Africa
Overview
Africa is the world's second-largest continent by area and the second-most populous, a region where 54 countries and thousands of ethnic groups, languages, and cultures coexist. Often called the birthplace of humanity, it is a central space where European colonial rule and independence, along with 21st-century resource competition and economic growth, intersect.
Main Content
Geography and Natural Environment
Africa covers approximately 30.37 million km², about 20% of the world's land area. In the north lies the Sahara (사하라), the world's largest desert, and to its south stretch the Sahel (사헬) belt, the West African savanna, the tropical rainforests of the Congo Basin, and the East African Rift Valley. Mount Kilimanjaro, the Atlas Mountains, and the Drakensberg are among its representative landforms, while the Nile, Congo, Niger, and Zambezi rivers are its major waterways. Large lakes such as Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Chad have also developed. The continent is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean, and the Suez Canal and the Cape Route are strategic chokepoints in global logistics.
History
Numerous early human fossils have been discovered in Ethiopia and Kenya, demonstrating that Africa is the cradle of humankind. Ancient Egyptian civilization along with Nubia, the Kingdom of Aksum, the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires of West Africa, Great Zimbabwe, and the Swahili coastal city-states formed their own civilizations and trade networks. From the 15th century onward, as European navigators expanded into the region, the Atlantic slave trade intensified, and it is estimated that more than 12 million people were forcibly displaced. Triggered by the Berlin Conference of 1884–85, the European powers partitioned Africa and established colonial rule, and in the mid-20th century independence movements gained momentum, culminating in 1960—the so-called "Year of Africa"—when 17 countries gained independence. In 1994 apartheid came to an end in the Republic of South Africa, and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), founded in 1963, evolved into the African Union (AU) in 2002.
Politics and International Relations
Regional organizations such as the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, SADC, and the EAC pursue political and economic integration. On the other hand, civil wars, armed conflicts, and coups have recurred in the Sahel, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Somalia. While the number of countries with established electoral democracy has grown, authoritarian regimes and controversies over extending term limits remain unresolved challenges. Internationally, China, the United States, the EU, Russia, India, Turkey, and the Gulf states compete for resources and influence.
Economy and Industry
The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has increased the potential for regional integration. The continent is rich in mineral resources, including oil and gas in Nigeria, Algeria, and Angola; cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; platinum and gold in the Republic of South Africa; copper in Zambia; and diamonds in Botswana. Agriculture—such as cocoa, coffee, and cotton—and the tourism industry are also important, and mobile payments and fintech, represented by Kenya's M-Pesa, have grown rapidly. With a median age of only about 19, the youth population carries a dual challenge: the opportunity of a demographic dividend and a shortage of jobs. Insufficient infrastructure, gaps in electricity access, external debt, and exchange-rate instability are still cited as structural vulnerabilities.
Culture and Language
More than 2,000 languages are spoken in Africa, with Arabic, Swahili, Hausa, Amharic, and Yoruba among the major ones. Christianity, Islam, and traditional beliefs coexist. Music genres such as Afrobeats, highlife, kwaito, and amapiano; literature represented by Chinua Achebe and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o; and film industries such as Nollywood are drawing global attention. Football is the most popular sport across the continent, and the Africa Cup of Nations is its biggest festival.
Latest Trends
The AfCFTA, which entered into force in 2021, is seeking to raise the share of intra-regional trade by gradually expanding tariff elimination and implementation of rules of origin. Responding to the climate crisis is also a key agenda item; as desertification in the Sahel, drought in the Horn of Africa, and cyclone damage threaten food security, demands are growing for expanded climate finance from developed countries. As demand for critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium surges in the era of energy transition, resource nationalism and attempts to attract local processing industries have increased. In the digital sector, mobile money and fintech unicorn companies have emerged, and investment in nurturing AI talent is expanding. The population is projected to reach about 2.5 billion by 2050, which means the region will account for a substantial portion of global population growth. Meanwhile, a chain of coups in the Sahel, the emergence of military governments, and Russia's expanding influence have triggered a realignment of relations with the West, and alongside efforts against malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV, self-reliance in vaccine manufacturing pursued by countries such as the Republic of South Africa and Senegal is also an important trend.
Related Topics
- [[African Union]]
- [[Colonialism]]
- [[Sahara Desert]]
- [[AfCFTA]]
- [[Climate Change]]