Going back to Africa 2014

Recognised states[edit]

The following 54 fully recognised states are all members of the United Nations,^[1] and all except Morocco are members of the African Union.^[2][3]

Name (official name)	Flag	Capital	Currency	Official language(s)	Area (km2)	Population	GDP per capita (PPP) (US$)	Map
Algeria[4] (People's Democratic Republic of Algeria)		Algiers	Algerian dinar	Arabic	2,381,740	33,333,216	7,124
Angola[5] (Republic of Angola)		Luanda	Kwanza	Portuguese	1,246,700	15,941,000	2,813
Benin[6] (Republic of Benin)		Porto Novo	West African CFA franc	French	112,622	8,439,000	1,176
Botswana[7] (Republic of Botswana)		Gaborone	Pula	English, Setswana	581,726	1,839,833	11,400
Burkina Faso[8] (Burkina Faso)		Ouagadougou	West African CFA franc	French	274,000	13,228,000	1,284
Burundi[9] (Republic of Burundi)		Bujumbura	Burundi franc	Kirundi, French	27,830	7,548,000	739
Cameroon[10](Republic of Cameroon)		Yaoundé	Central African CFA franc	French, English	475,442	17,795,000	2,421
Cape Verde[11](Republic of Cape Verde)		Praia	Cape Verdean escudo	Portuguese	4,033	420,979	6,418
Central African Republic[12] (Central African Republic)		Bangui	Central African CFA franc	Sango, French	622,984	4,216,666	1,198
Chad[13] (Republic of Chad)		N'Djamena	Central African CFA franc	French, Arabic	1,284,000	10,146,000	1,519
Comoros[14] (Union of the Comoros)		Moroni	Comorian franc	Arabic, French, Comorian	2,235	798,000	1,660
Côte d'Ivoire[15](Republic of Côte d'Ivoire)		Yamoussoukro	West African CFA franc	French	322,460	17,654,843	1,600
Democratic Republic of Congo[16][n 1](Democratic Republic of Congo)		Kinshasa	Congolese franc	French	2,344,858	71,712,867	774
Djibouti[17] (Republic of Djibouti)		Djibouti	Djiboutian Franc	Arabic, French	23,200	906,000	2,070
Egypt[18][n 2] (Arab Republic of Egypt)		Cairo	Egyptian Pound	Arabic	1,001,449	80,335,036	4,836
Equatorial Guinea[19](Republic of Equatorial Guinea)		Malabo	Central African CFA franc	Spanish, French, Portuguese	28,051	504,000	16,312
Eritrea[20] (State of Eritrea)		Asmara	Nakfa	Tigrinya, Arabic, English	117,600	5,880,000	1,000
Ethiopia[21] (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia)		Addis Ababa	Ethiopian birr	Amharic	1,104,300	85,237,338	1,100
Gabon[22] (Gabonese Republic)		Libreville	Central African CFA franc	French	267,668	1,384,000	7,055
Gambia[23] (Republic of The Gambia)		Banjul	Dalasi	English	10,380	1,517,000	2002
Ghana[24] (Republic of Ghana)		Accra	Ghanaian cedi	English	238,534	23,000,000	2,700
Guinea[25] (Republic of Guinea)		Conakry	Guinean franc	French	245,857	9,402,000	2,035
Guinea-Bissau[26](Republic of Guinea-Bissau)		Bissau	West African CFA franc	Portuguese	36,125	1,586,000	736
Kenya[27] (Republic of Kenya)		Nairobi	Kenyan shilling	Swahili, English	580,367	34,707,817	1,445
Lesotho[28] (Kingdom of Lesotho)		Maseru	Loti	Sesotho, English	30,355	1,795,000	2,113
Liberia[29] (Republic of Liberia)		Monrovia	Liberian dollar	English	111,369	3,283,000	1,003
Libya[30] (State of Libya)		Tripoli	Libyan dinar	Arabic	1,759,540	6,036,914	12,700
Madagascar[31](Republic of Madagascar)		Antananarivo	Malagasy Ariary	Malagasy, French	587,041	18,606,000	905
