25 Amazing Things You Probably Didn't Know About Africa

The second largest continent on Earth is a bit of an exotic mystery to most people. So get ready, because from the languages to the people these are 25 amazing things you probably didn’t know about Africa.


25. Africa is home to the world's largest living land animal, the African Elephant

24. It is also home to the world's tallest animal, the giraffe

23. Africa and Europe are separated by barely 14 km and there has been some talk about building the world's longest bridge

22. 40% of kids between the ages of 5 and 14 are involved in child labour

21. On average, people have to walk roughly 4km to collect water.

20. The water they collect is rarely drinkable though, and must be boiled before consumption

19. 96 elephants are killed everyday on the continent

18. The deadliest animal on the continent (the one that is responsible for the most human deaths) is the hippopotamus

17. According to the Guinness Book of World Records Zimbabwe is the country with the most official languages at 16 (yes, we know that other countries could be said to have more but this also depends on how you define a language vs a dialect)

16. There is actually a beer brewed from bananas in some countries

15. Almost half of the gold ever mined on Earth has come from one small place – Witwatersrand, South Africa

14. Between 1530 and 1780 nearly 1.5 million Europeans were sold into slavery in North Africa during what became known as the Barbary Slave Trade.

13. Lesotho is the only country on Earth that has no territory below 1000 meters above sea level

12. Facebook has 100 million users in Africa

11. The official title of Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator, was "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular"

10. In 2010 Ghana banned the sale of second hand underwear

9. The San people of southern Africa still use the same tools that were recently found in a cave. The tools were estimated to be 44,000 years old

8. In South Africa you are legally allowed to attach flamethrowers to your car in order to deter car jacking

7. Tanzania has the world's highest rate of albinism. Unfortunately, albinos are often hunted by witch doctors in order to create various potions

6. Graca Machel is the only women to have ever been first lady of two different countries (Mozambique and South Africa)

5. More people speak French in Africa than in France

4. Spain has two enclaves (territory) in Africa. They are Melilla and Ceuta.

3. According to Pew Research, by 2050 roughly 38% of the world's Christians will live in sub-saharan Africa

2. Most of the fastest runners in the world come from a single tribe in Kenya known as the "Kalenjins"

1. Women of the Mursi tribe wear lip plates that can be up to 12cm (5 inches) in diameter

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