Africa is the second largest continent, covering more than 20% of the entire surface of the planet. In terms of size, this continent is second only to Eurasia today. The climatic conditions of this continent are very diverse. It is home to the world's second largest river, the Nile, as well as the largest desert, the Sahara.
General information
The population of this hot mainland is currently about one billion people. Fifty-five states and far from one hundred cities are located on its territory, in which, according to rough estimates of experts, more than six hundred different ethnic groups and tribes live. At the same time, it should be especially noted that this continent is considered the ancestral home of mankind. At one time, it was in Africa that the most ancient remains of hominids and their ancestors were found. As for modern history, today people of various nationalities live on this mainland, who came here from all over the world.
Cities of Africa
Try to create some universal image that would be characteristic if notfor everyone, at least for most of the cities of this southern continent, is a futile task. The countries represented on this mainland are too many-sided and diverse. Just as it is impossible, for example, to unite them according to some quantitative attribute. The cities of Africa located in the south are more than two hundred cities with a population exceeding thirteen thousand people in each of them. The most famous and largest of them are Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Soweto. The largest cities in Africa, located in the north of the continent, are, first of all, Algiers, Cairo, Tripoli, Lagos, Tunisia and El Aaiun. For this region of the mainland, unlike the south, the influence of colonial and Arab culture is very characteristic, as well as the presence of a large number of minarets and mosques.
The largest southern African cities
The largest city in South Africa, with a population of about four and a half million people, is Johannesburg. Today it is included in the list of the forty largest metropolitan areas in the world and at the same time continues to grow very rapidly. In addition, Johannesburg is a powerful financial and economic center of South Africa. Currently, about 16-18% of the country's GDP is produced here. Among other things, the city is included in the top fifty largest centers of world trade.
The second largest population in southern Africa is Cape Town. This city is located near the Cape of Good Hope, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. According toAccording to the official census conducted in 2011, the population of this city is just under three and a half million people. Interestingly, in the ranking of tourist attendance, Cape Town confidently takes first place and is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In addition, it is the economic center of the so-called Cape Province, the second most important economic center in the south of the continent and the third in the entire mainland.
The largest northern cities in Africa
As for the north of this hottest continent, it is here that the largest states of Africa by area are located. Cairo is one of the most densely populated cities. In the capital of Egypt, according to 2009 data, more than eight million people live. Moreover, this figure does not take into account people living in the numerous suburbs of Cairo. In second place after Cairo in terms of population is Lagos, which is the largest city in Nigeria. Today, just under eight million people live here. Lagos is a major port and industrial center, in which about 50 percent of all industry in Nigeria is concentrated. The third place in the category "big cities of Africa" is Kinshasa. It is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Leopoldville. In 1966 the city was renamed. As of 2005, the population of Kinshasa was approximately seven and a half million people. At the same time, more than 60% of the territory, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich, according to various estimates, is 9700-9900 square kilometers,represents rural sparsely populated land.
Africa's largest city
This city has already been mentioned in the ranking of the largest cities in North Africa, but it is also the largest in the entire African continent - this is Cairo. Its population in the agglomeration is (as of 2009) almost eighteen million people. This figure is several times higher than that of other large cities, also located on the hot continent. At the same time, experts note that the population of the capital of Egypt has grown rapidly, mainly over the past three to four decades. Today, Africa's largest city, Cairo, has twice as many people as it did in the 1960s and 1970s.
