Africa is a unique continent filled with history, culture and commerce, as well as boasting stunning natural landscapes.
The continent is bigger than China, India, the continental US, and most of Europe combined.
It covers 20.5 percent of the earth’s total land area and is home to about 1.1 billion people.
Arabic is the most common language – spoken by 170 million people – followed by English (130 million) and Swahili (100 million).
Africa is the hottest continent and the second driest after Australia. Although it is nearly four times the size of Europe, it has a shorter overall coastline because of its straighter shores.
Below the Express takes a look at the ten largest African countries, which don’t include Egypt or Nigeria.
1. Algeria (2,381,741 square kilometres): It is the largest nation in Africa by area with a population of around 38.7 million. The country was colonised by the Romans and Ottomans. Traces of that past can be found in the ancient Roman ruins of Tipasa and in the Casbah district of the capital where the C17th Ketchaoua Mosque is located.
2. Democratic Republic of Congo (2,344, 858 square kilometres): Located on the Equator, it has a population of roughly 4.6 million people. About the size of Western Europe, it is the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The DRC is endowed with exceptional natural resources, including minerals such as cobalt and copper, hydropower potential, significant arable land, immense biodiversity, and the world’s second-largest rainforest.
3. Sudan (1,861,484 square kilometres): The country is located int he Nile valley of North Africa and has a population of approximately 37 million. It was the largest country by area in Africa and the Arab League until the secession of South Sudan in 2011.
4. Libya (1,759,540 square kilometres): The country was ruled over by Colonel Gaddafi for 42 years. He seized power in a bloodless military coup, before being killed in 2011 by rebel forces. Six million people live in the country, whose capital city is Tripoli.
5. Chad (1,759,549 square kilometres): The country is sometimes called “the dead heart of Africa” on account of its landlocked central position and generally arid conditions. Despite its nickname, it is home to its namesake Lake Chad, the continent’s second-largest wetland. It has a population of just over 10 million.
6. Niger (1,267,000square kilometres): Over 80 percent of its land area lies in the Sahara. Its predominantly Muslim population of about 25 million lives mostly in clusters in the south and west of the country. The capital Niamey is located in Niger’s southwest corner along the namesake Niger River.
7. Angola (1,246,700 square kilometres): The southern African nation has a varied terrain encompassing tropical Atlantic beaches, a labyrinthine system of rivers and Sub-Saharan desert that extends across the border into Namibia. It has a population of around 24 million.
8. Mali (1,240,192 square kilometres): Mali was part of three successive powerful and wealthy West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire (for which Ghana is named), the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. At its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire was the wealthiest country in Africa with its 14th-century emperor Mansa Musa believed to be one of the wealthiest individuals in history. Modern Mali has a population of around 14.5 million.
9. South Africa (1,219,090 square kilometres): The population of the country is roughly 53 million. It has 2,798 kilometres of coastline and is home to the famous Kruger National Park that is teeming with big game.
10. Ethiopia (1,104,300 square kilometres): Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa, is a rugged, landlocked country split by the Great Rift Valley. With archaeological finds dating back more than 3 million years, it’s a place of ancient culture. Today almost 88 million people live in the country.
Source link : https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1959608/africa-ten-biggest-countries-algiers
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Publish date : 2024-10-12 19:00:00
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