THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
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| THE MAP OF AFRICA SHOWING THE LIST OF COUNTRIES |
The African continent is strategically positioned as an alternative gateway between Asia and Europe. Her location on the globe made it quite secluded and unknown from the rest of the major world for a very long time. It is believed to be the oldest inhabited continent on earth as revealed from the study of fossils.
The continent used to be a bone of contention between the then colonial powers of imperial Europe, this was due to vast resource spread out in different geography of the continent. This unfortunately led to the exploitation of the African people who were sold out to slavery in their large numbers by the cruel and egoistic powers of Europe.
Precolonial Africans predominantly practiced traditional forms of beliefs, they were basically engaged in primary jobs. The history of Africa cant be told without the mention of great empires that shaped the traditions and culture of the African society. The likes of Mali, Congo, Oyo, Ghana, great Zimbabwe etc. Were great empires with lasting influence.
Africa is blessed with rainforests to the south, west, tropical grassland and savannah to the north and parts of the east, parts of the north are also Mediterranean. North Africa is home to the largest desert in the world (Sahara).majority of Africans are black with the exception of countries in north Africa. Interesting is it to hear that over 1500-2000 languages are spoken on the continent.
Today Africa is the second largest and second most populous continent after Asia. Its population of 1.4 billon is slightly above that of china. Modern Africa is comprised of 54 sovereign states.
It is worth noting that several countries in this continent have one of the largest shares of mineral resources in the world, be it crude oil, gold, diamond ,tin etc. Africa is endowed with the wealth of mineral resources.
What's more? the continent is a major supplier of most raw materials used in production globally. This however seems to be more of a curse than blessing. The continent grapples with incredibly high rates of poverty manifesting into widespread malnutrition, hunger, violence and at worse political and social instability. Africa is home to one of the longest, deadliest and seeming unending war in modern history.
The future of Africa however is promising, this narrative is changing in a handful of countries and has resulted in unprecedented reforms translating into improving economic situations. Africans are happy seeing their respective countries rank high globally in terms of HDI,Military, Economy, GDP/PPP etc.
Surprisingly nations in Africa now displace their contemporaries in Asia and South America when evaluated based on the aformentioned criteria.