Africa, second largest of the Earth’s seven continents, covering 30,244,000 sq km (11,677,000 sq mi), including its adjacent islands. It comprises 23 percent of the world’s total land area. In 2000 some 13 percent of the world’s population, an estimated 797 million people, lived in Africa, making it the world’s second most populous continent, after Asia.

Straddling the equator, Africa stretches 8,000 km (5,000 mi) from its northernmost point, Ra’s al Abya in Tunisia, to its southernmost tip, Cape Agulhas in South Africa. The maximum width of the continent, measured from the tip of Cap Vert in Senegal, in the west, to Ras Hafun in Somalia, in the east, is 7,560 km (4,700 mi). The highest point on the continent is the perpetually snowcapped Kilimanjaro (5,895 m/19,341 ft) in Tanzania, and the lowest is Lake ‘Asal (153 m/502 ft below sea level) in Djibouti.

Africa has a regular coastline characterized by few indentations. Its total length is only 30,500 km (19,000 mi); the length of the African coastline in proportion to its area is less than that of any other continent. Africa’s coastline is short compared to Europe. This is because the coastline of Africa is smooth, not indented and without any fiords. There are fewer gulfs, and bays. The few large bays of Africa are: Gulf of Sidra and Gabes in the North, Bight of Benin and Bight of Biafra, which are broad extensions of the Gulf of Guinea in the west and the Gulf of Eden in the Red Sea.

Part of Africa is beneath the sea or oceans meaning that it is submerged and this is known as the continental shelf. In some places this extends to 300 km.

The relief of Africa is varied. Although Africa is mainly composed of Plateaus, in some places there are depressions, which are below Sea Level, while else where there are mountains such as Drakensberg, Ethiopian highlands, Cameroon highlands which rise to over 5000 metres.

Africa’s shape as shown on the map is rather unbalanced in that the Northern half is very bulky and wide while southern part is narrow and thin. The Equator cuts almost exactly midway through the continent.
The distance from the Equator to the most northerly part, which is Cape Blanc (coast of Tunisia), is 4100 km. While the distance from the Equator to the most southerly part, Cape Agulhas is approximately 3800 km. The most easterly point of the continent is Ras Hafan and the most westerly point is Cape Verde.

The continent is connected to the Sinai Peninsular by a narrow strip of land which is known as an Isthmus. This cuts through the Suez Canal. The straits of Gibraltar separate Africa from Spain and it is 15 km wide. The straits of Babel Mandeb separate Africa from Arabia by 20 miles of water in the Red Sea.

Africa contains several of the World's great rivers and Lakes. The main rivers are R. Congo, R. Nile and R. Niger, which flows through Nigeria. Some of the large and significant Lakes are Victoria in Uganda, Tanganyika in Tanzania, and Lake Malawi in Malawi among others.

The African continent is characterized by plateau land, with a few distinct mountain ranges and a narrow coastal plain. The continent is commonly divided along the lines of the Sahara, the world’s largest desert, which cuts a huge swath through the northern half of the continent.

The countries north of the Sahara make up the region of North Africa and include large and populous nations such as Egypt and Algeria.

In general, these nations are more developed than are those countries to the south, due in part to the location here of the Nile, the world’s longest river. Most of Africa’s population lives in the region south of the Sahara, known as sub-Saharan Africa. In this area, eastern Africa includes countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and Uganda.

Among the nations of Central and West Africa are Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire). Southern Africa is dominated by the country of South Africa and also includes Botswana, Lesotho, and Namibia.

Africa also encompasses many islands, the largest of which is Madagascar, located off the southeastern coast of the continent. As a whole, Africa encompasses about 50 nations, ranging from Nigeria, a country of 130 million people in 2006, to small island republics such as Comoros, with a population of 614,000.

Although a large part of the continent lies within the tropics, considerable variations in climate occur. There are mainly changes in rainfall and temperatures as a few parts in Equatorial region; coastal and mountainous receive heavy rainfall while areas such as Sahara, Kalahari and Namib are very dry.

Variations in climate are largely responsible for the great differences in Natural vegetation, which occur in Africa. These include dense rain forest in the wettest parts of the continent, scarcity of vegetation in shrubs and thorny trees are common in the dry parts.

The continent as a whole tends to be rather thinly populated. Africa's population is about 800 million. This gives a very small percentage of the area covered. However, there are great variation in population distribution and density. In parts of the Sahara, the population density is less than one person per square km. While some parts such as the Nile Valley, in Egypt, Coastal region of West Africa, and the Lake region of East Africa are more than 500 persons per Sq. km.

The export trade of Africa is to a large extent made up of primary products such as agricultural products, Minerals and timber. The import trade comprises of manufactured goods. Trade takes place between Africa and the developed European, American and Asian countries. However, efforts are being made through the formation of ECOWAS, SADC, COMESA and PTA to promote trade among the African countries themselves.