This is Africa. No, Africa is not just a big Savannah with wild animals. ‘African’ isn’t
a language. And no, Africa is not a country! The truth is, Africa contains 54 different countries,
more than any other continent in the world. It is the world’s second-largest
and second-most-populous continent, with over 1.3 billion people calling it home. In the episode
of Curiosity Ignite, we’ll explore all 54 African nations, starting with Algeria, the first African
country in the alphabetical list. Located in the Maghreb region of North Africa, Algeria has a land
area of around 2.4 million square kilometers, making it the largest country in Africa. The
title of the largest country in Africa used to belong to Sudan; however, Sudan was split into
two separate countries after South Sudan gained independence in 2011. In doing so, South Sudan
became the world’s youngest sovereign country to date with widespread recognition. Sudan, however,
is a country where the longest river in the world is formed. Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan,
is where the White Nile and the Blue Nile merge, becoming the Nile River before flowing into
Egypt. Egypt, located at the northeast corner of Africa, is the only transcontinental country in
Africa. In Egypt, over 95% of the population lives on less than 6% of the country’s land,
mostly along the Nile river delta. The greater Cairo area, located near the Nile Delta, is the
largest urban area in all of Africa. Its total population is estimated to be around 21 million.
While the largest metropolitan area in Africa is in Egypt, the largest city in Africa is Lagos,
which is located in the country of Nigeria. Often referred to as the powerhouse of Africa,
Nigeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of population. Nigeria is also the leading oil
producer and the country with the largest economy in all of Africa. To the North of Nigeria is
Niger. Yes, it’s NEE JEH, not NEI GER. Niger is often nicknamed the Frying Pan of the World as the
country is one of the hottest countries on Earth. The country is also very dry as the country’s
terrain is made out of mostly desert plains and sand dunes. To the east of Niger is Chad. Located
in the northern part of Central Africa, Chad is the largest landlocked country in Africa. What’s
interesting about Chad is its flag. The national flag of Chad is extremely identical to Romania’s
flag as both of them have the same proportion and similar colors. Ivory Coast also has a very
similar flag to that of another country. The flag of the Ivory Coast is similar to the Irish flag,
with a vertical tricolor of orange, white, and green. What’s different is that the Irish flag has
green on the hoist side and a longer proportion, while the flag of Ivory Coast has orange on the
hoist side and a shorter proportion. The highest point in Ivory Coast is Mount Richard-Molard,
which is situated at the border of Ivory Coast and Guinea. Despite being called Guinea,
the country’s coastline doesn’t actually touch the Gulf of Guinea. Just like the Ivory Coast and the
Republic of Ireland, Guinea and Mali have flags that mirror each other. Mali, a landlocked country
in West Africa, is a country with no northernmost and easternmost points as they are both straight
lines. Within Mali is the city of Gao, where the prime meridian runs through. Here, you can put one
foot on the western hemisphere and the other on the eastern hemisphere. Another African country
the Prime Meridian passes through is Ghana. Ghana is the closest country to Null Island, the
point on the Earth’s surface where latitude and longitude are both at zero degrees, or in other
words, the point where the Prime Meridian and the Equator cross. If you rearrange the flag of Ghana,
you’ll get the flag of Guinea-Bissau. Similar to Guinea, Guinea-Bissau is not located in the Gulf
of Guinea. An interesting fact of Guinea-Bissau is that contrary to what most might expect,
people here are called ‘Bissau-Guineans,’ not ‘Guinea-Bissauans’! Just so you know,
there are three countries in Africa that have the word Guinea in their name, and they are Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea. Despite its name, no part of Equatorial Guinea’s territory
actually lies on the equator. Rather than on Equitorial Guinea, the equator cuts through Gabon,
a country that lies mostly to the south of Equatorial Guinea. Gabon is one of the
most forested countries in Africa, with over 85% of the country being covered in Forest.
Off the coast of Gabon is São Tomé and Príncipe, the smallest Portuguese speaking country in the
world. This island county is the second smallest African nation in terms of area and population as
Seychelles is smaller. Seychelles is a country without indigenous people due to the fact that
the country remained uninhabited until around 1770 when French settlers began to arrive with African
slaves. Speaking of slaves, Ouidah, a city on the coast of Benin, used to be one of the largest
slave ports in all of Africa. It was the departure point for more than a million slaves. Benin
is also a country where Voodoo was believed to have originated, which spread to the neighboring
countries of Ghana and Togo. In Togo, more than a third of the population practices indigenous
religions, which also includes Voodoo. The largest religion in the country, however, is Christianity.
