About Africa
Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent.
At about 30.2 million km2 (11.7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers six percent of the Earth’s total surface area and 20.4 percent of the total land area. With 1.0 billion people, it accounts for about 15% of the world’s human population.
The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagoes.
It has 54 fully recognized sovereign states (“countries”), 9 territories and three de facto states with limited recognition.