Africa is the second largest and populated continent to Asia in the world.  it consist of 54 individual countries and the Western Sahara, a member state of the African Union whose statehood is disputed by Morocco. Also note that South Sudan is the continent’s newest country.

With just over a billion people base on 2010 census, it accounts for just 14% of the world’s human population. It also contains the Nile River system that is  the world’s longest, massive and largest river.

Africa is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the  Indian Ocean to the east and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

Africa Geography Facts

Algeria is Africa’s largest country
The Seychelles are Africa’s smallest country
Nigeria is Africa’s largest country by population
Seychelles is Africa’s smallest country by population

Africa’s highest point is Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
Africa’s lowest point is Lake Assal in Djibouti

Other Interesting Facts About Africa

Two of Africa’s most interesting geographical features are the Nile River System and Sahara Desert; both impressive in so many different ways.
The Nile River System: The Nile is a north-flowing river considered the longest river in the world at 6,650 km (4,130 mi) long. It is shared by and benefits eleven countries. The White Nile and Blue Nile are its major tributaries. The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, flowing north from Tanzania to South Sudan. The Blue Nile is the source of most of the water and both rivers join near Khartoum, Sudan The northern section of the river flows almost entirely through desert, from Sudan into Egypt. The Nile ends in a large delta that empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

Sahara Desert: It’s the world’s hottest desert, the third largest desert after Antarctica and the Arctic, and almost as large as China. Covering almost one-third of the continent, the Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world at approximately 3,500,000 sq. miles (9,065,000 sq. km) in total size. Topography includes areas of rock-strewn plains, rolling sand dunes and numerous sand seas. It ranges in elevation from 100 ft. below sea level, to peaks in the Ahaggar and Tibesti Mountains, that exceed 11,000 ft. (3,350m). Regional desserts include the Libyan, Nubian and the Western desert of Egypt, just to the west of the Nile. Almost completely without rainfall, a few underground rivers flow from the Atlas Mountains, helping to irrigate isolated oases. In the east, the waters of the Nile help fertilize smaller parts of the landscape.

 

There are 54 countries in Africa

Country	Capital	Population
Algeria	Algiers	33333267
Angola	Luanda	16941000
Benin	Porto-Novo	8439000
Botswana	Gaborone	1839833
Burkina	Ouagadougou	13228000
Burundi	Bujumbura	7548000
Cameroon	Yaoundé	17795000
Cape Verde	Praia	420979
Central African Republic	Bangui	4216666
Chad	N’Djamena	10146000
Comoros	Moroni	798000
Congo	Kinshasa	75507308
Congo, Democratic Republic of	Brazzaville	4012809
Djibouti	Djibouti City	906000
Egypt	Cairo	84550000
Equatorial Guinea	Malabo	504000
Eritrea	Asmara	5880000
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	85237338
Gabon	Libreville	1384000
Gambia	Banjul	1517000
Ghana	Accra	23000000
Guinea	Conakry	10057975
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	1586000
Ivory Coast	Yamoussoukro	17654843
Kenya	Nairobi	34707817
Lesotho	Maseru	2067000
Liberia	Monrovia	4128572
Libya	Tripoli	6036914
Madagascar	Antananarivo	18606000
Malawi	Lilongwe	12884000
Mali	Bamako	13518000
Mauritania	Nouakchott	3069000
Mauritius	Port Louis	1219220
Morocco	Rabat	35757175
Mozambique	Maputo	20366795
Namibia	Windhoek	2031000
Niger	Niamey	13957000
Nigeria	Abuja	174507539
Rwanda	Kigali	7600000
Sao Tome and Principe	Sao Tome	183176
Senegal	Dakar	11658000
Seychelles	Victoria	80654
Sierra Leone	Freetown	6144562
Somalia	Mogadishu	10532017
South Africa	Bloemfontein	52981991
South Sudan	Juba	8260490
Sudan	Khartoum	36787012
Swaziland	Lobamba	1032000
Tanzania	Dodoma	44929002
Togo	Lomé	7154237
Tunisia	Tunis	10102000
Uganda	Kampala	27616000
Zambia	Lusaka	14668000
Zimbabwe	Harare	13010000