Maps > Africa Maps of the continent Africa Africa is the world's
second-largest and second-most-populous continent being home to
roughly 1.0 billion people it accounts for about 15% of the
world's human population. Again, China in comparison has as many
citizens as all African states together. The continent is
surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez
Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the
northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic
Ocean to the west. During the colonial time many African states
were occupied by foreign nations, mainly Great Britain, Germany,
The Netherlands and France. In many of those former colonies the
language has remained that of the occupying country. Africa's
climate is moderate to warm in the far north and south to
extremely hot in the central regions and the Sahara Desert.
South Africa (the country) is by far the wealthiest and most
developed nation on the African continent while others (e.g.
Chad or Burkina Faso) suffer from