mph) in short bursts up to 460 metres (500 yd), as well as being able to accelerate from 0 to 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) in three seconds. The word "cheetah" is derived from the Sanskrit word citrakāyaḥ चित्रकायः meaning "variegated body", via the Hindi cītā चीता.
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Photo credit: User:Movingsaletoday

Chamaeleo jacksonii (common names Jackson's Chameleon or Three-horned Chameleon) is an African chameleon belonging to the chameleon family (Chamaeleonidae). It is native to the humid, cooler regions of Kenya and Tanzania.
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Image credit: Mark Dingemanse

The Senufo languages comprise approximately 15 languages spoken by the Senufo in West Africa. They are generally considered a branch of the Gur sub-family of Niger-Congo languages.
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Photo credit: Mila Zinkova

Leucospermum (Pincushion or Pincushion Protea) is a genus of about 50 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to Zimbabwe and South Africa, where they occupy a variety of habitats, including scrub, forest, and mountain slopes.
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Photo credit: USDA

Strelitzia is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. The genus is named after the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, birthplace of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom. The common name of the genus is bird of paradise flower, because of a supposed resemblance of its flowers to the bird of paradise. In South Africa it is commonly known as a "crane" flower.

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... that Dutch malacologist Adolph Cornelis van Bruggen is an expert in African land snails?
... that a 20‑day study reported by BirdLife International discovered 265 species of birds in Nki National Park?
... that Kalulu, an African boy who died in 1877, was modeled in Madame Tussauds and attended Dr. Livingstone's funeral in London?
... that Samuel Jackman Prescod became the first person of African descent elected to the Parliament of Barbados?

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Makeba during a performance

Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, United Nations goodwill ambassador, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa.

Born in Johannesburg to Swazi and Xhosa parents, Makeba was forced to find employment as a child after the death of her father. She had a brief and allegedly abusive first marriage at the age of 17, gave birth to her only child in 1950, and survived breast cancer. Her vocal talent had been recognized when she was a child, and she began singing professionally in the 1950s, with the Cuban Brothers, the Manhattan Brothers, and an all-woman group, the Skylarks, performing a mixture of jazz, traditional African melodies, and Western popular music. In 1959, Makeba had a brief role in the anti-apartheid film Come Back, Africa, which brought her international attention, and led to her performing in Venice, London, and New York City. In London, she met the American singer Harry Belafonte, who became a mentor and colleague. She moved to New York City, where she became immediately popular, and recorded her first solo album in 1960. Her attempt to return to South Africa that year for her mother's funeral was prevented by the country's government. (Full article...)

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Mauritania (Arabic: موريتانيا‎ Mūrītāniyā), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Moroccan-annexed territory of Western Sahara on the northwest. It is named after the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.

Approximately three-fourths of Mauritania is desert or semidesert. As a result of extended, severe drought, the desert has been expanding since the mid-1960s. A majority of the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though most of the nomads and many subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for almost 50% of total exports. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. (Read more...)

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Collage of Djibouti

Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and in many early English texts and on many early maps, Jibuti; Arabic: مدينة جيبوتي‎, French: Ville de Djibouti, Somali: Magaalada Jabuuti, Afar: Magaala Gabuuti) is the eponymous capital and largest city of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura.

Djibouti has a population of around 600,000 inhabitants, which counts for 54% of the country's population. The settlement was founded in 1888 by the French, on land leased from the ruling Somali and Afar Sultans. During the ensuing period, it served as the capital of French Somaliland and its successor the French Territory of the Afars and Issas. (Full article...)

