Portal:Africa

P:AFRICA

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km² (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will exceed 3.8 billion people by 2100. Africa is the least wealthy inhabited continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, corruption, colonialism, the Cold War, and neocolonialism. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and a large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context, and Africa has a large quantity of natural resources.

Africa is highly biodiverse; 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 is also 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 impacts Africa. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified Africa as the continent most vulnerable to climate change.

The history of Africa is long, complex, and varied, and has often been under-appreciated by the global historical community. In African societies the oral word is revered, and they have generally recorded their history via oral tradition, which has led anthropologists to term them "oral civilisations", contrasted with "literate civilisations" which pride the written word. African culture is rich and diverse both within and between the continent's regions, encompassing art, cuisine, music and dance, religion, and dress.

Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, is widely accepted to be the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade, also known as the great apes. The earliest hominids and their ancestors have been dated to around 7 million years ago, and Homo sapiens (modern human) are believed to have originated in Africa 350,000 to 260,000 years ago. In the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE Ancient Egypt, Kerma, Punt, and the Tichitt Tradition emerged in North, East and West Africa, while from 3000 BCE to 500 CE the Bantu expansion swept from modern-day Cameroon through Central, East, and Southern Africa, displacing or absorbing groups such as the Khoisan and Pygmies. Some African empires include Wagadu, Mali, Songhai, Sokoto, Ife, Benin, Asante, the Fatimids, Almoravids, Almohads, Ayyubids, Mamluks, Kongo, Mwene Muji, Luba, Lunda, Kitara, Aksum, Ethiopia, Adal, Ajuran, Kilwa, Sakalava, Imerina, Maravi, Mutapa, Rozvi, Mthwakazi, and Zulu. Despite the predominance of states, many societies were heterarchical and stateless. Slave trades created various diasporas, especially in the Americas. From the late 19th century to early 20th century, driven by the Second Industrial Revolution, most of Africa was rapidly conquered and colonised by European nations, save for Ethiopia and Liberia. European rule had significant impacts on Africa's societies, and colonies were maintained for the purpose of economic exploitation and extraction of natural resources. Most present states emerged from a process of decolonisation following World War II, and established the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, the predecessor to the African Union. The nascent countries decided to keep their colonial borders, with traditional power structures used in governance to varying degrees. (Full article...)

For a topic outline, see Outline of Africa.

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The Battle of Kabalo was fought at Kabalo by United Nations peacekeeping forces and Baluba militias from 7 April to 11 April 1961 against mercenaries and the gendarmerie of the State of Katanga, a secessionist state rebelling against the Republic of the Congo in central Africa. The Katangese forces attacked the town as part of a larger offensive meant to restore their authority in northern Katanga which was challenged by the Baluba. A United Nations Operation in the Congo peacekeeping contingent garrisoning Kabalo, acting under the authority of their mandate to prevent civil war in the country, resisted the initial attack and arrested 30 mercenaries in Katanga's employ. Armed Baluba repelled a Katangese ferry carrying troops as well as an armoured train. The next day the ferry returned but was sunk by UN forces. Fighting continued over the next few days between the Baluba and Katangese until the latter withdrew. The battle led to a deterioration of relations between the Katangese government and the United Nations Operation in the Congo. (Full article...)

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Image 1
Maasai people
Photo: William Warby
Portrait of a Maasai woman, with shaved head, stretched earlobes, and beaded adornments, typical of the Maasai culture. The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known of African ethnic groups, due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa. Their primary language Maa (ɔl Maa) is a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer.
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Image 2
Mikumi National Park

Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

Mikumi National Park is a national park in Mikumi, near Morogoro, Tanzania. The park was established in 1964, currently covers an area of 3230 km² and is the fourth largest in the country. The landscape of Mikumi is often compared to that of the Serengeti. The road that crosses the park divides it into two areas with partially distinct environments. The area north-west is characterized by the alluvial plain of the river basin Mkata. The vegetation of this area consists of savannah dotted with acacia, baobab, tamarinds, and some rare palm. In this area, at the furthest from the road, there are spectacular rock formations of the mountains Rubeho and Uluguru. The southeast part of the park is less rich in wildlife, and not very accessible.
Image 3
Dallol
Photograph credit: Alexander Savin
Dallol is a cinder-cone volcano in the Danakil Depression, northeast of the Erta Ale Range in Ethiopia. The area lies up to 120 m (390 ft) below sea level, and has been repeatedly flooded in the past when waters from the Red Sea have inundated it. The Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places on Earth, and the evaporation of seawater after these flooding episodes produced thick deposits of salt, as seen in this landscape. The deposits at Dallol include significant quantities of the carbonate, sulfate and chloride salts of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Hot springs discharge brine to form the blueish ponds, and small, temporary geysers produce cones of salt.
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Image 4
Pelargonium graveolens
Photo credit: Laitche
The Rose Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) is a plant indigenous to various parts of southern Africa, and in particular South Africa. This specific species has great importance in the perfume industry. Its cultivars have a wide variety of smells, including rose, citrus, mint, coconut and nutmeg, as well as various fruits.
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Image 5
Amphitheatre of El Jem
Photograph: Poco a poco
Panoramic view of the Amphitheatre of El Jem, an archeological site in the city of El Djem, Tunisia. The amphitheatre, one of the best-preserved Roman ruins and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, was built around 238 AD, when modern Tunisia belonged to the Roman province of Africa. It is the third-biggest amphitheatre in the world, with axes of 148 m (486 ft) and 122 m (400 ft) and a seating capacity of 35,000, unique in Africa.
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Image 6
German East African rupie
Banknote design credit: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank; photographed by Andrew Shiva
The rupie was the unit of currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916. During World War I, the colony was cut off from Germany as a result of a wartime blockade and the colonial government needed to create an emergency issue of banknotes. Paper made from linen or jute was initially used, but because of wartime shortages, the notes were later printed on commercial paper in a variety of colours, wrapping paper, and in one instance, wallpaper. This two hundred rupie banknote was issued in 1915, and is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000015-QINU`"'

* 1 rupie
* 5 rupie
* 10 rupie
* 20 rupie
* 50 rupie
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Image 7
Roan antelope
Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp
The roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) is a species of savanna antelope found in western, central and southern Africa. Named for its reddish-brown coat, it has a black face with white patches around the eyes and the mouth, and a short erect mane of greyish brown hair extending from the back of the neck to the rump. This roan antelope, of the subspecies H. e. koba, was photographed in Senegal; the subspecies's range extends from Senegal to Benin in western Africa.
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Image 8
Hippopotamus skull at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Photo credit: Mark Pellegrini

The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), from the Greek ‘ιπποπόταμος (hippopotamos, hippos meaning "horse" and potamos meaning "river"), is a large, mostly plant-eating African mammal, one of only two extant and three or four extinct species in the family Hippopotamidae.
Image 9
Larabanga Mosque
Photograph: Sathyan Velumani
The Larabanga Mosque was built in the Sudanese architectural style in the village of Larabanga, Ghana. It is the oldest mosque in the country and one of the oldest in West Africa, and has been called the "Mecca of West Africa". It has undergone restoration several times since it was founded. The World Monuments Fund has contributed substantially to its restoration, and lists it as one of the 100 most endangered sites.
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Image 10
Eritrean Railway

Credit: User:Tivedshambo

The Eritrean Railway, the only railway system in Eritrea, was constructed between 1887 and 1932 by the Kingdom of Italy for the Italian colony of Eritrea, and connected the port of Massawa with Bishia near the Sudan border. The railway is narrow gauge and is slowly being rebuilt after the devastation wreaked upon it during the war of independence. It still manages to operate, however, despite its newest equipment being nearly fifty years old, with most of it predating World War II. It is one of the few railway systems still in existence (excluding tourist railways) using equipment like the 1930s Italian-built 'Littorina' railcars behind 1930s-vintage Mallet steam locomotives.
Image 11
Baobab
Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
Adansonia digitata is a sub-Saharan African species of baobab tree. The genus, scientifically known as Adansonia, consists of nine species native to Madagascar, Africa, Arabia and Australia, and can reach heights of 5 to 30 m (16 to 98 ft) with trunk diameters of 7 to 11 m (23 to 36 ft).
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Image 12
Tadrart Acacus

