Continent
Africa
Africa has 54 countries. About 1.3 billion people live there, spread over roughly 30 049 078 square kilometres.
The countries of Africa
The largest country here is Algeria, covering 2 381 741 km².
The smallest is Seychelles, at just 452 km².
Most people live in Nigeria — about 195.9 million.
Mountains and rivers
The highest mountain we cover here is Mount Kilimanjaro, 5 895 m above the sea.
The longest river is Nile, running 6 650 km.
Africa and the rest of the world
Roughly 17 in every 100 people on Earth live in Africa, on about 23 per cent of the world's land.
That works out at about 42.5 people for every square kilometre, against 56.6 for the world as a whole — so Africa is emptier than the average.
The people are not spread evenly either: just 7 of the 54 countries hold half of everyone here.
Animals of Africa
24 of the animals on this site live in Africa, among them Lion, African elephant, Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Giraffe, Zebra, Hippopotamus and White rhinoceros. Each one stands on the globe as a small figure once you zoom in close enough to find it.
How many continents are there?
There is no single right answer, which surprises most people. Schools in Britain, Australia and much of Asia teach seven continents, splitting North and South America. Schools in France, Italy, Spain and most of Latin America teach six and keep the Americas together. Some teach five, counting only the inhabited ones. The land has not moved; only the way people group it has.
This site uses six and keeps the Americas as one, because that is how the dataset behind these pages groups countries. Africa is one of those six. If you were taught a different number at school, you were not taught the wrong thing — you were taught a different convention.
Where a continent ends is just as much a decision. Europe and Asia sit on one unbroken piece of land, and the line between them was drawn by people, along the Ural mountains, rather than by any sea. That is why Russia and Turkey appear in lists for both.
Questions children ask
How many countries are in Africa?
Africa has 54 countries. The biggest is Algeria and the smallest is Seychelles.
What is the biggest country in Africa?
Algeria is the biggest, covering 2 381 741 square kilometres.
How many people live in Africa?
About 1.3 billion people live in Africa, which is roughly 17 per cent of everyone on Earth. The figure is a World Bank estimate, so it is close rather than exact.
What is the highest mountain in Africa?
Of the mountains on this site, Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest in Africa, at 5 895 metres above sea level.