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In the news

14 June 2021 –: Egypt's highest civilian court upholds the death sentence of 12 members of the Muslim Brotherhood over a 2013 sit-in which ended with security forces opening fire and killing several protesters. The ruling, which cannot be appealed, leaves the men closer to execution with a pending approval by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. (Reuters)
12 June 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic: COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
12 June 2021 –: Dozens of protesters in the Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja are arrested or injured after police fired tear gas at the crowds. The protests, coinciding with a public holiday marking Nigeria's transition to democracy, were organized to protest President Muhammadu Buhari's Twitter ban and numerous other issues plaguing his administration, with protestors calling for his resignation. (Al Jazeera English); Violent clashes between the youth and the police break out in the Tunisian capital of Tunis during the evening, following protests over the Tuesday killing of a police detainee. (France 24)
12 June 2021 – 2021 Algerian legislative election: Algerian citizens head to the polls to vote for a new session to the People's National Assembly for the first time since former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was deposed in 2019. Turnout is the lowest in 20 years due to boycotts over the arrest of seven Hirak movement leaders. (Al Jazeera English)
11 June 2021 – 2021 United Nations Security Council election: Gabon, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Ghana and Albania are elected non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for the 2022–2023 term. (Reuters)

Updated: 3:33, 15 June 2021

General images

The following are images from various Africa-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1"Benin Bronze" (brass) (from History of Africa)
Image 2Ruins of Qa'ableh, an early center of Somali civilization (from History of Africa)
Image 3Oyo Empire and surrounding states, c. 1625 (from History of Africa)
Image 4An Ethiopian woman preparing Ethiopian coffee at a traditional ceremony. She roasts, crushes, and brews the coffee on the spot. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 5The Citadel of Gondershe, Somalia was an important city in the medieval Somali Ajuran Empire (from History of Africa)
Image 6The end result of the Boer Wars was the annexation of the Boer Republics to the British Empire in 1902 (from History of Africa)
Image 7Central mosque in Nouakchott, Mauritania (from Culture of Africa)
Image 8Dates of independence of African countries (from History of Africa)
Image 9Fayum mummy portrait of Demetrios, a citizen of Roman Egypt, c. 100 AD, Brooklyn Museum (from History of Africa)
Image 101 = 3000 – 1500 BC origin
2 = c. 1500 BC first migrations
2.a = Eastern Bantu,
2.b = Western Bantu
3 = 1000 – 500 BC Urewe nucleus of Eastern Bantu
4 – 7 = southward advance
9 = 500 BC – 0 Congo nucleus
10 = 0 – 1000 CE last phase (from History of Africa)
Image 11Pre-colonial African states from different time periods (from History of Africa)
Image 12Fatimid Caliphate (from History of Africa)
Image 13Carthaginian Empire (from History of Africa)
Image 14Nok sculpture, terracotta, Louvre (from History of Africa)
Image 15Herero and Nama territories (from History of Africa)
Image 16Nubian Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Africa)
Image 17Zulu warriors (from History of Africa)
Image 18Ashanti Kente cloth patterns (from Culture of Africa)
Image 19Comparison of Africa in the years 1880 and 1913 (from History of Africa)
Image 20The Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Mosque of Uqba), first built in 670 by the Umayyad general Uqba Ibn Nafi, is the oldest and most prestigious mosque in the Maghreb and North Africa, located in the city of Kairouan, Tunisia (from History of Africa)
Image 21Christian Nubia and the Nile cataracts (from History of Africa)
Image 22The Battle of Ngomano in November 1917 (from History of Africa)
Image 23A terra-cotta head sculpture (1100-1500) of the Yoruba, showing extraordinary naturalism. This head represents the oni or king of Ife. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 24Sudan basket-tray, tabar of weaved natural plant fiber, in different colors (from Culture of Africa)
Image 25Map of Ancient Egypt and nomes (from History of Africa)
Image 26Political map of Southern Africa in 1885 (from History of Africa)
Image 27Potjiekos is a traditional Afrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 28The Ghana Empire (from History of Africa)
Image 29Almohad Empire, c. 1200 (from History of Africa)
Image 30King Fasilides's Castle (from History of Africa)
