Africa is the world’s second largest and second most populous continent. Asia is number one with over 4 billion people, while Africa follows with over 1.2billion. However, it’s first in terms of wildlife, wild lands and rich cultural traditions. Here are some other amazing facts I bet you didn’t know about Africa.
IT OWNS A VERY BIG PERCENTAGE OF THE WORLD’S ELEPHANT POPULATION
Africa is believed to have over 85% of the world’s elephant population. It is also believed to have over 99% of the remaining lions in the world. This means that it owns most of the lions in the world.
THE HUMAN RACE MIGHT HAVE STARTED IN AFRICA
Some of the world’s foremost scientists like Charles Darwin, suggested that the ancestors of human beings may have originated from Africa. But racism and the prejudicial attitude of most of the rest of the world towards Africa, made many people to be highly resistant to such suggestions until very well into the twentieth century.
LAKE MALAWI IS BELIEVED TO HAVE MORE FISH SPECIES THAN ANY OTHER LAKE GLOBALLY
Lake Malawi is located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It’s the ninth largest lake in the world, and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. It’s a meromictic lake (that is, its water layers do not mix), and its waters are rich in fish. The lake is believed to have more fish species than any other freshwater system on earth; however the wild population of fish in the lake has been increasingly threatened by overfishing and water pollution.
AFRICA IS HOME TO THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO VOLUNTARILY ABANDON IT’S NUCLEAR WEAPON PROGRAM
South Africa is the only country in the world to voluntarily abandon its nuclear weapon program. The reason the then president of South Africa, F.W. de Klerk, gave for dismantling the nation’s nuclear weapons was that he saw no value of nuclear weapons in fighting wars, and the prospect of using them against neighbouring countries was too appalling for him to consider.
AFRICA IS EVERYTHING EXTREME
Africa is considered by many, including its people a continent of extremes. It is a continent that’s very rich in mineral and agricultural wealth, but at the same time considered the world’s poorest continent, with many of its people suffering poverty and sicknesses. The continent is also extremely large, as well as extremely dry, with an extremely young population, so young that over half of the continent is under the age of 25. And did I add its people hold very extreme values too? It’s an amazing place to visit, and you probably should if you’ve never been there.
