Africa, the “Mother Continent” and the oldest continent in the world is known to be the largest inhabitant of Black people. It is the most fascinating continent in the world, and at the same time, the most misunderstood among the Western population.
Being recognized as the cradle of humanity, there are many things that lay in the bossom of the continent that are unknown even to many Africans. Today, we’ll explore many fascinating facts worth knowing about Africa.
Facts About Africa Everyone Should Know
1. Africa has more than 2000 recognized languages
2. Africa produced the only woman to become the first lady of two countries. She is Graça Machel and was the first lady of Mozambique and South Africa after she married Samora Machel and later Nelson Mandela.
3. Africa covers 30 million square kilometers.
4. The tallest tribes in the world are in Africa – the Dinka of Sudan and the Tutsi of Rwanda. The average height of these people is between 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet
5. Africa has one of the longest-living plants in the world, estimated to be over 2000. The plant is known as Welwitschia mirabilis (tree tumbo) and it is native to the Namib Desert.
6. Africa is home to 25% of the world’s bird species. There are over 2500 kinds of birds found throughout its countries.
7. Africa was once made up of 10,000 independent states but it currently has only 54 sovereign states.
8. Nigeria has the highest number of twins born in the world.
9. The country with the second deadliest war ever fought, Congo, is in Africa. It was the Second Congo War which resulted in the death of over 5.4 million people. World War II is the only war deadlier.
10. Africa took part in the shortest war ever recorded in history, the Anglo-Zanzibar War. The war took place on 27 August 1896.
11. It is home to the Grand Mosque of Djenne, which is the world’s largest manmade clay structure.
12. The Sahara Desert, found on the continent, is the largest desert in the world.
13. Africa is home to the Nile, the longest river in the world.
14. Africa is home to the youngest country in the world (South Sudan).
15. You will find El Aziziain, Libya, on the continent, which has been recorded as the hottest place in the world.
16. Africa is home to the world’s giant frog species called the Goliath Frog. The largest frog is found in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
17. It is the largest source of Gold throughout Mining History.
18. African Elephants are the biggest land mammals.
19. Africa has the shortest coastline despite being the second-largest continent in the world.
20. The most ancient pyramid structures in the world are located on the African continent, in Sudan.
21. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa.
22. The most beautiful country in Africa is South Africa, It is well-known for its tranquil surroundings and the numerous tourist attractions that are available in the country’s cities.
23. Lake Malawi boasts the largest number of fish species in the world.
24. Islam is the dominant religion in Africa, claiming 45% of the population. Christianity is the second and then there is African Traditional Religion..
25. Africa is home to Richat Structure known as the Africa Blue Eye located in Mauritania.
26. Africa is the most centrally-located continent on the planet. Both the equator and the Greenwich Meridian line cross it.
27. Nigeria is the country with the highest population (over 2 million people) in Africa.
28. Algeria is the biggest country in Africa by land area Seychelles is the smallest country on the continent.
29. The largest waterfall in Africa is Victoria Falls, located on the Zimbabwe and Zambia border.
31. More than 50% of the world’s French-speaking population live on the continent.
32. Africans carved the world’s first colossal sculpture. 7,000 or more years ago.
33. Ethiopia has 11 underground medieval churches built by being carved out of the ground.
34. Africa has the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. It is known as Mount Kilimanjaro.
35. The top 10 poorest countries in the world are all in Africa. Somalia is the poorest in the world, having a GDP per capita of USD 303.
36. Six of the driest places in the world are in Africa- Alkufrah- Libya, Aswan, and Luxor in Egypt, Wadi Halfa in Sudan, Pelican Point in Namibia, and Aoelef in Algeria.
37. South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world.
38. Angola has the world’s highest infant mortality rate at 192.5 deaths per 1000 live births.
39. Niger, Mali, and Uganda take the 1-3 spots for the highest birth rates in the world.
40. About half of the world’s diamonds come from southern and central Africa.
41. Eighteen people from Africa have been awarded a Nobel prize. They’re from Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
42. The name Africa only came about in the 1600s. It is believed that before then, the continent was referred to as Alkebulan, which translates to ‘Mother of mankind’ or ‘Garden of Eden’
43. The richest man recorded in history is an African king from the Mali Empire, named Mansa Musa.
44. Mali is home to the famous Pyramid Tomb of Askia, built by the Askia Mohamed Songhai emperor in 1495.
45. The Rwandan genocide, also known as the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda that claimed the lives of over 491,000–800,000 people from 7th April 1994-15July 1994, is said to be the worst genocide in Africa.
