the second largest of the continents, on the Mediterranean in the north, the Atlantic in the west, and the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean in the east. The Sahara desert divides the continent unequally into North Africa (an early centre of civilization, in close contact with Europe and W Asia, now inhabited chiefly by Arabs) and Africa south of the Sahara (relatively isolated from the rest of the world until the 19th century and inhabited chiefly by dark-skinned peoples). It was colonized mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries by Europeans and now comprises independent nations. The largest lake is Lake Victoria and the chief rivers are the Nile, Niger, Congo, and Zambezi. Pop: 1 100 000 000 (2013 est). Area: about 30 300 000 sq km (11 700 000 sq miles)
Africa in American English
(ˈæfrɪkə)
second largest continent, situated in the Eastern Hemisphere, south of Europe: c. 11,700,000 sq mi (30,303,000 sq km); pop. c. 705,000,000
Word origin
L < Africa (terra), African (land), fem. of Africus < Afer, an African
Word lists with
Africa
Continents
In other languages
Africa
British English: Africa /ˈæfrɪkə/ NOUN
Africa is the second largest of the continents. It is located to the south of Europe.
American English: Africa
Arabic: أَفْرِيقيا
Brazilian Portuguese: África
Chinese: 非洲
Croatian: Afrika
Czech: Afrika
Danish: Afrika
Dutch: Afrika
European Spanish: África
Finnish: Afrikka
French: Afrique
German: Afrika
Greek: Αφρική
Italian: Africa
Japanese: アフリカ
Korean: 아프리카
Norwegian: Afrika
Polish: Afryka
European Portuguese: África
Romanian: Africa
Russian: Африка
Latin American Spanish: África
Swedish: Afrika
Thai: ทวีปแอฟริกา
Turkish: Afrika
Ukrainian: Африка
Vietnamese: Châu Phi
All related terms of 'Africa'
East Africa
a region of Africa comprising Kenya , Uganda , and Tanzania
West Africa
the most westerly regions of the continent of Africa
Black Africa
Black Africa is the part of Africa to the south of the Sahara Desert .
North Africa
the part of Africa between the Mediterranean and the Sahara : consists chiefly of Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia , Libya , and N Egypt
South Africa
country in southernmost Africa: formerly the Union of South Africa , it became a republic in 1961; member of the Commonwealth : 472,855 sq mi (1,224,690 sq km); pop. 37,714,000; caps . Cape Town ( legislative ), Pretoria (administrative), & Bloemfontein ( judicial )
Horn of Africa
a region of NE Africa, comprising Somalia and adjacent territories
French West Africa
a former group (1895–1958) of French Overseas Territories : consisted of Senegal , Mauritania , French Sudan , ( now Mali ), Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Niger , French Guinea , Cô te d'Ivoire, and Dahomey (now Benin )
German East Africa
a former German territory in E Africa, consisting of Tanganyika and Ruanda-Urundi : divided in 1919 between Great Britain and Belgium ; now in Tanzania , Rwanda , and Burundi
South-West Africa
→ Namibia
sub-Saharan Africa
the region of Africa to the south of the Sahara desert
British East Africa
the former British possessions of Uganda , Kenya , Tanganyika , and Zanzibar , before their independence in the 1960s
British West Africa
the former British possessions of Nigeria , The Gambia , Sierra Leone , and the Gold Coast (now Ghana ), and the former trust territories of Togoland and Cameroons
French North Africa
the former French possessions of Algeria , French Morocco , and Tunisia
Italian East Africa
a former Italian territory in E Africa , formed in 1936 from the possessions of Eritrea , Italian Somaliland , and Ethiopia : taken by British forces in 1941
Spanish West Africa
a former overseas territory of Spain in NW Africa: divided in 1958 into the overseas provinces of Ifni and Spanish Sahara
French Equatorial Africa
the former French overseas territories of Chad , Gabon , Middle Congo , and Ubangi-Shari (1910–58)
German Southwest Africa
→ Namibia
Portuguese East Africa
→ Mozambique
Portuguese West Africa
→ Angola
Union of South Africa
→ the former name (1910–61) of (the Republic of) South Africa
Republic of South Africa
a republic occupying the southernmost part of the African continent : the Dutch Cape Colony (1652) was acquired by Britain in 1806 and British victory in the Boer War resulted in the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, which became a republic in 1961; implementation of the apartheid system began in 1948 and was abolished , following an intense civil rights campaign , in 1993, with multiracial elections held in 1994; a member of the Commonwealth , it withdrew in 1961 but was readmitted in 1994. Mainly plateau with mountains in the south and east. Mineral production includes gold, diamonds , coal , and copper . Official languages: Afrikaans ; English; Ndebele ; Pedi ; South Sotho ; Swazi ; Tsonga ; Tswana ; Venda ; Xhosa ; Zulu . Religion: Christian majority . Currency: rand . Capitals: Cape Town ( legislative ), Pretoria (administrative), Bloemfontein ( judicial ). Pop: 56 717 156 (2017 est). Area: 1 221 044 sq km (471 445 sq miles)
Namibia
a country in southern Africa bordering on South Africa: annexed by Germany in 1884 and mandated by the League of Nations to South Africa in 1920. The mandate was terminated by the UN in 1966 but this was ignored by South Africa, as was the 1971 ruling by the International Court of Justice that the territory be surrendered . Independence was achieved in 1990 and Namibia became a member of the Commonwealth ; Walvis Bay remained a South African enclave until 1994, when it was returned to Namibia. Official language: English; Afrikaans and German also spoken. Religion : Christian majority . Currency : dollar . Capital: Windhoek . Pop: 2 533 794 (2017 est). Area: 823 328 sq km (317 887 sq miles)