Almost half of the population is Christian, many of whom are Roman Catholics. Another country
with a large Roman Catholic population is the landlocked country of Rwanda, the smallest country
in East Africa. Rwanda has the world’s highest representation of women in parliament and is one
of the only two countries in the commonwealth never to have been part of the British Empire.
The other is Mozambique. Spelled out with Scrabble tiles, Mozambique would score more than any other
one-word country. Mozambique is also the only country with a single world that includes all five
vowels. Another country name that has all five vowels in its name is the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. Interestingly, Kinshasa, the capital city of the DRC, is the city with the highest
number of French speakers, even more than Paris, the capital city of France. Kinshasa is located
alongside the Congo River. The other side of the river, however, is Brazzaville, the capital city
of the Republic of the Congo. In case you didn’t catch that, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and the Republic of the Congo are separate and distinct countries. Separated only by a river,
Brazzaville and Kinshasa are the world’s closest national capitals by proximity.
That is if you ignore Rome and Vatican City since Rome completely envelopes Vatican City.
At first glance, you might think the Republic of the Congo does not border Angola, but upon closer
look, Congo actually borders Cabina, an Angolan exclave south of the Congo. Luanda, the capital
and the largest city in Angola, is arguably the world’s most expensive city for ex-pats.
It is not uncommon for a three-bedroom apartment in the city to cost over ten thousand dollars a
month. Diamonds are an important economic resource for Angola, a fact that they share with Botswana.
In fact, Botswana is the largest diamond producing country in all of Africa. Bordering Botswana is
Zimbabwe, which borders Zambia to the North. On the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia is Victoria
Falls. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, Victoria Falls is
classified as the largest, based on its combined width of 1,708 meters and height of 108 meters,
resulting in the world’s largest sheet of falling water. Looking at the map of Africa, you’d think
that Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Namibia share the world’s only four-nation quadripoint.
But, if you zoom in close enough, you’ll realize it actually consists of two tri-points rather than
a single quadripoint. This incredibly short 150 meters border between Botswana and Zambia
is the shortest overall border between two countries, but it isn’t the shortest
international border in the world. For that, you’d have to travel to Morocco because Morocco shares
the world’s shortest international border with Spain. But wait, isn’t Spain located in Europe,
across the Strait of Gibraltar? Well, you’re right for the most part. To date, Spain still controls a
few territories in Africa, one of which is this Spanish military outpost that borders Morocco.
This narrow strip of land is only 85 meters wide, making it the shortest international border in the
world. Speaking of interesting borders, The Gambia, the smallest country within mainland
Africa, has an oddly shaped border based on the Gambia River. Apart from its coastline,
The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal. Within Senegal is this exciting site—a pink lake
caused by algae that produce red pigment. The lake is also known for its high salt content,
making it sufficiently buoyant, such that people can easily float on it. Senegal is also home to
the tallest statue in Africa, called the African Renaissance Monument. This monument was built by
a North Korren construction company, which also built a monument located in Ethiopia. Ethiopia,
home to over 109 million people, is the largest landlocked country in the world by population,
and it is one of only two African countries that was never formally colonized, with Liberia being
the other. Liberia was created as a homeland for liberated African-American slaves, and because of
that, it shares a few American traits, such as the use of the imperial system of measurement,
the flag of Liberia, which is modeled after the U.S. flag, and Monrovia, the capital
city of Liberia, which is named after the U.S president, James Monroe. Similarly, Freetown,
the capital city of Sierra Leone, was also founded as a settlement for freed African American slaves.
If you look at a map, you may notice that Sierra Leone is incredibly round. In fact,
Sierra Leone is the roundest shaped country in the world. After Sierra Leone, the roundest countries
in Africa are Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, and Eswatini. Eswatini, a landlocked country in southern Africa,
is one of the few countries in the world and the only one in Africa that still practices absolute
monarchy. Bordering Eswatini is South Africa, the only country in the world to have three capital
cities. There’s the executive Pretoria, the judicial Bloemfontein, and the legislative Cape
Town. As the name suggests, South Africa is the southernmost country in Africa. On the other hand,
the northernmost country in Africa is Tunisia, where you can find the largest Amphitheatre in
Africa. The Amphitheatre of El Jem is one of the best-preserved Roman stone ruins in the world.
