What did you think it was? Hopefully, you got it right: Africa. Yes, today, we are going to learn a little bit about Africa. This topic is so close to my heart because I am Ethiopian (East African). And after coming to the United States as an international student, I have learnt that so many people think Africa is a country and are often amazed when I explain that it’s actually the second-largest continent after Asia. I wanted to share a few facts about Africa for my first article.
- Africa is the second-largest continent in the world both in size and population.
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Fun fact: Africa represents about a fifth of the earth’s total landmass.  This makes it larger than India, China, Mexico, the USA, and a huge chunk of Europe combined. Isn’t that amazing?
It is home to over 1 billion people who speak over 1,500 different languages. One in every four of the world’s languages are spoken only in Africa.Â
- The oldest human remains ever discovered were found in Ethiopia. They are approximately 200,000 years old.
- The longest river in the world, the Nile, runs through 11 African countries.
- Africa has the world’s largest desert, the Sahara, which is almost the size of the United States.Â
- Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is the highest mountain in the continent. It towers over 19,300 feet tall.
- Dallol in Northern Ethiopia has the world’s hottest average temperature.Â
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The average temperature in this locality is 93 degrees Fahrenheit (33.89 degrees celsius).Â
- The world’s largest land animal (the African elephant), the world’s tallest animal (the giraffe), the world’s fastest land animal (the cheetah), and the world’s largest reptile (the Nile Crocodile) all live in Africa.
- 25% of the earth’s bird species live in Africa.
- Lake Victoria (bordering Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya) is the world’s largest freshwater lake.
- Ethiopia is the only African country with its own alphabet. Â
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I hope you liked my first article and learnt some interesting facts about the motherland.