Africa: From Ancient Temples to Red Sea Shores: Our First Steps on the Continent

1. Africa is the second-largest continent in the world, at almost 12 million square miles.

2. The tallest mountain in Africa is Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, at a whopping height of 19,340 feet! That is still some 10,000 feet lower than Mount Everest, though!

3. The River Nile in Egypt is the longest river in Africa and also the world. It is an incredible 4,160 miles.

4. Africa's population as a whole is estimated to be around 877 million. The continent's largest country is Algeria, and the largest population is in Nigeria (206 million). The largest city is Cairo, at 9.2 million.

5. There are 54 countries in Africa and more than 2,000 recognized languages. The most popular is Arabic, spoken by 170 million people. Second is English at 130 million. There were actually 10,000 states at one point in Africa, perhaps explaining why there are so many spoken languages.

6. Around 60% of the land in Africa is covered by desert. It is considered the world's hottest continent, although it is diverse; the hottest recorded temperature was in Libya at 58°C (136.4°F), while the lowest was in Morocco at −23.9 °C (−11°F).

7. Nigeria has been nicknamed 'The Land of Twins' as it has the highest birth rate of twins anywhere in the world. At almost four times higher than anywhere else, there is an average of 50 sets of twins per 1,000 births.

8. The Sahara Desert is bigger than the entire United States, and has been expanding at a rate of 6 miles per year.

9. Timbuktu in Mali is home to one of the oldest universities in the world, built in the 12th century.

10. Almost half of all gold mined on Earth has come from the African continent.

11. Weighing over 6 tonnes, African Elephants are the largest living land animals on Earth.

12. The country of Sudan is home to 223 pyramids, actually double that of Egypt. In fact, 80 of the 118 known pyramids in Egypt were built by the Kingdom of Kush, ruled by Nubian kings, which occupied Egypt for almost 300 years.

13. A startling and sad fact is that more people in New York City have access to the internet than the entire continent of 54 African countries. 

14. There are more windmills in Africa than anywhere else in the world, including the Netherlands. At 280,000, Africa is home to 270,000 more than its nearest rival, at 10,000.

15. Africa is home to the world’s largest desert lake — Lake Turkana: Located mainly in Kenya and extending into Ethiopia, Lake Turkana is the world’s largest permanent desert lake and the world’s largest alkaline lake. It’s sometimes called the "Jade Sea" for its striking turquoise color.