Africa

	Ti-ci article besona revision.

Africa es li continente duesim in grandore del munde e li duesim plu populat pos Asia. Con circa 30,244,050 km² (11,677,240 mi²), includente li insules vicinal, it covri 20.3 percent del superficie total de terre sur li terra. Con plu quam 800 million habitantes homan in 54 states, it forma circa sett percent del population homan mundal.

Etimologie

World map showing Africa (geographically)

Li nómine Africa esset introductet per li Romanes qui usat li nómine Africa terra - "land del Afri" por li part nord del continente, quam li provincia de Africa con su capitale Carthage, corespondent al Tunisia del témpor modern.

Li Afri esset un tribe — forsan Berberes — quel vivet in Nord-Africa in li region de Carthage. Li orígine de Afer es possibilmen conexet con Phoenician `afar, polve (anc trovat in mult lingues semitic altri); hay anc altri etimologies queles aparit por li nómine ancian 'Africa'. Li etimologies max discusset es:

li parol Latin aprica, significant "solic";

li parol greci aphrike, significant "sin frigore". Li historico Leo Africanus (1495-1554) atribuet li orígine al parol grec phrike (φρικε, significant "frigore e horrore"), combinat con li prefixe negativ a-, dunc land sin frigore e horrore. Támen li changeament de son de ph a f in Grec es databil a circa li secul prim, e pro to it ne posser vermen esser li orígine del nómine.

Egiptia esset considerat quam part de Asia per li ancianes, e ante omnicos assignat a Africa per li geograf Ptolemeus (85 - 165), qui hat acceptat Alexandria quam meridian prim e fat li istme de Suez e li Mare Rubi li ligament ínter Asia e Africa. Quande Europanes devenit conscient del extension real del continente, li idé de Africa augmentat con ti conossentie.

Geografie

Africa es li max larg del tri grand projectiones del pesa principal del superficie del terra. It include un geometrie remarcabilmen regulari tra circa 30,244,050 km² (11,677,240 mi²), con li insules includet.

Separat de Europa per li Mare Mediterranean, it es ligat al Asia a su extremitá nord-ost per li Istme de Suez (transectet per li Canale de Suez), 130 km (80 miles) de long (Geopoliticalmen, li Penínsul del Sinai del Egiptia al ost del Canale de Suez es sovente considerat quam part del Africa.) del punctu li plu al nord, Cap Spartel in Morocco, un poc al west de Cape Blanc, in 37°21′ N, al max sudic punctu, Cape Agulhas in Sud-Africa, 34°51′15″ S, it es distantie aproximativ de 8,000 km (5,000 miles); de Cape Verde, 17°33′22″ W, li max west punctu a Ras Hafun in Somalia, 51°27′52″ E, li max ost projection al ost, es un distantie (dunc aproximativmen) de 7,400 km (4,600 miles). Li longore del linea del costes es 26,000 km (16,100 miles) e li absentie de cavettes profund del coste es visibil per li fact que Europa, quo covri solmen 9,700,000 km² (3,760,000 quadrat miles), have un linea costal de 32,000 km (19,800 miles).

Historie

Africa es li continente ú trova se li max ancian habitat territoria sur terre, ex quel originat li rasse homan. In li medie del 20esim secul, antropologos decovrit mult fossiles e evidentie de tost homan ocupation sur un periode tam long quam 7 million annus. Li famosi Britannic/African Leakey family decovrit pluri species de tost simiesc homes thought a have evolved into modern day man, tam quam Australopithecus afarensis (carbon-datat a 3.9-3.0 million annus BCE), Paranthropus boisei (2.3-1.4 million BCE) e Homo ergaster (c. 600,000-1.9 million BCE).

Li Ishango Bone, datat a c. ante 25 000 annus, monstra tallies in mathematical notation. Tra li prehistorie del homanité, Africa (just quam omni altri continentes) possedet null nation-states, e esset vice to inhabitat per gruppes de hunter-gatherers tales quam li Khoi e San (formerly conosset quam bushmen).

Circa 3300 AC, li historic record aperte se in Africa con li ascendentie de literacy in Egiptia, which continued con varying nivelles de influentie sur altri areas til 343 PC. Altri prominent civilisationes include Etiopia, li reyatu de Nubia, li reystus de li Sahel (Ghana, Mali, e Songhai) e Great Zimbabwe.

In 1482, li portugaleses etablisset li unesim de mult centres de comercie along li costa de Guinea in Elmina. Li chef commodities dealt in esset slaves, aure, ivor e spices. Li europan decovrition de America in 1492 esset sequet per un grand developation del slave trade, quel, before li Portuguese era, hat esset un overland trade almost exclusively, e never confined a any one continent.

Ma durant que li sclaveríe esset trovant su fine in Europa, in li tost 19esim secul li europan imperial potenties staged a massive "scramble por Africa" e ocupat li pluparte del continente, creante mani colonial nation-states, e lassante solmen du nationes índependent: Liberia, li Black American colony, e Ethiopia. Ti-ci occupation continuat til pos li conclusion de li Duesim Guerre Mundal, when all colonial states gradually obtenet formal independence.

Hodie, Africa es li hem de plu quam 50 índependent landes, omnis except 2 ancor possedente frontieras drawn up durant li era de European colonialisme.