46. The oldest fossil in the world, nicknamed Lucy, was found in Ethiopia. It is said to be 3.2 million years old.
46. Lesotho has the “highest lowest point” of any country. No other country on earth has a base altitude of 1,400 meters, and more than 80% of the country sits 1,800m above sea level.
47. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is the longest-serving president in history. The self-acclaimed El Jefa, which translates to The Boss, seized power in 1979 from his uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema through a military takeover. He has been the president of Equatorial Guinea since then.
48. Africa is home to Giraffes, the tallest mammals in the world.
49. The White Lion, a rare species, is only found in Africa, specifically in the southern part of the continent.
50. George Weah is the first and only African, as well as the first non-European to win a Ballon d’Or. The former Liberian footballer won the award in 1995, the year the award became open to non-Europeans.
51. Africa is home to the common ostrich, which is the largest bird on the planet. It can reach a maximum height of 8.5 feet/2.6 meters and may weigh up to 297 lbs/135 kilograms.
52. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the world’s second-largest freshwater lake. It borders Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. There are over 1,000 islands in the lake – some tiny and some that are inhabited. The average depth of the lake is just 25 meters and at it’s deepest its just 82 meters!
53. The lowest point on the African continent is Lake Assal, located in the Afar Triangle in Djibouti.
54. Early human civilizations such as Ancient Egypt and Carthage emerged from North Africa.
55. Only 2 countries were not colonized in Africa – Ethiopia and Liberia.
55. The tallest waterfall in Africa is Tugela Falls, located in South Africa’s Drakensberg Mountains. It comprises five individual free-leaping falls, and with an official height of 3,110 feet/948 meters, it is also the second-tallest waterfall in the world.
56. In southern Namibia, the Fish River Canyon is the largest in Africa, measuring approximately 100 miles/160 kilometers in length and up to 17 miles/27 kilometers in width. In places, it is up to 1,805 feet/550 meters deep. It is also the second-largest canyon in the world after America’s Grand Canyon.
57. The San people are the oldest tribe in Africa and the direct descendants of the first Homo sapiens.
58. Africa is home to the fastest land animal on earth – the cheetah.
60. South Africa is the first and only African country to host the FIFA World Cup (in 2010).
61. The most giant Diamond in the world, the Cullinan Diamond, was discovered in the Premier Mine, South Africa by Cullinan Diamond on 26 January 1905.
62. The Mali Empire was one of the largest and most widely known pre-colonial African states. It was founded in the 11th century and lasted until the late 16th century when Morocco conquered it.
63. Table Mountain, one of the iconic landmarks of South Africa, is one of the oldest mountains in the world.
64. Wangari Muta Maathaib, from Kenya was the first African woman to win a Nobel prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace.
65. The Walls of Benin in Nigeria were the largest earthworks in the world. It lasted 400 years before it was destroyed by the British
66. Lake Turkana in Kenya is the world’s largest desert lake.
67. The World Travel Awards have recognized Kenya as the world’s leading safari destination for 2022, a position it has held for eight years now.
68. Madagascar is the world’s fourth-largest Island.
69. In Seychelles, Africa, Bird Island is home to the heaviest land tortoise living in the wild. It is known as Esmeralda and it weighs 670 pounds.
70. The Korop forest, in Cameroon, is the oldest remaining forest in Africa.
71. Africa is home to two out of the three most explosive lakes in the world, Lake Nyos and Mononu.
72. Niger is known as the frying pan of the world, because of its very hot nature.
73. Niger is home to the tallest mud-brick structure (Agadez Mosque) in the world.
74. The largest known animal carving in the world (The Dabous Giraffe Petroglyph, a life-sized carving of two giraffes dating back 10,000 years) is located in an isolated spot in the Sahara, in an area known as the ‘Tenere Desert’ in Niger, Africa.
75. The Kofar Mata Dye Pits is the oldest dye pit in Africa, located in Kano state, Nigeria.
76. Nigeria’s film industry ‘Nollywood’ is the second largest film producer in the world.
77. With a net worth of $16.1bn, Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote is the richest Black person in the world.
78. Victoria, the capital of Seychelles, is the smallest in the world and can be easily explored on foot in less than a day.
79. In 2023, Niger became the country with the highest fertility rate in the world while Mali is the second (biological fertility)
80. Africa is home to approximately one-third of the world’s languages.
81. Africa makes 70% of the world’s cocoa beans.
82. The continent has a magical white desert located in Egypt.
83. The African population is much younger than the rest of the world, over 50% of Africans are under the age of 20, compared to a global median age of 30.
