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Africa
Second-largest continent on earth. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean; it is divided almost equally by the equator. Area: 11,724,300 sq mi (30,365,700 sq km). Population (1994 est.): 683,000,000. Africa is composed largely of a rigid platform of ancient rocks that underlies vast plateau regions in the interior. Its average elevation is about 2,200 ft (670 m), but elevations range from 19,340 ft (5,895 m) at Mt. Kilimanjaro to 515 ft (157 m) below sea level at Lake Assal. The Sahara, the world's largest contiguous desert, occupies more than one-fourth of the total land area. The continent's hydrology is dominated by the Nile River in the north and the Congo in central Africa. Only about 6% of the continent is arable, while nearly one-fourth is forested or wooded. The peoples of Africa probably speak more languages than those of any other continent. Arabic is predominant from Egypt to Mauritania and in the Sudan. The sub-Sahara is inhabited by peoples speaking a number of languages known collectively as Bantu, while a smaller number use languages from the Khoisan language family of SW Africa. Peoples of European descent are found in the south; Dutch (Boer) migrations began in the 17th cent., and the English first settled in what is now Zambia and Zimbabwe in the 19th cent. Africa as a whole is a developing region. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy in most countries. Diamond and gold mining are especially important in the south, while other areas produce petroleum and natural gas. Most African governments are controlled by a single clique. Many legal systems are based on laws introduced by European powers during the colonial era, though N. African countries derive many laws from Islam. African leaders have sought to develop a pan-African approach to the continent's political and military affairs through the Organization of African Unity. Human beings are widely thought to have originated in Africa. The oldest known hominids, members of the genus Australopithecus, date from about 8 million years ago. Homo habilis and Homo erectus inhabited Africa before and during the Pleistocene epoch (1.6 million-10,000 years ago), and forms of Homo sapiens began appearing 500,000-300,000 years ago. By the end of the Pleistocene, distinct African races of modern humans had emerged. Africa's first great historical kingdom, Egypt, arose along the Nile c.3000 BC and flourished for nearly 3,000 years. The Phoenicians established a colony at Carthage and controlled the W Mediterranean for nearly 600 years. While N Africa was dominated by the Romans for several centuries, the first known empire in W Africa was Ghana (5th-11th cent. AD). Muslim empires included those of Mali (c.1250-1400) and the Songhai of Gao (c.1400-1591). In E and central Africa the emphasis was on trade with Arabia, and several powerful city-states, incl. Mogadishu and Mombasa, were established. ...

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