Credit: Luca Galuzzi

Tadrart Acacus (Arabic: تدرارت أكاكوس) is a desert area in western Libya and is part of the Sahara. It is situated close to the Libyan city of Ghat. Tadrart means 'mountain' in the native language of the area (Tamahaq language). The Acacus has a large variation of landscapes, from differently coloured sanddunes to arches, gorges, rocks and mountains. Major landmarks are the arches of Afzejare and Tin Khlega. Although this area is one of the most arid of the Sahara, there is vegetation, such as the callotropis plant. The area is known for its rock-art and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 because of the importance of these paintings and carvings.
Image 13
Bareina

Credit: Ferdinand Reus

Bareina is a Bedouin village and rural commune in the Trarza region of south-western Mauritania. As of 2000 it had a population of 14,987. This photo is a view of the village just minutes before rain started.
Image 14
South-West African mark
Banknote: Swakopmund Bookshop (courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)
The South West African mark was a temporary currency issued in South West Africa between 1916 and 1918 as part of the South West Africa campaign. Issued after the conquest of German South West Africa by South Africa, notes were denominated in marks and pfennig, as with the withdrawn German South West African Mark. Many institutions issued banknotes; this two-mark note was issued by the Swakopmund Bookshop. The South-West African mark was replaced in 1918 by the South African pound.
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Image 15
Chamaeleo jacksonii

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.
Image 16
Boy with fodder on bicycle

Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

A Tanzanian boy transports fodder on his bicycle, to feed cattle. In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them), rather than that which they forage for themselves (see forage). It includes hay, straw, silage, compressed and pelleted feeds, oils and mixed rations, and also sprouted grains and legumes.
Image 17
Geography of Africa
Photo: NASA
A composite satellite image of the geography of Africa, the Earth's second-largest continent, and its adjacent islands. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from much of Asia by the Red Sea, Africa is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez. For geopolitical purposes, the Sinai Peninsula – east of the Suez Canal – is often considered part of Africa, although geographically it belongs in Asia. Africa can be divided into a number of geographic zones: The Atlas Mountains in the north, the Sahara, the coastal plains, and the inner plateaus.
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Image 18
Eswatini
Photograph credit: Amada44
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The government is an absolute monarchy, the last of its kind in Africa, and the country has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. One of the country's important cultural events is Umhlanga, the reed-dance festival, held in August or September each year. This photograph shows Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini, the eldest daughter of Mswati III, at the 2006 festival.
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Image 19
Sable antelope
Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
The sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) is an antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in eastern and southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separate population in Angola. The species is sexually dimorphic, with the male heavier and about one-fifth taller than the female. It has a compact and robust build, characterized by a thick neck and tough skin, and both sexes have ringed horns which arch backward. The sable antelope has four subspecies.

This picture shows an adult male common sable antelope (H. n. niger) in the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa.
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... that weightlifter Oun Yao-ling was asked to compete in the South African Games, but the invitation was swiftly rescinded once the organisers learned that he was Chinese, not white?
... that Their Highest Potential shows the positive side of segregated schools, as written by a student who was taught in one?
... that the catalogue for Tanzania. Masterworks of African Sculpture highlighted traditional artworks such as a Sukuma mask?
... that African-American journalist Erna P. Harris was called a "fearless critic" of the internment of Japanese Americans by the US government during World War II?
... that after anti-apartheid activist David Rabkin was sentenced to prison in South Africa, he gave the courtroom the clenched-fist black power salute?
... that a lack of screening for pregnant women with syphilis in sub-Saharan Africa is associated with increased infant mortality?