Malawi[32] (Republic of Malawi)		Lilongwe	Malawian kwacha	English, Chichewa	118,484	12,884,000	596
Mali[33] (Republic of Mali)		Bamako	West African CFA franc	French	1,240,192	13,518,000	1,154
Mauritania[34] (Islamic Republic of Mauritania)		Nouakchott	Mauritanian Ouguiya	Arabic	1,030,700	3,069,000	2,402
Mauritius[35] (Republic of Mauritius)		Port Louis	Mauritian rupee	English	2,040	1,219,220	13,703
Morocco[36] (Kingdom of Morocco)		Rabat	Moroccan dirham	Arabic, Berber	446,550 (internationally recognized), 710,850 (claimed)	35,757,175	4,600
Mozambique[37](Republic of Mozambique)		Maputo	Mozambican metical	Portuguese	801,590	20,366,795	1,389
Namibia[38] (Republic of Namibia)		Windhoek	Namibian dollar	English	825,418	2,031,000	7,478
Niger[39] (Republic of Niger)		Niamey	West African CFA franc	French	1,267,000	13,957,000	872
Nigeria[40] (Federal Republic of Nigeria)		Abuja	Nigerian naira	English	923,768	154,729,000	1,188
Republic of Congo[41][n 3](Republic of Congo)		Brazzaville	Central African CFA franc	French	342,000	4,012,809	3,919
Rwanda[42] (Republic of Rwanda)		Kigali	Rwandan franc	Kinyarwanda, French, English	26,798	7,600,000	1,300
São Tomé and Príncipe[43](Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe)		São Tomé	São Tomé and Príncipe Dobra	Portuguese	964	183,176	1,266
Senegal[44] (Republic of Senegal)		Dakar	West African CFA franc	French	196,723	11,658,000	1,759
Seychelles[45](Republic of Seychelles)		Victoria	Seychellois rupee	English, French, Seychellois Creole	451	80,654	11,818
Sierra Leone[46](Republic of Sierra Leone)		Freetown	Leone	English	71,740	6,144,562	903
Somalia[47] (Somali Republic)		Mogadishu	Somali shilling	Somali, Arabic	637,657	9,832,017	600
South Africa[48](Republic of South Africa)		Bloemfontein,Cape Town, and Pretoria	South African rand	Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho,Sesotho, Swati, Tsonga,Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu	1,221,037	47,432,000	12,161
South Sudan(Republic of South Sudan)[49]		Juba	South Sudanese pound	English	644,329	8,260,490	1,546
Sudan[50] (Republic of the Sudan)		Khartoum	Sudanese pound	Arabic, English	1,861,484	36,787,012	2,800
Swaziland[51](Kingdom of Swaziland)		Lobamba (royal and legislative) Mbabane(administrative)	Lilangeni	English, Swati	17,364	1,032,000	5,245
Tanzania[52] (United Republic of Tanzania)		Dodoma	Tanzanian shilling	Swahili, English	945,203	44,929,002	723
Togo[53] (Togolese Republic)		Lomé	West African CFA franc	French	56,785	6,100,000	1,700
Tunisia[54] (Tunisian Republic)		Tunis	Tunisian dinar	Arabic	163,610	10,102,000	8,800
Uganda[55] (Republic of Uganda)		Kampala	Ugandan shilling	English, Swahili	236,040	27,616,000	1,700
Zambia[56] (Republic of Zambia)		Lusaka	Zambian kwacha	English	752,614	14,668,000	931
Zimbabwe[57](Republic of Zimbabwe)		Harare	United States dollar andSouth African rand	Chewa, Chibarwe, English,Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya,Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani,Shona, Sign language, Sotho,Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa	390,757	13,010,000	2,607

