“The conversation about Africa is shifting from one of “deficits” and “gaps” to one about opportunities, prospects, ventures and creativity. That’s not news to companies that have paid close attention to the continent and invested there. The fast growing youth population, the urbanization expected to drive over 50% of Africans to cities by 2050, and Africa’s formalizing economy are all well known. These trends and other developments have driven a half century or more of growth in Africa, and will continue to do so.” @WEF
Africans, eternally optimistic despite years of struggle, are quick adopters of every technology they encounter and are ready for both the disruption and the industrial development heading inevitably their way. Beyond the investment opportunity presented by WEF, Africa is also an amazing place with a history as old as man. Here are some interesting facts about Africa:
- Africa leads the world in mobile adoption.
- Missing across much of sub-Saharan Africa are the roads, rails, ports, airports, power grids and IT backbone needed to lift African economies.
- 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 10,000 different states and autonomous groups with distinct languages and customs.
- 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 recognized languages spoken on the continent.
- Africa is the second most populous continent with about 16% of the world’s population.
- Over 50% of Africans are under the age of 25.
- The continent’s population will more than double by 2050.
- Africa is the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped continent.
- 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.
- Africa is the world’s second largest continent covering about over 30 million square kilometers
- The Sahara is the largest desert in the world and is bigger than the continental USA.
- Africa is the world’s hottest continent with deserts and drylands covering 60% of land surface area (e.g. Kalahari, Sahara and Namib).
- Africa is the world’s second driest continent (after Australia).
- Africa has approximately 30% of the earth’s remaining mineral resources.
- The continent has the largest reserves of precious metals with over 40% of the gold reserves, over 60% of the cobalt, and 90% of the platinum reserves.
- Over 90% of African soils are unsuitable for agriculture and only 0.25% has moderate to low potential for sustainable farming.
- Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world.
- Africa has the most extensive biomass burning in the world, yet only emits about 4% of the world’s total carbon dioxide emissions.
- Africa has eight of the 11 major biomes and the largest-remaining populations of lion, elephant, rhinoceros, cheetah, hyena, leopard and hundreds of other species.
- Lake Malawi has more fish species than any other freshwater system on earth.
- Africa is home to the world’s largest living land animal, the African elephant, which can weigh up to 7 tons.
- Africa has over 25% of the world’s bird species.
- Africa is where human beings first appeared on earth and the home of the world’s first great civilization, Egypt which dates back to 3300 BC.
- The oldest human remains ever discovered were found in Ethiopia. They are approximately 200,000 years old.
- Africa straddles the equator and is the only continent to extend from the northern temperate zone to the southern temperate zone.
- Sudan is Africa’s largest country (968,000 square miles).
- The worlds tallest animal, the giraffe, lives in Africa.
- The fastest land animal in the world, the cheetah, lives in Africa.
- Africa is home to the worlds largest reptile, the Nile crocodile.
- The gorilla, which can be found in the continents jungles, is the worlds largest primate.
- Africa is larger than China, USA, India, Mexico and a big part of Europe combined.
- The deadliest animal in Africa is the hippopotamus.
- South Africa is called the “Rainbow Nation”because it has 11 official languages.
- South Africans can legally attach flamethrowers to cars to repel carjackers.
- Nearly half the gold ever mined has come from one place: Witwatersrand, South Africa.
- There are more people speaking French in Africa than in France.
- Lesotho, in Africa, is the only country on Earth to lie completely above 1000 meters in elevation.
- In 1972, a pocket of uranium in Africa was found to have undergone self-sustaining nuclear fission for hundreds of thousands of years, making it the only known naturally formed nuclear reactor.
- The world’s oldest university in continuous operation is in Africa: the University of Karueein, founded in 859 AD in Morocco.
- 25,000 years ago Africans pioneered simple arithmetic.
- 12,000 years ago Africans started grown crops, the first known developments in agriculture.
- The ancient city of Kahun in Egypt was the world’s first planned city.
- Africa is the most centrally located continent in the world. Both the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude), and the equator (0 degrees latitude) cut across it.
- Africa’s Nile River is the world’s longest river.
- The Victoria Falls, located along the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
- A single tribe in Kenya-called the “Kalenjin”-produces most of the world’s fastest long-distance runners.
- Soccer and cricket are two of Africa’s most popular sports. They were both introduced during the colonial era.
- The world’s biggest frog is found in Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Named the Goliath frog, it can grow up to be a foot long and weigh up to 8 lb.
- The word “Crossword” in Kiswahili, a language spoken mainly by people in eastern and central Africa, is “chemshebongo” which, when translated, means “boil brains”.
- Ethiopia is the only African country with its own alphabet.
- Sudan has more than 200 pyramids, double the number found in Egypt.