ed. The islands in the Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans. The Malagasy people ofMadagascar are an Austronesian people, but those along the coast are generally mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. Malay and Indian ancestries are also important components in the group of people known in South Africa as Cape Coloureds (people with origins in two or more races and continents). During the 20th century, small but economically important communities of Lebaneseand Chinese[73] have also developed in the larger coastal cities of West and East Africa, respectively.[88]
Languages
Main article: African languages
By most estimates, well over a thousand languages(UNESCO has estimated around two thousand) are spoken in Africa.[89] Most are of African origin, though some are of European or Asian origin. Africa is the most multilingual continent in the world, and it is not rare for individuals to fluently speak not only multiple African languages, but one or more European ones as well. There are four major language familiesindigenous to Africa.
- The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout the Horn of Africa, North Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia.
- The Nilo-Saharan language family consists of more than a hundred languages spoken by 30 million people. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken byNilotic tribes in Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
- The Niger-Congo language family covers much of Sub-Saharan Africa and is probably the largest language family in the world in terms of different languages.
- The Khoisan languages number about fifty and are spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 120,000 people. Many of the Khoisan languages are endangered. The Khoi and San peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa.
Following the end of colonialism, nearly all African countries adopted official languages that originated outside the continent, although several countries also granted legal recognition to indigenous languages (such as Swahili, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa). In numerous countries, English and French(see African French) are used for communication in the public sphere such as government, commerce, education and the media. Arabic, Portuguese, Afrikaans, Malagasy and Spanish are examples of languages that trace their origin to outside of Africa, and that are used by millions of Africans today, both in the public and private spheres. Italian is spoken by some in former Italian colonies in Africa. Prior to World War I, German was used in certain areas also.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Africa
Some[which?] aspects of traditional African cultures have become less practiced in recent years as a result of years of neglect and suppression by colonial and post-colonial regimes. There is now a resurgence in the attempts to rediscover and revalourise African traditional cultures, under such movements as the African Renaissance, led by Thabo Mbeki, Afrocentrism, led by a group of scholars, including Molefi Asante, as well as the increasing recognition of traditional spiritualism through decriminalization of Vodou and other forms of spirituality. In recent years, traditional African culture has become synonymous with rural poverty and subsistence farming.
Visual art and architecture
African art and architecture reflect the diversity of African cultures. The oldest existing examples of art from Africa are 82,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells that were found in the Aterian levels at Grotte des Pigeons, Taforalt, Morocco.[citation needed] The Great Pyramid of Gizain Egypt was the world's tallest structure for 4,000 years, until the completion of Lincoln Cathedral around the year 1300. The stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe are also noteworthy for their architecture, and the complexity ofmonolithic churches at Lalibela, Ethiopia, of which theChurch of Saint George is representative.[citation needed]
Music and dance
Main article: Music of Africa
Egypt has long been a cultural focus of the Arab world, while remembrance of the rhythms of sub-Saharan Africa, in particular West Africa, was transmitted through the Atlantic slave trade to modern samba, blues, jazz, reggae, hip hop, and rock. The 1950s through the 1970s saw a conglomeration of these various styles with the popularization of Afrobeat and Highlife music. Modern music of the continent includes the highly complex choral singing of southern Africa and the dance rhythms of the musical genre of soukous, dominated by the music of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Indigenous musical and dance traditions of Africa are maintained by oral traditions, and they are distinct from the music and dance styles of North Africa and Southern Africa. Arab influences are visible in North African music and dance and, in Southern Africa, Western influences are apparent due to colonisation.
Sports
Fifty-three African countries have football (soccer) teams in the Confederation of African Football, while Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana have advanced to the knockout stage of recent FIFA World Cups. South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup tournament, becoming the first African country to do so. According to FIFA ranking, Egypt currently has the best soccer team in Africa. Their team has won the African Cup 7 times, and a record-making 3 times in a row.
Cricket is popular in some African nations. South Africa and Zimbabwe have Test status, while Kenyais the leading non-test team in One-Day International cricket and has attained permanent One-Day International status. The three countries jointly hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Namibia is the other African country to have played in a World Cup. Morocco in northern Africa has also hosted the2002 Morocco Cup, but the national team has never qualified for a major tournament. Rugby is a popular sport in South Africa.
Religion
Main article: Religion in Africa
Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs[91] and statistics on religious affiliation are difficult to come by since they are too sensitive a topic for governments with mixed populations.[92] According to the World Book Encyclopedia,Islam is the largest religion in Africa, followed by Christianity. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, 45% of the population are Muslims, 40% are Christians and less than 15% continue to follow traditional African religions. A small number of Africans are Hindu, Baha'i, or have beliefs from the Judaic tradition. Examples of African Jews are the Beta Israel, Lembapeoples and the Abayudaya of Eastern Uganda. There is also a small minority of Africans who arenon-religious.