Image 31The Songhai Empire, c. 1500 (from History of Africa)
Image 32African biface artifact (spear point) dated in Late Stone Age period (from History of Africa)
Image 33A woman in Kenya wearing kanga (from Culture of Africa)
Image 34Northern Africa under Roman rule (from History of Africa)
Image 35Aksum Obelisk, symbol of the Aksumite civilization (from History of Africa)
Image 36Yoruba drummers at celebration in Ojumo Oro, Kwara State, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Image 37Dahomey Amazons, an all-women fighting unit (from History of Africa)
Image 38South African ethnic groups (from History of Africa)
Image 39Ambazonian nationalism gained steam in 1982 (from History of Africa)
Image 40Ruins of Carthage (from History of Africa)
Image 41Central and east Africa, 1898, during the Fashoda Incident. (from History of Africa)
Image 42South African-occupied South West Africa (1915–1990) and maximum extent of South African and UNITA operations in Angola and Zambia during the Angolan Civil War (from History of Africa)
Image 43The Kanem and Bornu Empires in 1810 (from History of Africa)
Image 44Kongo in 1711 (from History of Africa)
Image 45The pyramids of Giza, symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt (from History of Africa)
Image 46Major states of Middle Africa in 1750 (from History of Africa)
Image 47Maravi Kingdom (from History of Africa)
Image 48Fresh Moroccan couscous with vegetables and chickpeas (from Culture of Africa)
Image 49Nubian Temple of Apedemak, Naqa (from History of Africa)
Image 50Arab slave traders and their captives along the Ruvuma River in Mozambique along the Swahili coast. (from History of Africa)
Image 51Italian invasion of Libya in 1911: propaganda postcard made by Italian Army (from History of Africa)
Image 52Sample of the Egyptian Book of the Dead of the scribe Nebqed, c. 1300 BC (from Culture of Africa)
Image 53Fufu (right) is a staple meal in West Africa and Central Africa. It is served here with some peanut soup. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 54French explorer Paul Du Chaillu confirmed the existence of Pygmy peoples of central Africa (from History of Africa)
Image 559th-century bronze staff head in form of a coiled snake, Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria (from History of Africa)
Image 56David Livingstone, early European explorer of the interior of Africa, is attacked by a lion (from History of Africa)
Image 57Abéché, capital of Wadai, in 1918 after the French had taken over (from History of Africa)
Image 58Areas controlled by European powers in 1939. British (red) and Belgian (Orange) colonies fought with the Allies. Italian (green) with the Axis. French colonies (dark blue) fought alongside the Allies until the Fall of France in June 1940. Vichy was in control until the Free French prevailed in late 1942. Portuguese (brown) and Spanish (teal) colonies remained neutral. (from History of Africa)
Image 59Depiction of a Zulu attack on a Boer camp in February 1838 (from History of Africa)
Image 60Contemporary political map of Africa (Includes Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa) (from History of Africa)
Image 61Almnara Tower, Mogadishu. (from History of Africa)
Image 62Queen Ranavalona I (from History of Africa)
Image 63Riffian rebels during the Rif War in Spanish Morocco, 1922 (from History of Africa)
Image 64Ashanti Kente cloth patterns (from History of Africa)
Image 65Lunda town and dwelling (from History of Africa)
Image 66The Almohad minaret in Safi (from History of Africa)
Image 671895 .303 tripod mounted Maxim machine gun (from History of Africa)
Image 681916 political map of Africa (from History of Africa)
Image 69Areas controlled by European colonial powers on the African continent in 1914; modern-day borders are shown (from History of Africa)
Image 70Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional folklore dance (from Culture of Africa)
Image 71Aksumite Empire (from History of Africa)
Image 72Mali Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Africa)
Image 73A Yombe sculpture (Louvre, Paris) (from Culture of Africa)
Image 74A traditional Zanzibari-style Swahili coast door in Zanzibar. (from History of Africa)
Image 75BaKongo masks from the Kongo Central region (from Culture of Africa)
Image 76Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performing Adumu, a traditional dance (from Culture of Africa)
Image 77Obelisk at temple of Luxor, Egypt. c. 1200 BC (from History of Africa)
Image 78Reconstruction of the Oikumene (inhabited world) as described by Herodotus in the 5th century BC. (from History of Africa)
Image 79Luba pottery (from History of Africa)
Image 80Towers of Great Zimbabwe. (from History of Africa)
Image 81Baguirmi knight in full padded armour suit (from History of Africa)