Partially recognised and unrecognised states[edit]

The following are states that have established themselves in Africa as sovereign states, but remain limited in official recognition. The Sahrawi Republic is a member of theAfrican Union.

Name (official name)	Flag	Capital	Currency	Official languages	Area (km2)	Population	GDP per capita (PPP) (US$)	Map
Somaliland (Republic of Somaliland)		Hargeisa	Somaliland shilling	Somali, English,Arabic	137,600	4,000,000	600
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[n 4]		El Aaiún, Bir Lehlou(temporary)[n 5]	Moroccan dirham	N/A.[n 6]	267,405	266,000	N/A

Non-sovereign territories[edit]

There are 10 non-sovereign territories.

Dependent territories[edit]

This list contains territories that are politically administered as external dependencies.

Name (official name)	Flag	Capital	Currency	Official languages	Area (km2)	Population	GDP per capita (PPP) (US$)	Map
French Southern and Antarctic Lands[n 7](Îles Éparses part only)		Saint-Pierre [n 8]	Euro	French	38.6	No permanent population[58]	N/A
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK)[n 9][59]		Jamestown	Saint Helenian pound	English	420	5,661	N/A

Other areas[edit]

This list contains territories that are administered as incorporated parts of a primarily non-African state.

Name (official name)	Flag	Capital	Currency	Official languages	Area (km2)	Population	GDP per capita (PPP) (US$)	Map
Canary Islands[60][n 10]		Las Palmas de Gran Canaria andSanta Cruz de Tenerife	Euro	Spanish	7,447	2,205,247	N/A
Ceuta[60][n 10] (Autonomous City of Ceuta)		Ceuta	Euro	Spanish	28	76,861	N/A
Madeira [n 11] (Autonomous Region of Madeira)		Funchal	Euro	Portuguese	828	245,806	N/A
Mayotte[61] (France)[n 12]		Mamoudzou	Euro	French	374	186,452	2,600
Melilla [n 10] (Autonomous City of Melilla)		Melilla	Euro	Spanish	20	72,000	N/A
Plazas de soberanía [n 10]		N/A	Euro	Spanish		74	N/A
Réunion [n 13]		Saint-Denis	Euro	French	2,512	793,000	N/A
Lampedusa and Lampione		Lampedusa e Linosa	Euro	Italian	21.4	6,304	N/A

African people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Demographics of Africa, see Demographics of Africa. For emigration of African 

people, see Emigration from Africa. For New World populations, see African diaspora. 

For an overview of individual African peoples, see Ethnic groups in Africa.

African people are natives or inhabitants of Africa and people of African descent.^[1][2][3]

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 The people of Africa
  • 1.1 Prehistoric populations
  • 1.2 Indigenous peoples and ancient settlers
  • 1.3 Migrations
    • 1.3.1 Arab
    • 1.3.2 European
    • 1.3.3 Indian
    • 1.3.4 Other
  • 1.4 Decolonization
  • 1.5 Contemporary demographics
• 2 See also
• 3 References
• 4 External links

The people of Africa[edit]

See also: Demographics of Africa

The African continent is home to many different ethnic groups, with wide-ranging phenotypical

 traits, both indigenous and foreign to the continent.^[4] Many of these populations have diverse 

origins, with differing cultural, linguistic, and social traits. Distinctions within Africa's geography, 

such as the varying climates across the continent, have also served to nurture diverse lifestyles 

among its various populations. The continent's inhabitants live amid deserts and jungles, as well 

as in modern cities across the continent.

Prehistoric populations[edit]

Further information: Recent African origin of modern humans

Perhaps it is a function of the number of excavations actually performed in given areas, but it is at 

least suggestive that the five very earliest out of the twelve of earliest archaeological discoveries of 

Homo sapiens sapiens have been in Africa and the adjacent Arabian peninsula.^[5]

As early as 1964, A. W. F. Edwards and others had discovered that three populations in Africa were 

related but distinguishable on the basis of a relatively small set of genetic information (20 alleles). 

Those populations were called Tigre (Ethiopians), Bantu (in southern Africa), and Ghanaian 

(West Africa). When general anthropometrics were taken as the criteria for grouping, the African
 population was split into a different three groups: the more closely related Pygmy 
(such as the Mbuti) and Bushmen (such as the Khoisan) and the Bantu.^[6]

By 1988 more genetic detail were known, more groups could be distinguished on the basis of 
genetic information, but the relationships among these groups were accounted as different depending 
on which was the data was construed. The groups analyzed at this time were Bantu, 
Berber and North African, Ethiopian, Mbuti Pygmy, Nilotic, San (Bushman), West African.^[7]

Spencer Wells a geneticist and anthropologist, has traced the migration of the early Africans beyond 
their own continent by noting the appearance of new genetic markers on theY-chromosome as the 
migrations progressed.^[8] Studies of mitochondrial DNA conducted within the continent of Africa have 
shown that the indigenous population has diverged into three divergent main lines of descent.

