AFRICA – Here are some of the surprising facts about second largest continent in the world that is popular for its pyramids and deserts.
Among the seven continents in the world, Africa is the second-largest continent as well as the second most populous continent across the globe. It covers aroun 20% of the land area of the Earth and 6% of its total surface. It has over 1.4 billion people. The continent is most popular for its deserts.
Africa is a home to a lot of deserts with the Sahara Desert being its most popular desert. It is also where the Nyiri Desert, the Libyan Desert, the Kalahari Desert, the Danakil Desert, the Grand Bara, the Namib Desert, the Karoo, and the Nubian Desert can be found.
While the continent is most popular for its deserts, there are a lot of surprising facts that many people don’t know about Africa. Here are some of these facts you may have yet to know:
Africa has more countries than Asia
Asia is the largest continent in the world but Africa has more countries. The former has 48 nations while the latter has 54 countries which are the Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome & Principe, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
It is the warmest continent in the world
Around 60% of the land in the continent is dry and covered by desert. In Sahara which is the world’s biggest desert, the temperature often tops 100 degrees Fahrenheit or over 40 degrees Celsius.
The Sahara Desert is bigger than U.S.A
Not only that Sahara Desert is the place with the warmest temperature, it also has a jaw-dropping size of 9.4 million square kilometers which makes it bigger than the entire United States of America.
It has the “Land of the Twins”
Nigeria which is found in Africa has the highest number of twins born in the world. The rate was reported to be four (4) times higher compared with anywhere in the world.
It is home to the biggest frog specie in the world
The Goliath Frog which is considered the biggest specie of frog in the world can be found in Africa. The said frog specie can grow up to foot long in size. It can weigh up to eight (8) pounds or heavier than the average new-born baby.