[Music] africa is the world's second biggest continent and it is home to some of the world's most beautiful countries as well as some of the world's most unique scenery and fauna making it a popular tourist destination africa is a continent with 54 separate countries and a diverse mix of native peoples cultures economy and history and it is considered by many scientists to be the origin of mankind it is home to enormous deserts tropical rainforests steep mountains and rich grasslands and its scenic beauty and variety are truly breathtaking with a diversity of flora and animals that no other continent can match every year a rising number of people from all over the world flock to this beautiful continent to see its wonders and there are reasons why hello viewers welcome to another informative video on the channel if you're new here ensure to hit that subscribe button and turn on notifications so as to be notified on our future uploads before we get back to our main subjects feel free to check our channel if you're interested in content containing the african continent without any further delay here are 15 interesting facts about africa number one africa is the second largest continent on earth with a total area of roughly 30. 37 million square kilometers africa is the world's second largest continent accounting for 5. 7 percent of the earth's surface and 20 of the total land surface on our planet north africa east africa central africa south africa and west africa are the five sub-sections one of the most fascinating statistics about africa is that the continent's length and breadth are about equal measuring seven thousand and nine kilometers from the car senegal east to mogadishu somalia and seven thousand two hundred and forty eight kilometers from cape town south africa to north of tripoli libya there are 54 countries and 10 territories as well as two de facto independent states that have received little or no recognition sudan was once africa's lightest country before being divided into sudan and south sudan algeria is presently africa's largest country in terms of land while cairo in egypt is the largest metropolis and the country's capital africa is frequently perceived as being separated from the rest of the globe yet this is far from the case at the straits of gublatra which separates spain and morocco africa and europe are separated by fewer than nine miles and ferries can even transport you from africa to europe or vice versa number two there are more than two thousand recognized languages in africa there are at least three thousand ethnic groupings and roughly two thousand different languages spoken each with its own direct while arabic is the most frequently spoken language on the african continent it is followed by english swahili and french according to fossil evidence africa appears to be the first continent where humans were discovered humans lived on the african continent roughly 7 million years ago according to forceful evidence 3.
africa is the world's hottest continent africa as you are surely aware has a very hot climate and is regarded as the hottest continent on the planet around 60 of the area is dry and covered by desert and the sahara is the world's largest desert with temperatures frequently exceeding 40 degrees celsius however while the hottest recorded temperature on earth it was once in africa at 58 degrees celsius in el azizia libya the continent also holds the coldest temperature on the planet at negative 23. 9 degrees celsius in ephraim morocco this just goes to demonstrate how diverse the african countries are and the differences don't stop at the temperature number four africa is the source of the world's longest river the nia river is the world's longest river stretching 6853 kilometers northward through 11 countries which are tanzania uganda rwanda burundi the democratic republic of the congo kenya ethiopia eritrea south sudan sudan and egypt number five africa's sahara desert is bigger than the usa as previously stated africa is the hottest continent on the earth with desert covering much of its land the sahara as the world's largest desert is incredibly enormous it covers 9. 4 million square kilometers which is more than the entire united states another fascinating fact about the sahara is that it is actually expanding in size with southern portions extending at a rate of half a mile per month or six miles per year number six it has one of the oldest universities in the world despite the fact that many adults on this continent are illiterate africa is home to one of the world's oldest universities built in the 12th century timbuktu in mali had become the center of all intelligentsia and historians have even branded it as the parry of medieval times the university of timbuktu is one of the earliest known educational institutions having been founded in 982 ce number seven africa is the biggest single source of gold throughout mining history as previously said africa has a wealth of resources that the western world desires africa and notably the white waters ryan region of south africa has produced over half of all gold ever mined on the planet gold exports were valued at 3.
8 billion us dollars in 2005 notwithstanding the reduction in production south africa is also well known for its diamonds however botswana produces the most number eight sedan has more pyramids than egypt did you know that although egypt is known for its pyramids many people are so unaware that sedan and afghan country has a total of 223 pyramids this is more than aegis total number of pyramids these forgotten pyramids are the mirror pyramids which formerly served as the capital of the nubian ruled kingdom of kush nine mount kilimanjaro is the highest point in africa mount kilimanjaro is a major tourist attraction in africa and many people from all over the world attempt to climb it as a challenge mount kilimanjaro in tanzania is the highest peak in all of africa in case you didn't know it reaches a height of nineteen thousand three hundred and forty feet above sea level and is one of today's most difficult climbs for even professional climbers it is nevertheless one of the most pervious climbing adventures with over a thousand people rescued each year and a yearly death rate of roughly 10 individuals indicating that this climb is not for the faint of heart number 10 tonation buildings are made with fish bones fish are regarded to have mystical significance by many people in tunisia a north african country and they are used to ward off evil spirits some people would just hang photographs of fish in their homes as a form of protection but many homes here have been built with fish bones implanted in the walls and floors to keep evil spirits away 11. africa is home to the world's biggest frog species it's perhaps not unexpected that africa is home to the world's largest rock species it is known as the goliath rock and it may grow up to a food long and weigh up to eight pounds making it larger than the average human newborn this creature which can be found in a caterer guinea and cameroon is large but harmless twelve african elephants are the biggest land mammals african elephants are the world's largest living land mammals weighing up to six stones and measuring up to seven meters in length they are frequently compared to the asian counterparts although they have numerous distinguishing characteristics including being larger in size they also have significantly larger ears wrinkles and rings on their trunks than their asian counterparts this is a great species to keep an eye out for your next trip 13. make malawi boast the largest number of fish species lake malawi is one of africa's most stunning safari and beach destinations and it also has the most fish species that are roughly 500 different varieties of fish in this lake more than any other in the world so keep an eye out for some intriguing ones if you get the chance to visit 14.
africa took part in the shortest war ever recorded in history africa not only had the world's second deadliest war but it also witnessed the world's shortest war ever recorded in history the war between zanzibar and the united kingdom began in august 1896 the british refused to acknowledge sultan khalid bin bhagaj's succession after the previous pro-british sultan hamad ibn war broke out as british forces invaded the palace grounds but sultan khalid bin bagash only survived 38 minutes before raising the white flag of surrender he eventually fled to german east africa while the british to control and selected a new sultan 15.
