Africa
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Senegal
Interesting Facts
- Senegal’s national sport is Senegalese wrestling. Unlike conventional wrestling, this form of wrestling allows blows with the hand.
- Storytelling is integral to Senegalese culture and professional storytellers are known as Griots.
- Senegal is named after the Senegal River.
Angola
Interesting Facts
- Angola is amongst the top twenty oil producing countries in the world, and the second largest oil producer in Africa after Nigeria
- Angola’s President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, has been President since 1979
- Angola has a very young population – about 65% of the country’s population is under the age of 24
- Angola is one of the fastest growing economies in the world
Zimbabwe
Interesting Facts
- Robert Mugabe has been the president of Zimbabwe since 1980 and at 91 years of age, is the oldest current world leader.
- The Victoria Falls – bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe – is Africa’s largest waterfall.
- Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world.
- In 2008, Zimbabwe had the highest inflation rate in history – officially recorded at 231,000,000% in 2008.
Zambia
Interesting Facts
- Copper has been mined in Zambia for almost 2,000 years
- In 2010, the World Bank named Zambia one of the world's fastest economically reformed countries.
- Zambia’s first capital was Livingstone.
- Victoria Falls, which borders Zambia and Zimbabwe, was originally called “Musi-o-Tunyi”. Translated, this means “the smoke that thunders”.
Uganda
Interesting Facts
- The origin of the longest river in the world, the Nile River, is in Uganda.
- Winston Chirchil called Uganda “the pearl of Africa”
- The Ruwenzori mountains in Uganda are home to highly endangered mountain gorillas
- Motorcycle taxis in Uganda are called “Boda-Bodas” (derived from “Border-Border”).
- Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s President, has been in power since 1986.
Tanzania
Interesting Facts
- Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, is located in Tanzania.
- The name ‘Tanzania’ comes from joining the words ‘Tanganyika’, the country’s old name, and ‘Zanzibar’, an island off the coast of Tanzania.
- While Dodoma is the official capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam is the country’s commercial centre – and the largest city in Tanzania.
Swaziland
Interesting Facts
- Swaziland is completely landlocked with only South Africa and Mozambique at its borders.
- Swaziland is one of the smallest countries in Africa.
- King Maswati III is an absolute monarch with supreme executive, legislative, and judicial powers. The country does however elect Members of Parliament to advise the King.
- The unit of currency is the Lilangeni (plural: Emalangeni) and it is pegged to the South African Rand. The South African Rand is a legal tender in Swaziland.
South Africa
Interesting Facts
- Three capital cities – Cape Town (legislative capital), Bloemfontein (judicial capital), and Pretoria (executive capital)
- Eleven official languages
- World’s first human heart transplant was conducted in Cape Town in 1967
- First African country to host a Soccer World Cup in 2010.
Nigeria
Interesting Facts
- Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood, is the second largest producer of movies in the world – after India’s Bollywood.
- Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa.
- Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic groups
- Nigeria is the 12th largest crude oil producer in the world.
Namibia
Interesting Facts
- Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries in the world.
- The Namib Desert is about 80 million years old.
- Namibia is home to the world’s largest underground lake.
- The world’s highest sand dunes can be found at Sossusvlei in Namibia.
Mozambique
Interesting Facts
- Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, was formerly known as Lorenzo Marques. The city dates back to 1850.
- At 2,436m (7,992ft), Monte Binge is the highest point in Mozambique.
- Mozambique attained independence from Portugal in 1975. Two years later, a civil war erupted and continued until 1992.
- Mozambique’s Vumba Rock Paintings are estimated to be about 8,000 years old.
Mauritius
Interesting Facts
- With a population of 1.3 million people, Mauritius is one of Africa’s smallest countries, but has one of the highest population densities.
- Before it became extinct, the Dodo was only found in Mauritius. The Dodo remains Mauritius’ national animal.
- The highest point in Mauritius is Mount Piton – about 828m above sea level.
- Historically, Mauritius has been claimed by the Dutch, the French and the British. The country finally became independent in 1968.
Malawi
Interesting Facts
- The most common surnames in Malawi are Banda, Chirwa, Piri and Manda – an estimated 30% of the population have these surnames.
- David Livingston called Lake Malawi, the Lake of Stars because of the lanterns on the fishermen’s boats at night time.
- Malawi is known as the Heart of Africa.
- The country’s president, Joyce Banda, is Malawi’s first female president.
Madagascar
Interesting Facts
- The first settlers were of African and Asian origin, and 18 separate ethnic groups emerged, derived from an African and Malayo-Indonesian mixture
- 90% of the animal and plant life found in Madagascar cannot be found anywhere else in the world, including more than 70 species of Lemurs
- Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world.
Lesotho
Interesting Facts
- Over 80% of Lesotho is more than 1,800m (5,905.51ft) above sea level.
- Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy.
- The currency of Lesotho is the Loti (plural: Maloti). The Loti is pegged to the South African Rand and the currencies can typically be used interchangeably in Lesotho.
Kenya
Interesting Facts
- Kenya’s agriculture sector is an important contributor to its economy, especially tea, coffee and flowers, with the most spectacular roses internationally sought after.
- Hydroelectricity is the largest contributor to Kenya's electricity supply
- Kenyan environmentalist, Wangari Maathai, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 – the first African woman to do so.
- Kenya is home to the world famous annual migration of the wildebeest across the great plains of the Masai Mara
Ghana
Interesting Facts
- In 1957 Ghana became the first country in Africa to attain independence from its colonisers, the British.
- In 2010, Ghana began pumping oil for the first time.
- Ghana is one of the world’s largest producers of cocoa.
- Ghana’s Lake Volta is the largest man-made lake in the world with a surface are of 8502 square meters
- Kofi Annan, 7th UN Secretary General is Ghanaian.
Ethiopia
Interesting Facts
- Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa.
- Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that has never been colonised.
- Ethiopia follows its own calendar, which has 13 months, instead of the standard Georgian 12 month calendar, and New Year is celebrated in September.
- Addis Ababa’s Merkato Market is the biggest outdoor market in the world.
DRC
Interesting Facts
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest country in Africa. It borders nine countries: Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
- The people of the DRC represent over 200 ethnic groups, with nearly 250 languages and dialects spoken throughout the country. Kinshasa, the capital, is the second largest French-speaking city in the world.
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has a space programme which launched its last rocket in 2009.
Côte d'Ivoire
Interesting Facts
- In October 1985, the government of Côte d’Ivoire requested that country no longer be referred to as ‘Ivory Coast’, but only as Côte d’Ivoire
- Soccer is Côte d’Ivoire’s most popular sport, and its most famous player is former Chelsea player, Didier Drogba.
- Côte d’Ivoire is one of the world’s largest cocoa producers.
- Having originally been the capital, Abidjan lost this title in 1983. Despite this, many government departments remain in the city.
Cameroon
Interesting Facts
- Cameroon was the first African country to reach the quarter final stage in a Soccer World Cup, in 1990.
- The name ‘Cameroon’ originally comes from the Portuguese, Rio de Camarões. Translated, this means ‘River of Prawns’.
- Some 250 ethnic groups speaking about 270 languages and dialects make it a remarkably diverse country
Botswana
Interesting Facts
- Botswana is the world’s second largest diamond producer
- 17% of Botswana’s land has been set aside as natural reserves.
- Botswana’s President, Ian Khama, is the son of the country’s first President, Sir Seretse Khama.
- A citizen of Botswana is referred to as a ‘Motswana’, while many citizens are ‘Batswana’
UAE
Interesting Facts
- Between 15 - 25% of the worlds construction cranes are in Dubai at any given time
- There is no personal income tax in Dubai
- Dubai has the tallest building in the world (Burj Khalifa)
- Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world
- Dubai has an indoor ski slope which daily produces 6000 tons of snow
Saudi Arabia
Interesting Facts
- Saudi Arabia has a young and growing population with 47% being under 24 years old and 5% over 60 years’ old
- In order to diversify its economy Saudi Arabia is building 6 economic cities that are expected to add 100 billion dollars to its GBP
- Saudi Arabia is the birth place of Islam and home of Mecca and Medina
- It is the largest country in the world without a river
Oman
Interesting Facts
- Oman is one of the oldest human – inhabited places on earth going back about 106 000 years
- Oman was colonized by the Portuguese until local tribesman drove them out in 1650
- Mountain Dew is the top selling beverage in Oman
- Crime in Oman is extremely rare
Qatar
Interesting Facts
- Qatar will host the FIFA world cup in 2022.
- The news network AL Jazeera is based in Doha and funded by the Qatar state.
- The average Qatari citizen lives to 97 years of age.
- It is more expensive to buy McDonalds than fill up your car in Qatar.
- Qatar’s population is up to 80% foreign. At any given time, there are at least 10 000 US citizens that live there.
Bahrain
Interesting Facts
- Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands
- The largest age group in Bahrain is 25-54 and the majority of the population are men, there are almost twice as many men to woman
- Their world trade centre is the first sky scraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its architecture
- Bahrain’s flag used to be the largest flag in the world setting a world record in 2004
Kuwait
Interesting Facts
- Kuwait became a protectorate after Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah signed a treaty with the British 1899 to avoid being captured by Turkey.
- Kuwait is officially known as the ‘State of Kuwait’.
- The official language of Kuwait is Arabic, but English is also widely spoken and understood.
- The main ethnic groups in Kuwait include Kuwaiti, other Arab, South Asian and Iranian.