84. Africa has 135 UNESCO World Heritage Sites scattered across the continent.
86. There’s a bar built into a 6000-year-old baobab tree, located in South Africa.
87. Eswatini is Africa’s last absolute monarchy and one of the few remaining in the world.
88. Africa’s deadliest animal is the mosquitoes. This is because it has caused the most human deaths.
89. Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) in Cape Town South Africa, is the biggest museum in Africa.
90. Mauritius in Africa was once home to the extinct bird dodo.
91. The first heart transplant in the world was done in Cape Town, South Africa.
92. Africa is home to one of the world’s most endangered mammals known as WILD DOGS.
93. Africa boasts 30% of the remaining Mineral resources in the world.
94. Nakivale, Uganda is the oldest refugee settlement in Africa.
95. The highest bungy Jumpy in the world is located in Africa (South Africa).
96. The world’s largest themed resort hotel in the world is located in Africa (South Africa).
97. Africa is home to the largest wildlife Immigration on earth.
98. There are a total of 3000 protected areas in Africa. These keep the fauna and flora safe and living naturally in their habitats.
99. Africa emits only 4% of total carbon dioxide emissions.
100. Football is the most popular sport played in almost all African countries.
101. Air Pollution is Africa’s biggest environmental risk.
102. Africans were the first to organize fishing expeditions. It was done 90,000 years ago.
103. Cameroon legend Roger Milla holds the record of being the oldest footballer to score a goal in the men’s FIFA World Cup (1994). He was 42 years and 39 days.
104. In 2016, Van Niekerk from South Africa became the first and only sprinter in history to have run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds, 200 meters in under 20 seconds; and 400 meters in under 44 seconds.
105. David Rudisha from Kenya set the world record at the 2012 Olympics over 800 meters, with a time of a minute and 40 seconds, recorded officially as; 1:40.91.
111. Africa is home to Klipspringer found in eastern and southern Africa. It is the only antelope species that walks on the tips of their hooves.
112. Africa is home to the Grey Crowned Crane, a beautiful bird that lives in the wetlands of Africa.
113. William Anderson Soga was the first black African medical doctor to practice in South Africa.
115. The Izuogu Z-600 prototype was the first automobile of indigenous all-African technology.
116. Asli Hassan Abade was the first African woman Air Force pilot in the whole of Africa and the Middle East.
117. The oldest stone tools in the world were found in eastern Africa.
118. Africans were the first to engage in mining 43,000 years ago. In 1964 a hematite mine was found in Swaziland at Bomvu Ridge in the Ngwenya mountain range.
119. The African Pygmies are the shortest people in the world.
See Also: Is Nigeria Still the Giant of Africa? 10 Facts You Should Know About the West African Country
120. The Hausa tribe is the largest tribe in Africa with an estimated 78 million people in total.
121. Lake Tanganyika in Burundi is the world’s longest freshwater lake.
122. Gabon is home to the world’s largest species of sea turtle, the leatherback.
123. Katse Dam in Lesotho is the largest double-curvature arch dam in Africa.
124. The Matekane Air Strip in Lesotho is one of the scariest airstrips in Africa.
125. Sibebe Rock in Eswatini is the largest rock in Africa and the second-largest monolith in the world.
126. SIAO (Ouagadougou), Africa’s largest craft market is located in Burkina Faso.
127. Train du Desert, Mauritania Railway is the longest railway line in Africa and one of the longest in the world.
128. Namibia’s Coastal Desert is one of the oldest deserts in the world.
129. Morocco’s town called Fez which was founded in the 9th century is the world’s oldest medieval city that is still active.
130. It holds 65 percent of the world’s arable land and 10 percent of the planet’s internal renewable freshwater source.
131. Nefertiti, queen of ancient Egypt is one of the most beautiful women recorded in history.
132. The oldest human sculpture was found in Morocco in 1999. The sculpture was named the Venus of Tan Tan and it dates back to 500,000 years.
133. West Africa is the largest producer of cocoa and Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana grow the most of the plant.
134. There is a common belief that it does not snow in Africa but it does. It snows in some parts of South Africa, Tunisia, Algeria, Lesotho, Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Namibia.
135. Morocco has the largest hot desert in the world.
136. An African nation, Morocco was the first country to acknowledge the United States as an autonomous nation in 1777.
137. Africa invented some major things that are still used today. They include pen, paper, locks, keys, and toothpaste.
138. Lesotho in southern Africa is home to one of the largest dinosaur footprints found in the world. It is measured at 57 centimeters.
139. Ancient Egypt has some of the most deities in the world. There were over 2,000 gods for everything.
140. Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from colonial rule.
