A few must-know and fun facts about Africa ,the continent over 1billion people call home

The continent of Africa is large and vibrant, comprised of 54 countries, filled with more than 700 languages and over hundreds of varied cultural groups. The African continent is famously known as the home of mother nature because of its rich natural habitats and astounding wildlife.

• Did you know that Africa is attached to Asia at its northeast Sinai corner by an Isthmus (Suez Canal) 70 km wide?
• Sudan is the biggest country within Africa amounting to 2,505,813 square kilometers with the smallest nation being Seychelles which is situated on the east coast of the continent covering an area of 455 square kilometers.
• The Sahara desert which is the biggest dry land across the world is over 10.4 million square kilometers.
• Zaire contains the largest population reflecting the number, 42.55 million with the smallest population of 70 000 people belonging to the Seychelles.
• At about 30.2 million km² (11.7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, the African continent covers 6% of the Earth’s total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With 1.0 billion people (as of 2009) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.72% of the world’s human population.
• Out of all the continents, Africa is the most centrally positioned. The Greenwich meridian 0o passes through the Atlas Mountains, cutting through the coast of West Africa near Accra, while the Equator also divides the continent into 2 equal parts North and South.
• Incorporating both the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Africa is the most tropical of all continents.
• After Asia, Africa is the largest continent.
• Did you know that Africa is home to the oldest rocks pertaining to the Pre-Cambrian Era.
• Measuring roughly 7,500 km’s from South to North as well as in it’s East to West extent, Africa is as long as it is broad.
• Scientists believe that human ancestry originated in Africa due to the emergence of a humanlike species in eastern Africa roughly 5 million years ago.
• Madagascar, Zanzibar, Pemba, Comoros, Mauritius, Reunion and the Seychelles are all islands within Africa.

Source