Africa Information Safari

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Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² (11.7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth’s  total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With 1.0 billion people based on 2009 census, it accounts for about 14.72% of the world’s human population.  

The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the  Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent has 54 Sovereign states, including Madgascar and various island groups.

Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.

Post-colonial Africa

Today, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries, most of which still have the borders drawn during the era of European colonialism. Since colonialism, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and  authoritarianism. The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of the presidential system of rule. However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic governments on a permanent basis, and many have instead cycled through a series of military coups, producing military dictatorships.

Great instability was mainly the result of marginalization of ethnic groups, and graft under these leaders. For political gain, many leaders fanned ethnic conflicts that had been exacerbated, or even created, by colonial rule. In many countries, the military was perceived as being the only group that could effectively maintain order, and it ruled many nations in Africa during the 1970s and early 1980s. During the period from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, Africa had more than 70 coups and 13 presidential assassinations. Border and territorial disputes were also common, with the European-imposed borders of many nations being widely contested through armed conflicts.

 The most devastating military conflict in modern independent Africa has been the Second Congo War.  By 2008, this conflict and its aftermath had killed 5.4 million people. Since 2003 there has been an ongoing conflict in Darfur which has become a humanitarian disaster.  AIDS has also been a prevalent issue in post-colonial Africa.

 The Africa economy

 The Africa economy is as diverse as the region. The southern parts are prosperous whereas the other parts struggle for stability. African economy is an extreme one, African economy performs poorly largely due to corruption and graft. However, due to the presence of natural resources, has the potential to grow at a fast pace. The African expected economic growth rate is at about 5.0% for 2010 and 5.5% in 2011.