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Edson Chagas (born 1977) is an Angolan photographer. Trained as a photojournalist, his works explore cities and consumerism. His Found Not Taken series resituates abandoned objects elsewhere within cities. His other large-format photograph series play on tropes related to African masks. Oikonomos consists of self-portraits of Chagas with shopping bags over his head as symbols of consumerism in Luanda, his home city. The passport-style photographs of Tipo Passe show models wearing nondescript, contemporary clothes and traditional African masks.

Chagas represented Angola at the 2013 Venice Biennale, for which he won its Golden Lion for best national pavilion. His works have also exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, and Brooklyn Museum. (Full article...)

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Flag of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire (officially the République de Côte d'Ivoire), formerly known as Ivory Coast, is a country in West Africa. It borders Liberia and Guinea to the west, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.

From independence in 1960 until 1993, it was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny and was closely associated economically and politically with its West African neighbors and maintained close ties to the West, which helped its economic development and political stability. Following the end of Houphoët-Boigny's rule, this stability was destroyed by two coups (1999 and 2001) and the Ivorian Civil War.

Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with strong executive power personified in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the official language is French. The economy is largely market-based and relies heavily on agriculture, with smallholder cash crop production being dominant. (Read more...)

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Aerial view of Benin City

Benin City serves as the capital and largest metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in southern Nigeria. It ranks as the fourth-most populous city in Nigeria, according to the 2006 national census, preceded by Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan. (Full article...)

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In the news

24 April 2025 – Somali Civil War: Al-Shabaab militants seize the town of Wargaadhi and its military base in Middle Shabelle, Somalia. More than 40 militants and twelve clan fighters are killed in related combat. (Al Jazeera)
24 April 2025 – Islamist insurgency in the Sahel: The Beninese government announces that 54 soldiers were killed in an attack by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) in the north of the country last week, after previously announcing only eight soldiers were killed. JNIM claims 70 soldiers were killed in the attack. (BBC)
22 April 2025 –: Interpol rescues 33 West Africans, including people from Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Ghana, from human trafficking rings in the Ivory Coast. (AP)
21 April 2025 – Spillover of the Sudanese civil war: 2025 Nasir clashes; The South Sudan People's Defence Forces capture the town of Nasir in Upper Nile State from the Nuer White Army. (Reuters)
21 April 2025 – Boko Haram insurgency: The Islamic State claims responsibility for a series of deadly attacks targeting Christians and security forces in Borno and Adamawa, Nigeria earlier this month that killed at least nine people and injured several others. (Reuters)

Updated: 17:05, 25 April 2025

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

Image 1Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of paintings in Tanzania, Kenya and neighbouring countries. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 2Ancient Kano City Walls, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Image 3Traditional male dancers from Northern Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Image 4Gateway to the Castle of Good Hope in South Africa (from Culture of Africa)
Image 5Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional folklore dance (from Culture of Africa)
Image 6Romanised-Berber kingdoms: Altava, Ouarsenis, Hodna, Aures, Nemencha, Capsus, Dorsale, Cabaon. (from History of Africa)
Image 7Ruby, Egyptian singer performing (from Culture of Africa)
Image 8The Umayyad Caliphate at its greatest extent, under Caliph Umar II, c. 720 (from History of Africa)
Image 9Map of the western Sahel and Sudan (northern West Africa) c. 1200. (Songhai is Gao)
Kingdoms in this era were centred around cities and cores, with variations of influence radiating out from these points, borders here are estimates. (from History of Africa)
Image 10The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Africa)
Image 11
1 = 2000–1500 BC origin