A number of scholars such as Alan Templeton hold that support is found for traditional racial categories 
only because many studies use the pre-defined categories to begin with, and subsequently insert data 
into those categories rather than let data speak for itself.^[9][10] Templeton uses modern DNA analysis to 
argue that human "races" were never "pure", and that human evolution is based on "many locally 
differentiated populations coexisting at any given time" - a single lineage with many locally gradated 
variants, all sharing a common fate.

Researchers such as Richard Lewontin maintain that most of the variation within human population is 
found within local geographic groups and differences attributable to traditional "race" groups are a 
minor part of human genetic variability.^[11] Several other researchers (Barbajuni, Latter, Dean, et al.) 
have replicated Lewontin's results.^[10]According to a study by researcher L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza:

It is often taken for granted that the human species is divided in rather homogeneous groups or

races,among which biological differences are large. Studies of allele frequencies do not support

this view, but they have not been sufficient to rule it out either. We analyzed human molecular

diversity at 109 DNA markers, namely 30 microsatellite loci and 79 polymorphic restriction

sites (restriction fragment length polymorphism loci) in 16 populations of the world. By partitioning

genetic variances at three hierarchical levels of population subdivision, we found that differences

between members of the same population account for 84.4% of the total, which is in excellent

agreement with estimates based on allele frequencies of classic, protein polymorphisms. 

Genetic variation remains high even within small population groups. On the average, micro

satellite and restriction fragment length polymorphism loci yield identical estimates. Differences

among continents represent roughly 1/10 of human molecular diversity, which does not

suggest that the racial subdivision of our species reflects any major discontinuity in our genome.^[12]

In the wake of this research, a number of writers^[who?] question the classification of African peoples like 
Ethiopians into "Caucasian" groups, holding that given the minor proportion of human genetic diversity 
attributable to "race", grouping of such African peoples is arbitrary and flawed, and that DNA analysis 
points to a range or gradation of types rather than distinct racial categories. Rather than arbitrarily 
allocating such African groups to a European "race", the range of physical characteristics like skin 
colour, hair or facial features are more than adequately covered by the differentiation within local 
geographic groupings.^[13]

A 2009 study detailed the genome-wide relationship among the largest number of African populations 
sampled to date, accordingly, Fourteen ancestral population clusters were found in Africa that correlate 
with self-described ethnicity and shared cultural and/or linguistic properties;^[14]

Indigenous peoples and ancient settlers[edit]

Further information: Indigenous peoples of Africa

The population of North Africa in ancient times consisted predominantly of Berbers in the West and
 Egyptians in the East. The Semitic Phoenicians and Jews, the Iranian Alans, and the European
 Greeks, Romans and Vandals settled in North Africa as well. Berber speaking populations constitute 
significant communities within Morocco and Algeria and are also still present in smaller numbers in
 Tunisia and Libya. The Tuareg and other often-nomadic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the
 Saharan interior of North Africa. The Nubians, who developed an ancient civilization in Northeast Africa, 
are among the predominately Nilo-Saharan-speaking groups found in Sudan, in addition to the
 Fur,Zaghawa and Nuba, among others.

Speakers of non-Bantu Niger–Congo languages predominate in West Africa, with the Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani 
and Wolof ethnic groups among the largest. There are also Chadic-speaking West Africans in northerly 
areas bordering the Sahara, most predominately the Hausa, and small numbers of Nilo-Saharan speaking 
Africans in Nigeria, Chad and the Central African Republic as well such as the Kanuri, Sao and others.

Speakers of Bantu languages (part of the Niger–Congo language family) are the majority in southern, 
central and east Africa proper, due to the Bantu expansion from West Africa. However, there are several
 Nilotic groups in East Africa, and a few remaining indigenous Khoisan ("San" or "Bushmen") and Pygmy 
peoples in southern and central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon 
and Equatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon and southern Somalia.

In the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely 
related to, but distinct from "Hottentots") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other 
Africans and are the pre-Bantu indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous 
peoples of central Africa.