Just like Tunisia, Libya also shares a Mediterranean coast. In fact, Libya’s
coastline is the longest of any African country bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The dominant
religion in Libya is Islam, a fact they share with Comoros, an island country in the Indian Ocean
between the eastern coast of mainland Africa and the island of Madagascar. Madagascar isn’t just
an animated film; it is a real country located in Africa. Africa’s largest island nation is home to
various plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. In fact, approximately 90% of all plant and
animal species found in Madagascar are endemic. Another interesting fact of Madagascar is that it
is one of only two countries in the world to have non-decimal currency, the other being Mauritania.
Mauritania is the last country in the world to abolish slavery, and criminal laws were not passed
until as recently as 2007. Off the Atlantic coast of Mauritania is the island country of Cape Verde.
Situated approximately 700 kilometers off the western coast of the African continent,
Cape Verde is the westernmost country in Africa. The easternmost point in Africa,
however, is located in Mauritius, an island nation where the now extinct Dodo Birds used to live.
Mauritius is the only Hindu majority country in Africa, and it is the country with the highest
population density in all of Africa. The second most densely populated African country is Rwanda,
which is then followed by the landlocked nation of Burundi. Within the borders of Burundi are parts
of Lake Tanganyika, the longest freshwater lake in the world. This lake is shared by four countries,
one of which is Tanzania. Besides having the longest freshwater lake within its territory,
Tanzania also claims part of Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa in terms of surface area.
Back in 1896, present-day Tanzania is the site where the shortest recorded war in history was
fought. This war, known as the Anglo-Zanzibar war, lasted no more than 45 minutes. To the
North of Tanzania is Kenya. This country is unique because there’s a national park within the capital
city of Nairobi, and it is where you can see city landscapes behind free-roaming wild animals. Next
to Kenya is Somalia, one of the most ethnically homogenous countries in Africa. About 85% of the
population is made of ethnic Somalis. Somalia is also the country with the longest coastline
on mainland Africa, something Uganda does not have due to the fact that they are landlocked. Uganda,
located in East-Central Africa, is home to over 42 million people, making it the second-most populous
landlocked country in the world after Ethiopia. Just like Uganda, Burkina Faso is also landlocked,
and as a former French colony, French is the official language of Burkina Faso, but it is
only spoken by 10-15% of the country’s population. Instead, the Mossi language is the most popular,
with about half of the population using it on a day-to-day basis. If you look closely, the shape
of Burkina Faso resembles the shape of the Central African Republic. The Central African Republic is
one of the few countries least affected by light pollution, making it popular among stargazers as
it is possible to see the Milky Way with the naked eye on a clear night. Bordering
the Central African Republic is Cameroon, and the current president of Cameroon, Paul Biya,
is the longest-ruling non-royal leader in the world. To date, his length of tenure has lasted
over 45 years. Speaking of presidents, Eritrea has never held a presidential or national election
since its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. The current president is the first and only president
Eritrea has ever had. To the south of Eritrea is Djibouti, the least populated country in mainland
Africa. Within Djibouti is Lake Assal, a saline lake that lies 155 meters below sea level, making
it the lowest point on land in Africa. Due to the lack of outflow and high evaporation, the salinity
level here is extremely high. In fact, it is even saltier than the Dead Sea. While Djibouti has the
lowest point in Africa, Lesotho has the highest lowest point in the world. Lesotho’s lowest
point lies at a staggering 1,400 meters above sea level. Lesotho is also the only nation in
the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters in elevation. Another unique fact is that Lesotho is
completely surrounded by South Africa, making it one of only three enclaved countries in the world.
On the topic of enclave territories, let’s talk about Malawi. If you zoom in on Lake Malawi,
you’ll find the islands of Likoma and Chizumulu, both of which belong to Malawi. Despite that,
they lie within Mozambique’s waters. Yes, there are two Malawi territories surrounded by
Mozambique waters in the middle of Lake Malawi. If you’ve stayed until this part of the video,
then excellent because Malawi is the 54th and final African country to be covered. Make sure
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