2 = c. 1500 BC first dispersal
2.a = Eastern Bantu
2.b = Western Bantu

3 = 1000–500 BC Urewe nucleus of Eastern Bantu

4–7 = southward advance

9 = 500–1 BC Congo nucleus

10 = AD 1–1000 last phase (from History of Africa)
Image 12Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, one of the most iconic singers in African history (from Culture of Africa)
Image 13Sudan basket-tray, tabar of weaved natural plant fiber, in different colors (from Culture of Africa)
Image 14Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performing Adumu, a traditional dance (from Culture of Africa)
Image 15The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (from Culture of Africa)
Image 16BaKongo masks from the Kongo Central region (from Culture of Africa)
Image 17Sample of the Egyptian Book of the Dead of the scribe Nebqed, c. 1300 BC (from Culture of Africa)
Image 18Nok sculpture (from History of Africa)
Image 19Yoruba drummers at celebration in Ojumo Oro, Kwara State, Nigeria (from Culture of Africa)
Image 20Central mosque in Nouakchott, Mauritania (from Culture of Africa)
Image 21Ashanti Kente cloth patterns (from Culture of Africa)
Image 22Side view of cast of "Lucy" in the Naturmuseum Senckenberg (from History of Africa)
Image 23Map of ancient Egypt, showing major cities and sites of the Dynastic period (c. 3150 BC to 30 BC) (from History of Africa)
Image 24Carthaginian Empire in 323 BC (from History of Africa)
Image 259th-century bronze staff head in form of a coiled snake, Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria (from History of Africa)
Image 26Aerial view of the Great Enclosure and Valley Complex at Great Zimbabwe, looking west (from History of Africa)
Image 27A 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 28An Ethiopian woman preparing Ethiopian coffee at a traditional ceremony. She roasts, crushes, and brews the coffee on the spot. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 29The Mali Empire in 1337 CE, with major gold fields, of Bambuk, Bure, Lobi (tended by the Gan and later Lobi people), and Akan, and trade routes, outlined. The desert should extend further south to Koumbi. The Mossi Kingdoms are located north of Lobi. (from History of Africa)
Image 30The Kingdom of Aksum in the 6th century AD. (from History of Africa)
Image 31Mapungubwe Hill, which features some ancient San art in a rock shelter on the east side. (from History of Africa)
Image 32Potjiekos is a traditional Afrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 33Extent of the Mamluk Sultanate under Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad (from History of Africa)
Image 34Fresh Moroccan couscous with vegetables and chickpeas (from Culture of Africa)
Image 35Pre-Neolithic and Neolithic migration events in Africa. (from History of Africa)
Image 36Order of independence of African nations, 1950–2011
Image 37Areas controlled by European powers in 1939. British (red) and Belgian (marroon) colonies fought with the Allies. Italian (light green) with the Axis. French colonies (dark blue) fought alongside the Allies until the Fall of France in June 1940. Vichy was in control until the Free French prevailed in late 1942. Portuguese (dark green) and Spanish (yellow) colonies remained neutral. (from History of Africa)
Image 38Evolution of the Fatimid Caliphate (from History of Africa)
Image 39The Marinids, Zayyanids, and Hafsids c. 1360 (from History of Africa)
Image 40A Yombe sculpture (Louvre, Paris) (from Culture of Africa)
Image 41Fufu (right) is a staple meal in West Africa and Central Africa. It is usually served with some peanut soup. (from Culture of Africa)
Image 42Display of African cultural apparel (smock) (from Culture of Africa)
Image 43The Almoravid empire in the 12th century. (from History of Africa)
Image 44A woman in Kenya wearing kanga (from Culture of Africa)
Image 45Traditional pearl using for differents pearl in the religion (from Culture of Africa)
Image 46Map of trade centres and routes in precolonial Zimbabwe. (from History of Africa)
Image 47The Kilwa Sultanate in 1310 (from History of Africa)

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More did you know – show different entries

... that Liberia College in the country of Liberia was authorized by the legislature in 1851, but did not start classes until 1863?
... that the forced removal of 700,000 people from slums in Zimbabwe in 2005 was called "a crime against humanity" by the UN?
... that the supreme god of the southern African Bushmen is Cagn, a trickster who shapeshifts into a praying mantis?
... that Bahá'í Faith in Niger began during a period of wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa near the end of its colonial period?