Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,300,000 km² including adjacent islands, it covers 5.9% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.3% of the total land area. With more than 840,000,000 people (as of 2005) in 61 territories, it accounts for more than 12% of the world's human population.
Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth's surface. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez (transected by the Suez Canal), 130 km (80 miles) wide. (Geopolitically, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of Africa, as well.) From the most northerly point, Cape Blanc (Ra’s al Abyad) in Tunisia, to the most southerly point, Cape Agulhas in South Africa, is a distance of approximately 8,000 km; from Cape Verde, the westernmost point, to Ras Hafun in Somalia, the most easterly projection, is a distance of approximately 7,400 km. The coastline is 26,000 km long, and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is illustrated by the fact that Europe, which covers only 9,700,000 km²- less than a third of the surface of Africa — has a coastline of 32,000 km.

Southern Africa Map ©