Africa es licontinente duesim in grandore delmunde e li duesim plu populat posAsia. Con circa 30,244,050km² (11,677,240mi²), includente li insules vicinal, it covri 20.3 percent del superficie total de terre sur literra. Con plu quam 800 million habitantes homan in 54 states, it forma circa sett percent delpopulation homan mundal.
Li nómineAfrica esset introductet per liRomanes qui usat li nómineAfrica terra - "land del Afri" por li part nord del continente, quam liprovincia de Africa con su capitaleCarthage, corespondent alTunisia del témpor modern.
Li Afri esset un tribe — forsanBerberes — quel vivet inNord-Africa in li region de Carthage. Li orígine deAfer es possibilmen conexet conPhoenician`afar, polve (anc trovat in mult lingues semitic altri); hay anc altri etimologies queles aparit por li nómine ancian 'Africa'. Li etimologies max discusset es:
li parolgreciaphrike, significant "sin frigore". Li historicoLeo Africanus (1495-1554) atribuet li orígine al parol grecphrike (φρικε, significant "frigore e horrore"), combinat con li prefixe negativ a-, dunc land sin frigore e horrore. Támen li changeament de son deph af in Grec es databil a circa lisecul prim, e pro to it ne posser vermen esser li orígine del nómine.
Egiptia esset considerat quam part de Asia per li ancianes, e ante omnicos assignat a Africa per li geografPtolemeus (85 -165), qui hat acceptatAlexandria quammeridian prim e fat liistme de Suez e liMare Rubi li ligament ínterAsia e Africa. QuandeEuropanes devenit conscient del extension real del continente, li idé deAfrica augmentat con ti conossentie.
Africa es li max larg del tri grand projectiones del pesa principal del superficie del terra. It include un geometrie remarcabilmen regulari tra circa 30,244,050km² (11,677,240mi²), con li insules includet.
Separat deEuropa per liMare Mediterranean, it es ligat al Asia a su extremitá nord-ost per liIstme de Suez (transectet per liCanale de Suez), 130 km (80 miles) de long (Geopoliticalmen, liPenínsul del Sinai delEgiptia al ost delCanale de Suez es sovente considerat quam part del Africa.) del punctu li plu al nord,Cap Spartel inMorocco, un poc al west deCape Blanc, in 37°21′ N, al max sudic punctu,Cape Agulhas inSud-Africa, 34°51′15″ S, it es distantie aproximativ de 8,000 km (5,000 miles); deCape Verde, 17°33′22″ W, li max west punctu aRas Hafun inSomalia, 51°27′52″ E, li max ost projection al ost, es un distantie (dunc aproximativmen) de 7,400 km (4,600 miles). Li longore del linea del costes es 26,000 km (16,100 miles) e li absentie de cavettes profund del coste es visibil per li fact que Europa, quo covri solmen9,700,000 km² (3,760,000 quadrat miles), have un linea costal de 32,000 km (19,800 miles).
Africa es li continente ú trova se limax ancian habitat territoria sur terre, ex quel originat li rasse homan. In li medie del 20esim secul, antropologos decovrit mult fossiles e evidentie de tost homan ocupation sur un periode tam long quam 7 million annus. Li famosi Britannic/AfricanLeakey family decovrit pluri species de tost simiesc homes thought a haveevolved into modern day man, tam quamAustralopithecus afarensis (carbon-datat a 3.9-3.0 million annusBCE),Paranthropus boisei (2.3-1.4 million BCE) eHomo ergaster (c. 600,000-1.9 million BCE).
Li Ishango Bone, datat a c. ante 25 000 annus, monstratallies inmathematical notation. Tra li prehistorie del homanité, Africa (just quam omni altri continentes) possedet nullnation-states, e esset vice to inhabitat per gruppes dehunter-gatherers tales quam liKhoi eSan (formerly conosset quambushmen).
Circa 3300 AC, li historic record aperte se in Africa con li ascendentie de literacy inEgiptia, which continued con varying nivelles de influentie sur altri areas til 343 PC. Altri prominent civilisationes includeEtiopia, li reyatu deNubia, li reystus de liSahel (Ghana,Mali, eSonghai) eGreat Zimbabwe.
In 1482, liportugaleses etablisset li unesim de mult centres de comercie along li costa de Guinea inElmina. Li chef commodities dealt in esset slaves, aure, ivor e spices. Li europan decovrition de America in1492 esset sequet per un grand developation delslave trade, quel, before li Portuguese era, hat esset un overland trade almost exclusively, e never confined a any one continent.
Ma durant que li sclaveríe esset trovant su fine in Europa, in li tost 19esim secul li europan imperial potenties staged a massive "scramble por Africa" e ocupat li pluparte del continente, creante manicolonial nation-states, e lassante solmen du nationes índependent:Liberia, li Black American colony, eEthiopia. Ti-ci occupation continuat til pos li conclusion de li Duesim Guerre Mundal, when all colonial states gradually obtenet formal independence.
Hodie, Africa es li hem de plu quam 50 índependent landes, omnis except 2 ancor possedente frontieras drawn up durant li era de Europeancolonialisme.
