How many countries does africa has

The concept of nation states in Africa is only a bit over a century old, arising after the Berlin Conference and the subsequent Scramble for Africa by European superpowers of the time. It is therefore not surprising that the names of most African countries are remnants of a colonial legacy. For the most part, Africa mirrors this trend with a few exceptions. The stories of how African countries got their names ranges from the more mundane, to the fantastical and sometimes even the mind-boggling. Cameroon, a country that has the complicated legacy of first having been colonized by the Germans, then later partitioned by the French and British, was actually named by a Portuguese explorer in the 15 th century.

There are also two additional states whose independence is under dispute: Western Sahara and Somaliland. Africa has the second-largest population in the world, with an estimated 1 billion inhabitants. Over 1 official languages are spoken across the African continent; and the largest religious group is Islam, followed by Christianity. The latter is an independent movement based in Algeria. Officially known as the Republic of Somaliland, it is a self-declared state and recognised internationally as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the former British Somaliland protectorate which, after a brief independence period, united with the Trust Territory of Somaliland formerly Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.

By Joyce Chepkemoi January 07 Africa is the second largest continent in the world, both by land area and population. There are 54 countries located in Africa. Aside from 54 recognized states, there are two states whose independence is disputed Western Sahara and Somaliland. The United Nations states that there are 54 countries in Africa.

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent , after Asia. At about Africa's average population is the youngest amongst all the continents; [5] [6] the median age in was Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.