Africa is the world’s 2nd largest continent in terms of population and area size. It comes right after Asia and has a total area of 11.7 square miles. Africa covers about 20% of the land area of Earth. The climate of Africa is dry arid to hot because it is closer to the equator and has the largest desert in the world as well known as The Sahara Desert. It is the least developed continent with many countries falling behind in terms of economic growth. Let’s find out more about Africa with the help of the following graphs. 

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Population of North Africa in 2021

Africa is a huge continent. The Northern Part alone accounts for a major population of entire Africa. This is because major countries are located over here. Egypt is the country with the most population in North Africa with over 105 million residents. Western Sahara is the country with the least population in North Africa with hardly 618,000 residents. In between these two extremes, there is Algeria with almost 44.9 million residents while Sudan has 45.2 million residents. Tunisia is also close to reaching the 12 million residents population while Libya is home to only 7 million people.

Population of West Africa in 2021

Just like North Africa, West Africa is also a residential and commercial hub of the continent with many major African economies over here. For this reason, this is the area with the most population in Africa. Nigeria has the highest population with more than 213 million people followed by Ghana with a total population exceeding 31.7 million residents. Other countries with a high population in West Africa include Ivory Coast (27 million), Niger (25.4 million), Burkina Faso (21.7 million), Mali (21 million), and Guinea – Bissau (20 million). You can also check out the population of other West African economies from the graph. 

Population of Central Africa in 2021

Central Africa is not as populous as the North African Continent or the West African Continent. There is not a well-managed government system nor are there many residents. The maximum population is in Kinshasa with 93.3 million residents. All other countries have less than one-third of this population. Angola has 34 million residents while Cameroon has 27.4 million residents. Chad is also close with 17 million in population numbers. The remaining Central African Countries are too small with a population of fewer than 5 million residents. These include the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Sao Tome & Principe.

Population of East Africa in 2021

East Africa is a popular region in the African continent with many top economies of Africa as well as a growing population and commercialization. Ethiopia is the most populous East African country with over 118 million residents followed by Tanzania with over 62 million residents. Kenya is also close with a net population of 55.4 million citizens. These are the top 3 most populous countries of East Africa. The total population of this region is over 460 million people. 

Population of Southern Africa in 2021

Southern Africa is not as popular as other parts. This is mainly because Southern Africa comprises a huge desert called the Sahara Desert. The extreme temperatures and abrupt climates are major reasons why people don’t live here. The most populous country in this region is South Africa with 60 million residents. All other countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland have around 1.8 to 2.7 million citizens each. The population growth in this area is also low. 

Most Spoken Languages in Africa

While Africa does not have much diversity in population, there are several top languages spoken over here at one time. Swahili is the most spoken language in Africa with over 150 million African speakers followed by Arabic with 100 million speakers and French with 90 million speakers. The remaining languages are not so well-spoken as they have 50 million or fewer speakers. Languages Yoruba and Oromo are spoken by 30 million African speakers each. Amharic and Igbo are also close with 25 million and 24 million African speakers, respectively. Zulu and Shona are the last on this list with 10 million speakers each. The languages tell a lot about the diversity in the African continent. 

Contribution to Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Sector to the GDP of Africa as of 2020

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing sectors come under the primary industry of any country. Since Africa is a backward continent with limited development, most countries rely on the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing sectors for sustaining the economy. As of 2020, Sierra Leone had a 61.29% contribution to these sectors followed by Chad and Libera at 47.73% and 42.6%, respectively. Countries with 30 to 39% contribution towards agriculture, forestry, and fishing include Guinea Bissau, Comoros, Central African Republic, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, and Niger. All other countries, as shown in the graph, have less than 30% of contribution towards the primary industry in Africa.  

African Countries with Highest GDP in 2021 

African Countries have quite a high rate of inflation and low economic growth. The GDP of even the top countries of Africa is only a small percentage of the developed or even developing economies of the world. Nigeria and Egypt are the most stable and financially strong countries with a GDP of $514 billion and $394 billion as of 2021, respectively. Algeria comes 3rd with $151 billion worth of GDP in 2021. Morocco had $124 billion in GDP mainly because it is a popular place for tourism in Africa. Countries such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Cameroon, Tunisia, Uganda, Sudan, Senegal, and others have an annual GDP of less than $100 billion in 2021. 

Top Tourist Destination Countries in Africa 

While Africa is not usually a popular tourist hub, there are still a few countries that are preferred by tourists. Morocco stands at the top of this list with over 10 million annual international visitors while South Africa is also close with 9.5 million annual international visitors. The top tourist destinations in South Africa also include Tunisia and Algeria with 6.2 million and 2.7 million annual international visitors. Other countries such as Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, and Senegal have less than 2 million annual visitors. Egypt has more visitors than any of the mentioned countries but it isn’t mentioned in this list because the United Nations World Tourism Organization Considers it a part of the Middle East. 

Wildlife in Africa by the Numbers

The African Continent is known for its wildlife. There are some of the wildest and most exotic animals living over here which are not usually found in other countries. There are mass lands that act as a habitat for the wildlife in Africa. The African Elephant is the most seen wildlife animal in Africa with over 415,000 of them. Other animals such as lions and cheetahs aren’t that big. There are around 23,000 lions and 6700 Cheetahs in Africa. African Wild Dog is also specifically a continent animal and there are around 6600 of them. The huge continent is also home to over 5000 Black Rhinos, 880 Mountain Gorillas, and less than 100 Addax. 

Most Developed Countries in Africa 

While Africa is not ranked among the continents with much-developed economies, there are a few of them which perform well. The two graphs summarize the standard of living and the level of population in the most developed countries of Africa. Mauritius has the highest Human Development Index level at 0.804 while the total population is 1.27 million. Seychelles comes 2nd with a Human Development Index of 0.796 and a total population of barely 100,000 citizens. Algeria is 3rd with a high population of 44.7 million while the Human Development Index is also good at 0.748. The highest population is in Egypt with more than 103 million residents and the Human Development Index at 0.707. Almost all the highly developed countries in Africa have a Human Development Index of more than 0.7 which is excellent.