Economie

Africa es li max povri continente del munde: li Raport pri Homan Decelopament del Unit Nation Human Development Report 2003 (de 175 landes) trovat que positiones 151 (Gambia) a 175 (Sierra Leone) esset completmen plenat per nationes african.

It ha havet (e in alqual maniere have ancor) un ínstabil e íncert transition de colonialisme, con increscementes in corruption e despotisme quam major contribuent factores a su povri economic situation. Benque rapid crescentie in China e nu India, e moderat crescentie in South America, ha seurlevat milliones beyond subsistence living, Africa ha regresset in terms de foren trade, investiment, e per capita income. Ti povritá have widespread effects, includente lower life expectancy, violentie, e instabilitá - factors intertwined con li povritá del continente.

Li max grand economic success es Sud-Africa, quel ha developat a li extent that it has its own matur stock exchange. To es in parte pro su abundantie de natural ressurses, essente li max grand productor mundal de ambi aure e diamantes, e in parte pro su well-established legal system. South Africa also has access a capital, markets e know how.

Nigeria sede sur un ex li max grand proven oil reserves in li world e has li highest population among nationes in Africa, con one de li fastest growing. However, most de li oil industrie es foreign owned, e li industrie es rife con corruption al national level so that very litt oil money stays in li country, e what does goes a a very small percentage de li population.

Demografie

Africanes posse esser gruppat secun tis qui vive in li nord e tis in li sud del Sahara Desert; ti gruppes es nominat Nord Africans e Sub-Saharan Africans, respectivmen. Arabic-speaking Arab-Berber peoples predominate in North Africa, while Sub-Saharan Africa es dominat per un númere de disparate populations. Hay un grand diversitá de physical types among Sub-Saharan African peoples -- ranging de li Masai e Tutsi, known por their tall stature, a Pygmies qui es inter li world's shortest adults.

Ad-látere del Nilotic gruppes de sudic Sudan, alcun Nilotic gruppes in Ethiopia, e un Bantu African minority in Somalia, Africanes del nordostic parts del continente tipicmen have a different appearance de those in altri regions. Speakers de Bantu languages are li majority in southern, central e east Africa proper; ma hay anc several Nilotic groups in East Africa, e a few remaining indigenous Khoisan ('San' or 'Bushmen') e Pygmy peoples in sudic e central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon e Equatorial Guinea, e trova se in parts de southern Cameroon e southern Somalia. In li Kalahari Desert de Southern Africa, li distint people known quam li Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct de "Hottentots") have long been present. li San are physically distinct de altri Africans e are li indigenous people de southern Africa. "Pygmies" es li indigenes de central Africa.

Li popules de Nord Africa es por li pluparte Arab-Berber; li arabes who arrived in li 7th century ha assimilated li indigen Berber people. li Semitic Phoenicians, e li European Greeks e Romans settled in North Africa quam well. Berber peoples remain a significant minority within Morocco e Algeria, e are present in Tunisia e Libya. li Tuareg e altri often-nomadic peoples are li principal inhabitants de li Saharan interior de North Africa. Nubians also developed civilizations in North Africa during ancient times.

Durante li passant secul, colonies small ma economicmen importat de libaneses e chineses ha developat en li cités costal de Africa occidental e oriental respectivement.

Cultura

Vice un sol cultura, Africa have pluri culturas coincident. Li disintion max conventional es ti ínter Sub-Saharan Africa e li paises al nord de Egiptia a Marocco, quel associa se con li cultura Arabic. Per ti ci comparation, li nationes al sude del Sahara es considerat a consister in mult areas cultural, particularmen ti del gruppe linguistic Bantu.

On posse far anc divisiones inter li parte de Africa quel parla Francesi e li rest de Africa, precipue li anteyan colonias Britannic de Africa sudic e oriental. Un altri linea divident es ti inter tis Africanes quel seque un stil de vive traditional e tis quel es, essentialmen, modern. Li traditionalistes es quelcvez dividet in pastoralistes e agriculturalistes.

African art reflecte li diversitá de african culturas. Li max ancian existent arte de Africa es 6000-year old carvings found in Niger, durant que li Grand Piramide de Giza in Egiptia esset li world's tallest architectural accomplishment durant quar mill annus til li creation del Eiffel Tower. Li Etiopian complex de monolitic eclesias a Lalibela, de quel li Church de St. George es representativ, es egardat quam un altri marvel de ingenieríe.

Li musica de Africa es un de su formes de art max dinamic. Egiptia ha esset un cultural focus del munde arab wdesde long, while remembrance del rhythms de sub-Saharan Africa, particularimen west Africa, esset transmisset tra li Atlantic slave trade a modern blues, jazz, reggae, rap, e rock e roll. Modern musica del continente include li altmen complex coral cantada de sudic Africa e li dance rhythms de soukous, dominat per li musica del Democratic Republic de Congo. Un recent developament del 21im secul es li emergentie de African hip hop, in particular un form in Senegal mixtet con traditional mbalax. Recentmen in South Africa, un forme de musica relatet a house music conosset sub li nómine Kwaito ha developat se, benque li land ha esset li hem a su propri forme de Sud-African jazz durant alquant témpor, while Afrikaans music es completely distint e comprised mostly de traditional Boere musiek, e formes de Folk e Rock.