Territories and regions
Main articles: List of regions of Africa, List of African countries by population, and List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa
The countries in this table are categorised according to the scheme for geographic subregions used by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated.
| Name of region[93]and territory, with flag | Area (km²) | Population (2009 est)except where noted | Density (per km²) | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Africa | ||||
 Burundi | 27,830 | 8,988,091[94] | 322.9 | Bujumbura |
 Comoros | 2,170 | 752,438[94] | 346.7 | Moroni |
 Djibouti | 23,000 | 516,055[94] | 22.4 | Djibouti |
 Eritrea | 121,320 | 5,647,168[94] | 46.5 | Asmara |
 Ethiopia | 1,127,127 | 85,237,338[94] | 75.6 | Addis Ababa |
 Kenya | 582,650 | 39,002,772[94] | 66.0 | Nairobi |
 Madagascar | 587,040 | 20,653,556[94] | 35.1 | Antananarivo |
 Malawi | 118,480 | 14,268,711[94] | 120.4 | Lilongwe |
 Mauritius | 2,040 | 1,284,264[94] | 629.5 | Port Louis |
 Mayotte(France) | 374 | 223,765[94] | 489.7 | Mamoudzou |
 Mozambique | 801,590 | 21,669,278[94] | 27.0 | Maputo |
 Réunion(France) | 2,512 | 743,981(2002) | 296.2 | Saint-Denis |
 Rwanda | 26,338 | 10,473,282[94] | 397.6 | Kigali |
 Seychelles | 455 | 87,476[94] | 192.2 | Victoria |
 Somalia | 637,657 | 9,832,017[94] | 15.4 | Mogadishu |
 Tanzania | 945,087 | 41,048,532[94] | 43.3 | Dodoma |
 Uganda | 236,040 | 32,369,558[94] | 137.1 | Kampala |
 Zambia | 752,614 | 11,862,740[94] | 15.7 | Lusaka |
| Middle Africa | ||||
 Angola | 1,246,700 | 12,799,293[94] | 10.3 | Luanda |
 Cameroon | 475,440 | 18,879,301[94] | 39.7 | Yaoundé |
 Central African Republic | 622,984 | 4,511,488[94] | 7.2 | Bangui |
 Chad | 1,284,000 | 10,329,208[94] | 8.0 | N'Djamena |
 Congo | 342,000 | 4,012,809[94] | 11.7 | Brazzaville |
 Democratic Republic of the Congo | 2,345,410 | 68,692,542[94] | 29.2 | Kinshasa |
 Equatorial Guinea | 28,051 | 633,441[94] | 22.6 | Malabo |
 Gabon | 267,667 | 1,514,993[94] | 5.6 | Libreville |
 São Tomé and Príncipe | 1,001 | 212,679[94] | 212.4 | São Tomé |
| Northern Africa | ||||
 Algeria | 2,381,740 | 34,178,188[94] | 14.3 | Algiers |
 Egypt[95] | 1,001,450 | 83,082,869[94]total, Asia 1.4m | 82.9 | Cairo |
 Libya | 1,759,540 | 6,310,434[94] | 3.6 | Tripoli |
 Morocco | 446,550 | 34,859,364[94] | 78.0 | Rabat |
 Sudan | 2,505,810 | 41,087,825[94] | 16.4 | Khartoum |
 Tunisia | 163,610 | 10,486,339[94] | 64.1 | Tunis |
 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[96] | 266,000 | 405,210[94] | 1.5 | El Aaiún |
| Spanish and Portuguese territories in Northern Africa: | ||||
 Canary Islands(Spain)[97] | 7,492 | 1,694,477(2001) | 226.2 | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife |
 Ceuta(Spain)[98] | 20 | 71,505(2001) | 3,575.2 | — |
 Madeira Islands(Portugal)[99] | 797 | 245,000(2001) | 307.4 | Funchal |
 Melilla(Spain)[100] | 12 | 66,411(2001) | 5,534.2 | — |
| Southern Africa | ||||
 Botswana | 600,370 | 1,990,876[94] | 3.3 | Gaborone |
 Lesotho | 30,355 | 2,130,819[94] | 70.2 | Maseru |
 Zimbabwe | 390,580 | 11,392,629[94] | 29.1 | Harare |
 Namibia | 825,418 | 2,108,665[94] | 2.6 | Windhoek |
 South Africa | 1,219,912 | 49,052,489[94] | 40.2 | Bloemfontein,Cape Town,Pretoria[101] |
 Swaziland | 17,363 | 1,123,913[94] | 64.7 | Mbabane |
| Western Africa | ||||
 Benin | 112,620 | 8,791,832[94] | 78.0 | Porto-Novo |
 Burkina Faso | 274,200 | 15,746,232[94] | 57.4 | Ouagadougou |
 Cape Verde | 4,033 | 429,474[94] | 107.3 | Praia |
 Côte d'Ivoire | 322,460 | 20,617,068[94] | 63.9 | Abidjan,[102]Yamoussoukro |
 Gambia | 11,300 | 1,782,893[94] | 157.7 | Banjul |
 Ghana | 239,460 | 23,832,495[94] | 99.5 | Accra |
 Guinea | 245,857 | 10,057,975[94] | 40.9 | Conakry |
 Guinea-Bissau | 36,120 | 1,533,964[94] | 42.5 | Bissau |
 Liberia | 111,370 | 3,441,790[94] | 30.9 | Monrovia |
 Mali | 1,240,000 | 12,666,987[94] | 10.2 | Bamako |
 Mauritania | 1,030,700 | 3,129,486[94] | 3.0 | Nouakchott |
 Niger | 1,267,000 | 15,306,252[94] | 12.1 | Niamey |
 Nigeria | 923,768 | 158,259,000[94] | 161.5 | Abuja |
 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha(UK) | 410 | 7,637[94] | 14.4 | Jamestown |
 Senegal | 196,190 | 13,711,597[94] | 69.9 | Dakar |
 Sierra Leone | 71,740 | 6,440,053[94] | 89.9 | Freetown |
 Togo | 56,785 | 6,019,877[94] | 106.0 | Lomé |
| Africa Total | 30,368,609 | 1,001,320,281 | 33.0 | |
See also
 | Book:Africa |
| Books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |
Main articles: Outline of Africa and Index of Africa-related articles
Lists:
References
- ^ "World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision" United Nations (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, population division)
- ^ a b Sayre, April Pulley. (1999) Africa, Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 0-7613-1367-2.
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