Amazing Facts About Africa That You May Not Have Known

By Mojisola Delano Last updated Oct 4, 2016

Some things you probably may not have known about our continent Africa:
There are 54 countries and one “non-self governing territory”, the Western Sahara, in Africa.

All of Africa was colonized by foreign powers during the “scramble for Africa”, except Ethiopia and Liberia.

Before colonial rule Africa comprised up to 10,000 different states and autonomous groups with distinct languages and customs.

The Pharaonic civilization of ancient Egypt is one of the world’s oldest and longest-lasting civilizations.

African continent is the world’s oldest populated area.

Arabic is spoken by 170 million people on the continent, followed in popularity by English (130 million), Swahili (100), French (115), Berber (50), Hausa (50), Portuguese (20) and Spanish (10).

Over 25% all languages are spoken only in Africa with over 2,000 recognised languages spoken on the continent.

Africa is the second most populous continent with about 1.1 billion people or 16% of the world’s population. Over 50% of Africans are under the age of 25.

The continent’s population will more than double to 2.3 billion people by 2050.

Africa is the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped continent with a continental GDP that accounts for just 2.4% of global GDP.

Almost 40% of adults in Africa are illiterate – two-thirds are women. Adult literacy rates are below 50% in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.

Over 25 million people are HIV-positive on the continent and over 17 million have died of the disease already.

The Second Congo War claimed over 5.4 million lives and is the deadliest worldwide conflict since World War II.

There are fewer people with internet connections in Africa than there are in just New York City.

Approximately 90% of all cases of malaria worldwide occur in Africa, accounting for 24% of all child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.