The largest countries in Africa - what interesting can we recall about them? Our meager knowledge of Africa can be represented as a very limited associative series: desert, primitive beliefs, poverty and water scarcity. As a rule, this whole continent is a real terra incognita for many inhabitants of our planet. In this article, we will try to at least slightly dilute this information vacuum.
And how many countries in Africa as a whole? Not everyone knows the answer to this question either.
The political map of Africa and the history of its formation
How many countries in Africa? To answer this question, you should carefully study the modern political map of the mainland, as well as go a little deeper into the history of its formation.
For the first time, the boot of the European conqueror stepped on the African coast as early as 1415. These were the invaders from Portugal. Ten years later, they had already reached Cape Zeleny, the westernmost point of the mainland. At the end of the XV century, the Spaniards began to research and develop African lands.
At the beginning of the XVII century, the first maps of Africa appeared with approximately exact contours of the continent. Europeans did not find a single serious state that could withstand external conquerors. Therefore, nothing prevented them from colonizing the entire mainland.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, almost the entire territory of Africa belonged to one or another European state: France (about 35% of the area), Britain (30%), Portugal (no more than 10%), as well as Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium. Perhaps the only independent country in Africa at that time was only Liberia, which was formed in 1847 on the lands where freed slaves from the USA were evicted.
In the mid-twentieth century, the colonial system of the "black" continent began to crumble. And the modern countries of North Africa launched this process : Egypt became the first to gain independence, followed by Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. 1960 entered the world history as the year of Africa. At that time, 17 colonies immediately turned into independent states.
Eritrea became the last country that became sovereign on the mainland. It happened in 1993. However, most recently, in 2011, Sudan fell into two parts. As a result, two new countries appeared on the political map of Africa: the Republic of Sudan and South Sudan.
How many countries in Africa today? In total - 60. Of these, 55 are independent states and five are unrecognized by the international community. Below you can see all the countries and capitals of Africa on the map:
It is interesting to note that most modern states are unitary republics. Federations and monarchies here can be counted on the fingers.
Large African countries and regions
As a rule, geographers divide Africa into five regions:
- Northern;
- Central;
- South;
- Western
- and East.
The countries of North Africa have one very interesting feature: they all differ in relatively large sizes. It happened historically. But West Africa is the leader on the continent in the number of states. There are already 16. There is a highlight in South Africa - these are the so-called enclave countries (Lesotho and Swaziland).
The largest states on the mainland include Algeria, Libya, Mali, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad and South Africa.
Algeria: 7 interesting facts about the country
In 2011, Algeria became the largest country in Africa. This happened due to the fact that Sudan split into two republics. We bring to your attention seven interesting facts about this state:
- in Algeria you will not meet a single Orthodox church and not one McDonald's;
- license plates in this country are two-tone: in front - white, back - yellow;
- alcoholic drinks here can only be bought in special stores;
- about 80% of the territory of Algeria is occupied by the Sahara desert;
- seven UNESCO monuments are located within the country - a solid indicator!
- Algeria's climate is very harsh: in summer the temperature often reaches +50 0 , and in winter snow can fall;
- the name of the state translates quite strangely: "islands".
South Africa: 7 interesting facts about the country
The Republic of South Africa (or South Africa) is located in the extreme south of the mainland. Here are some interesting facts about this state:
- in the republic only official languages - 11;
- Afrikaans is common among them - a language that is very similar to Flemish;
- ideal roads in South Africa, but very tasteless vodka;
- the inhabitants of this country are literally addicted to meat and can eat it three times a day;
- the largest meteorite crater on Earth has survived in South Africa;
- names like Andrey, Lida or Nadia are very popular in South Africa;
- gasoline in this country is very cheap (about 1-1.5 dollars per liter).
The main problems of Africa
Almost all African countries suffer from a range of unresolved issues. The main one is general political instability and constant cross-border conflicts. The fact is that the borders of states were drawn here in the colonial period. At the same time, the areas of settlement of local tribes were not taken into account at all. Roughly speaking, the metropolis simply discovered African lands for itself like a Sunday cake. More than half of the borders in Africa pass either along natural boundaries (lakes, rivers), or along the grid lines.
Another serious problem in Africa is poverty. It is burdened by corruption and slowness of the bureaucratic apparatus. Against this background, the very weak development of science, education and medicine seems quite obvious.
Conclusion
Now you know how many countries in Africa. There are 55 of them (and together with unrecognized states - 60). The largest countries of the "black" continent include Algeria, Libya, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, South Africa.
Most African countries face the same challenges. Among them are poverty, political instability, the catastrophic spread of viral diseases (including HIV), illegal mining of mineral resources and others.