Africa Facts For Kids

Our Africa facts for kids will give you lots of interesting and fun facts about the Africa continent.

Africa is the second largest continent (after Asia), by land area and also stands second after Asia in terms of population.

The Africa continent is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean on the south, on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and on the south by the waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Know the name of the 54 countries in Africa

After knowing the geographical location of Africa, now it is the time to explore some amazing and interesting facts about Africa for kids.

FACT #1. In Africa, there are 54 sovereign countries.

FACT #2. In 2001, 55 African countries gave foundation to African Union. African Union is a federation of african countries.

FACT #3. On Jun 06 2019, after the suspension of Sudan’s membership, now there are 54 members associated with African Union.

FACT #4. Out of 54 sovereign nations, 48 of these countries are on mainland Africa and the remaining six are island nations.

FACT #5. By land area, Algeria is the largest country in mainland Africa and Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa.

Did You Know?
Mansa Musa of Mali (Africa) is considered one of the richest men in history.

FACT #6. Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa has taken its name from the river Gambia.

FACT #7. In Africa, there are 93 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Out of these 51 are cultural sites, 37 natural sites, 6 transboundary sites and 5 mixed sites.

FACT #8. When we talk about the smallest country in mainland Africa, we come to know that Gambia is the correct name, but this is not correct when we consider all 54 countries of Africa.The smallest country in Africa is actually the island nation of the Seychelles.

FACT #9. The Seychelles is also known as the least populated country(1,00,000).

FACT #10. Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa.

FACT #11. At 5895 meters, Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa, which located in Tanzania. The highest peak of this mountain is ‘Kibo Peak‘, also known as ‘Uhuru Peak‘

FACT #12. The Sahara is the largest desert in the world.

FACT #13. At 153 meters below sea level,Lake Asal in Djibouti is known as lowest point in Africa.

FACT #14. The Nile river is the longest river in Africa continent. The Nile is also the longest river in the world.

FACT #15. Lake Victoria, which is also known as Victoria Nyanza, is the largest lake in Africa. It is also the world’s second largest freshwater lake.

FACT #16. Nigeria is the fourth largest oil exporter in the world, and Africa’s biggest oil producer with about 2.2 million barrels produced every day.

FACT #17. According to recent figures from the African Development Bank (AfDB), Nigeria is the richest country in Africa.

FACT #18. Dallol is the hottest place in Africa , located in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia. It reaches an average temperature of 35°C or 95°F.

FACT #19. Africa is the hottest continent of the world.

FACT #20. African elephants are the biggest land mammals on the earth. They can weight over six tonnes and can be up to seven meter long in size.

FACT #21. Egypt is famous for its pyramid but you may be surprised to know that Sudan has more pyramids (223) than Egypt.

FACT #22. It is about 2,000 different languages are spoken on the African continent. While Arabic is the widely spoken language in the African continent, followed by English and Swahili, French respectively.

FACT #23. The oldest existing, and continually operating educational institution in the world is the University of Karueein, founded in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco. (source)