In the Horn of Africa, most populations speak Afro-Asiatic languages. Certain Ethiopian and Eritrean groups
 (like the Amhara and Tigray-Tigrinya people, collectively known as "Habesha") speak Semitic languages. 
The Oromo, Afar, Beja and Somali peoples speak Cushitic languages, but some Somali clans claim Arab 
descent.^[15]

Migrations[edit]

Arab[edit]

The Arabs arrived from Asia in the seventh century, introducing the Arabic language, and Islam to North 
Africa. Over several centuries, the majority of the indigenous African population of the region became 
Arabized by adopting the Arabic language, and developing a common identity with other peoples 
throughout the Arab World. Today, the majority of North Africans are Arabic-speaking, although 
the Berber language still predominates among Berber communities in certain areas. Sudan and 
Mauritania are divided between a mostly Arabized north and a Nilotic south. The Nubians have 
also been partly Arabized, although their original language is still in use. In East Africa, some areas, 
particularly the island of Zanzibar and the Kenyan island of Lamu, received Arab Muslim and 
Southwest Asian settlers and merchants throughout the Middle Ages and even in antiquity. This gave 
birth to the Swahili culture.

European[edit]

Despite having a presence in Africa since Greek and Roman times, it was not until the sixteenth 
century that Europeans such as the Portuguese and Dutch began to establishtrading posts and 
forts along the coasts of western and southern Africa. Eventually, a large number of Dutch 
augmented by French Huguenots and Germans settled in what is today South Africa. Their 
descendants, the Afrikaners and the Coloureds, are the largest European-descended groups in 
Africa today. In the nineteenth century, a second phase of colonization brought a large number of 
French and British settlers to Africa. The Portuguese settled mainly in Angola, but also in 
Mozambique. The Italians settled in Libya,Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. The French settled in 
large numbers in Algeria where they became known collectively as pieds-noirs, and on a smaller 
scale in other areas of North and West Africa as well as in Madagascar. The British settled chiefly 
in South Africa as well as the colony of Rhodesia, and in the highlands of what is now Kenya. 
Germans settled in what is now Tanzania and Namibia, and there is still a population of German
-speaking white Namibians. Smaller numbers of European soldiers, businessmen, and officials 
also established themselves in administrative centers such as Nairobi and Dakar. Decolonization 
from the 1960s onwards often resulted in the mass emigration of European-descended settlers 
out of Africa — especially from Algeria, Angola, Kenya and Rhodesia. However, in South Africa 
and Namibia, the white minority remained politically dominant after independence from Europe, 
and a significant population of Europeans remained in these two countries even after democracy
 was finally instituted at the end of the Cold War. South Africa has also become the preferred 
destination of white Anglo-Zimbabweans, and of migrants from all over southern Africa.

Indian[edit]

European colonisation also brought sizable groups of Asians, particularly people from the Indian 
subcontinent, to British colonies. Large Indian communities are found in South Africa, and smaller 
ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and east African countries. 
The large Indian community in Uganda was expelled by the dictator Idi Amin in 1972, though many 
have since returned. The islands in the Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of 
South Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans.^[16]

The Malagasy of Madagascar are an Austronesian people, but those along the coast are generally 
mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European populations. Malay and Indian ancestries are also 
important components in the group of people known in South Africa as Cape Coloureds (people 
with origins in two or more races and continents). InMauritius, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean 
that is included in the African continent, Indian people form a majority.

Other[edit]

During the past century or so, small but economically important colonies of Lebanese^[17] and
 Chinese^[18] have also developed in the larger coastal cities of West and East Africa, respectively.^[19]

Decolonization[edit]

Further information: Decolonization of Africa

Decolonization has left some nations in power and marginalized others.

Conflicts with ethnic aspects taking place in Africa since decolonization include:

• Dervish state (1896–1920)
• Mau Mau Uprising (1952–1960)
• Zanzibar Revolution (1964)
• First and Second Chimurenga (1896–1897)(1966–1980)
• Casamance Conflict (since 1990)
• Conflict in the Niger Delta (since 1990)
• Insurgency in Ogaden (since 1995)
• Second Congo War (1998–2003)
• War in Darfur (since 2003)
• Kivu conflict (since 2004)
• Civil war in Chad (since 2005)
• Second Tuareg Rebellion (since 2007)

Contemporary demographics[edit]

Main article: Demographics of Africa

Total population of Africa is estimated at 1 billion as of 2009.

See also[edit]

• List of African ethnic groups
• List of topics related to Black and African people
• Africans of European ancestry
• African diaspora
• Pan-Africanism