Africa es li max povri continente del munde: li Raport pri Homan Decelopament delUnit NationHuman Development Report2003 (de 175 landes) trovat que positiones 151 (Gambia) a 175 (Sierra Leone) esset completmen plenat per nationes african.
It ha havet (e in alqual maniere have ancor) un ínstabil e íncert transition de colonialisme, con increscementes incorruption edespotisme quam major contribuent factores a su povri economic situation. Benque rapid crescentie inChina e nuIndia, e moderat crescentie inSouth America, ha seurlevat milliones beyond subsistence living, Africa ha regresset in terms de forentrade,investiment, eper capitaincome. Tipovritá have widespread effects, includente lowerlife expectancy,violentie, einstabilitá - factors intertwined con li povritá del continente.
Li max grand economic success esSud-Africa, quel ha developat a li extent that it has its own maturstock exchange. To es in parte pro su abundantie denatural ressurses, essente li max grand productor mundal de ambi aure e diamantes, e in parte pro su well-established legal system. South Africa also has access a capital, markets e know how.
Nigeria sede sur un ex li max grand proven oil reserves in li world e has li highest population among nationes in Africa, con one de li fastest growing. However, most de li oil industrie es foreign owned, e li industrie es rife con corruption al national level so that very litt oil money stays in li country, e what does goes a a very small percentage de li population.
Africanes posse esser gruppat secun tis qui vive in li nord e tis in li sud delSahara Desert; ti gruppes es nominatNord Africans eSub-Saharan Africans, respectivmen. Arabic-speakingArab-Berber peoples predominate in North Africa, while Sub-Saharan Africa es dominat per un númere de disparate populations. Hay un grand diversitá de physical types among Sub-Saharan African peoples -- ranging de liMasai eTutsi, known por their tall stature, aPygmies qui es inter li world's shortest adults.
Ad-látere del Nilotic gruppes de sudic Sudan, alcun Nilotic gruppes in Ethiopia, e un Bantu African minority in Somalia, Africanes del nordostic parts del continente tipicmen have a different appearance de those in altri regions. Speakers deBantu languages are li majority in southern, central e east Africa proper; ma hay anc several Nilotic groups in East Africa, e a few remaining indigenous Khoisan ('San' or 'Bushmen') e Pygmy peoples in sudic e central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon e Equatorial Guinea, e trova se in parts de southern Cameroon e southern Somalia. In liKalahari Desert de Southern Africa, li distint people known quam li Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct de "Hottentots") have long been present. li San are physically distinct de altri Africans e are li indigenous people de southern Africa. "Pygmies" es li indigenes de central Africa.
Li popules deNord Africa es por li pluparte Arab-Berber; li arabes who arrived in li 7th century ha assimilated li indigen Berber people. li SemiticPhoenicians, e li EuropeanGreeks eRomans settled in North Africa quam well. Berber peoples remain a significant minority withinMorocco eAlgeria, e are present inTunisia eLibya. liTuareg e altri often-nomadic peoples are li principal inhabitants de li Saharan interior de North Africa.Nubians also developed civilizations in North Africa during ancient times.
Durante li passant secul, coloniessmall ma economicmen importat de libaneses e chineses ha developat en li cités costal de Africa occidental e oriental respectivement.
Vice un sol cultura, Africa have pluri culturas coincident. Li disintion max conventional es ti ínter Sub-Saharan Africa e li paises al nord deEgiptia aMarocco, quel associa se con li cultura Arabic. Per ti ci comparation, li nationes al sude delSahara es considerat a consister in mult areas cultural, particularmen ti del gruppe linguisticBantu.
On posse far anc divisiones inter li parte de Africa quel parlaFrancesi e li rest de Africa, precipue li anteyan colonias Britannic deAfrica sudic eoriental. Un altri linea divident es ti inter tis Africanes quel seque un stil de vive traditional e tis quel es, essentialmen, modern. Li traditionalistes es quelcvez dividet in pastoralistes e agriculturalistes.
African art reflecte li diversitá de african culturas. Li max ancian existent arte de Africa es 6000-year old carvings found inNiger, durant que liGrand Piramide de Giza inEgiptia esset li world's tallest architectural accomplishment durant quar mill annus til li creation delEiffel Tower. Li Etiopian complex demonolitic eclesias aLalibela, de quel liChurch de St. George es representativ, es egardat quam un altri marvel de ingenieríe.
Limusica de Africa es un de su formes de art max dinamic. Egiptia ha esset un cultural focus del munde arab wdesde long, while remembrance del rhythms de sub-Saharan Africa, particularimen west Africa, esset transmisset tra liAtlantic slave trade a modernblues,jazz,reggae,rap, erock e roll. Modern musica del continente include li altmen complex coral cantada de sudic Africa e li dance rhythms desoukous, dominat per li musica del Democratic Republic de Congo. Un recent developament del 21im secul es li emergentie deAfrican hip hop, in particular un form inSenegal mixtet con traditionalmbalax. Recentmen in South Africa, un forme de musica relatet ahouse music conosset sub li nómineKwaito ha developat se, benque li land ha esset li hem a su propri forme deSud-African jazz durant alquant témpor, whileAfrikaans music es completely distint e comprised mostly de traditionalBoere musiek, e formes deFolk eRock.
