Africa
hideAfrica 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 a billion people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the World's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Not counting the disputed territory of Western Sahara, there are 53 countries, including Madagascar and various island groups, associated with the continent.
Africa, particularly central eastern Africa, is widely regarded within the scientific community to be the origin of humans and the Hominidae tree (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and their ancestors, as well as later ones that have been dated to around seven million years ago – including Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Australopithecus africanus, A. afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens (human) found in Ethiopia being dated to ca. 200,000 years ago.
Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.
For more information about Africa, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with africa
Japanese researchers film rare baby fish 'fossil'
Nov 17, 2009 |
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Japanese marine researchers said Tuesday they had found and successfully filmed a young coelacanth -- a rare type of fish known as "a living fossil" -- in deep water off Indonesia.
French find puts humans in Europe 200,000 years earlier
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 15, 2009 |
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Experts on prehistoric man are rethinking their dates after a find in a southern French valley suggested our ancestors may have reached Europe 1.57 million years ago: 200,000 years earlier than we thought.
Climate change could boost incidence of civil war in Africa
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Climate change could increase the likelihood of civil war in sub-Saharan Africa by over 50 percent within the next two decades, according to a new study led by a team of researchers at University of California, Berkeley, ...
Influenza in Africa should not be ignored
Dec 15, 2009 |
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Influenza is circulating in Africa, but virtually no information or attention is evident, says a new essay in this week's PLoS Medicine. Maria Yazdanbakhsh and Peter Kremsner argue that the lack of adequate surveillance means ...
Search results for africa
Rhino poaching surges in Asia, Africa
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Rhino poaching worldwide is on the rise, according to a new report by TRAFFIC and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
ARS Scientists Help Fight Damaging Moth in Africa
Dec 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have launched a preemptive strike to combat the false codling moth, a major pest in its native Africa.
It's time for a 'third wave' of malaria activism to tackle drug shortages
Nov 24, 2009 |
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In this week's PLoS Medicine, the journal's editors call for concerted international action to address the crisis of malaria drug shortages across Africa.
Obesity epidemic taking root in Africa
Dec 15, 2009 |
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The urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa are the latest victims of the obesity epidemic. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health claim that overweight and obesity are on the increase among this group. ...
World Bank musters $5.5 billion for solar projects
Dec 09, 2009 |
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The World Bank announced Wednesday 5.5 billion dollars would be invested in solar energy projects in five countries of the Middle East and North Africa in a bid to combat climate change.
Drinks industry supplanting government role in alcohol policies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Dec 15, 2009 |
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A recent comparison of proposed national alcohol policies in Lesotho, Malawi, Uganda, and Botswana shows that the drinks industry has assumed a significant and detrimental role in designing national alcohol policies in Sub-Saharan ...
South Africa to treat all HIV-positive babies
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(AP) -- South Africa announced ambitious new plans Tuesday for earlier and expanded treatment for HIV-positive babies and pregnant women, a change that could save hundreds of thousands of lives in the nation ...
Malaria cases likely half in third of countries
Dec 15, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Malaria cases appear to have been slashed by half in more than a third of countries battling the disease following a renewed push by the United Nations to eradicate it, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
Improving female reproductive health and empowerment through control of NTDs
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Controlling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in developing countries would help improve the reproductive health and rights of girls and women in the poorest countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, according ...
Many pregnant women avoid HIV screening in Africa
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Nov 19, 2009 |
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'Prevention is the best cure' is a common expression, but what happens if preventative measures are not used? A large proportion of pregnant Ugandan women are going out of their way not to be HIV tested, increasing the risk ...
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