10 Facts about Africa

Africa is the second largest continent in the world behind Asia. It is surrounded by the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and the Iringian sea. Africa shares its borders with 36 sovereign nations and also islands like Madagascar and Cape Verde. This article will talk about some of these facts about Africa.
- Africa is the source of the longest river in the world. River Nile flows about 4,258 miles across Africa. It flows northwards, where it crosses 11 countries. It flows from Lake Victoria in east Africa and empties into the red sea in Egypt. Some countries it flows through are Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt.
- The University of Karueein is the oldest educational institution in the world. It was founded in 859 AD. The founder was Fatima al-Fihri, who established the university in Fez, Morocco. It started as a madrassa but grew to become a university. It is among the oldest institutions in the world. The University of Bologna follows it, established in Italy in 1088 AD. Bologna is the oldest university in Europe.
- Mansa Musa is believed to be the wealthiest man in history. Mansa was the tenth emperor of the Mali empire. The prosperous kingdom was established in the Saharan region and controlled the slave trade routes. It is believed that he had a wealth of about us$400 billion during his death. Mansa once had a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he established cities along the way. His wealth was in the form of gold and other luxuries.
- The Sahara Desert is the largest and hottest in the world. It comes at number three in terms of a length behind the arctic and Antarctica, which are cold deserts. The Sahara Desert stretches to about 3. 6 million square miles. It is bigger than the USA. It covers 11 countries across the northern part of Africa. Madagascar forms the largest island in Africa.
- The African elephant is the largest land animal weighing over six tons. The animal can stretch over 7 meters. The world’s tallest animal is the giraffe which can reach up to 6m in height.
- The highest Bungy jumpy in the world is available in South Africa. The Bloukrans bridge Bungy reaches a height of 216 meters, making it the largest in the world. It is located on N2 highway in South Africa.
- Africa is the second most populous continent in the world. It is second to Asia. As per 2018 research, Africa has about 1. 3 billion people. It has a land area of 30. 3 million km², including its adjacent islands.
- The Serengeti in Tanzania and Maasai Mara in Kenya experience the largest migration of wild animals. About 750,000 zebras march across the game park, followed by more than 1. 2 million wildebeests that migrate in search of food.
- Africa has a landmass that covers 6% of the Earth’s surface. It covers up to 20% of the land surface area on Earth. There are more than 54 countries on the African continent. About 17% of the human population on Earth is available in Africa.
- There are more than 2,000 different languages spoken in Africa. At least 3,000 distinct ethnic groups are found in Africa. The most widely spread language in Africa is Arabic. Other languages spoken in Africa are French, English and Swahili.