The Art & Science of African Names
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“One thing that sets this book apart from other name books is that it makes clear that it’s not just for babies.” -Los Angeles Times
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The Fish River canyon in Namibia is the second largest canyon in the world.
- second largest canyon in the worldThe world’s longest river, the Nile, is in Africa.
- The world’s longest riverApproximately 1.033 billion people live on African continent (2011).
- 1.033 billion peopleAfrica is the most centrally located of all of the continents.
- Africa is the most centrally locatedAfrican languages are varied with more than 1000 languages spoken across the continent.
- African LanguagesAfrica has more gold, diamonds, chrome, copper, plutonium, cobalt, titanium and jewels than any other continent, with little to show for the exploitation of African resources.
- Africa has more gold, diamondsNo other continent has as many countries or languages as Africa.
- No other continent has as many countries, divisions, or languagesThe most populated city in Africa is the Egyptian capital of Cairo with an estimated 9.12 million residents in the metropolitan area (2011).
- The most populated city in AfricaGhana and Cote D’Ivoire produce 57% of the world’s cocoa.
- 57% of the world’s cocoaApproximately 25% of the world’s languages are spoken only in Africa, however, Africa accounts for 16% of the world’s population (2009).
- language v. populationThe hottest place in the world is recorded at Al’Azizyah in Libya.
- The hottest place in the worldThe world’s oldest desert is the Namib Desert, in Namibia; and it is the only desert in the world inhabited by elephant, rhino, giraffe and lion.
- The world’s oldest desertAfrica is the second largest and second most populous continent.
- Africa is the second largestSierra Leone’s capital city Freetown was founded by freed slaves in the 1790′s. They settled near an old cotton tree that is
- Sierra Leone’s capital city Freetown
still alive today and one of the city’s main tourist attractions. Imagine what that tree has seen…The highest point in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at 5895 meters high. The lowest point is Lake Asal in Djibouti at 153 meters below sea level.
- The highest and lowest point in AfricaAfrica is the warmest continent. The equator runs through Africa about halfway between the northern-most and southern-most points.
- Africa is the warmest continentWith the possible exception of Ethiopia, all of Africa was colonized by non-African countries. The United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Portugal all claimed to rule parts of Africa without the consent of the African population.
- With the possible exception of Ethiopia, all of Africa was colonizedAfrica is more than three times the size of the United States. The United States fits into Africa 3.3 times.
- Africa is more than three timesLake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world.
- Largest lake in AfricaSudan used to be the largest country in Africa by area before it was divided, now Algeria is Africa’s largest country (2013).
- Sudan used to be the largestMadagascar is the home of the worlds largest as well as the smallest chameleons! Almost half of the world’s chameleon species live on the island of Madagascar.
- MadagascarLiberia was settled by former American slaves, who came back to Africa.
- Liberia was settledEgypt is the second most populous country in Africa with over 82 million people (2011).
- Egypt is the second most populous countryThe Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest structure in the world for more than 4,000 years.
- The Great PyramidSand boarding is popular in Egypt, Morocco, Niger, South Africa, Algeria, and Libya.
- sand boardingThe first African female president was Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia.
- The first African female presidentOnly three countries in the world are bigger than the Sahara– Russia, Canada, and China.
- bigger than saharaThe world’s largest desert, the Sahara, is in Africa.
- The world’s largest desertSouth Sudan is the newest country in Africa. It was officially born on July 9, 2011 (2013).
- South SudanEighteen African people have been awarded a Nobel Prize. They came from Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
- Nobel PrizesIn Africa, the equator runs along for almost 2500 miles, passing through 6 countries: Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.
- In Africa, the equator runsThe largest country in Africa is Sudan, the smallest is The Seychelles. The most populated country is Nigeria and the largest city is Cairo in Egypt.
- The largest country in AfricaBenin, in West Africa has the largest national average of twinning, with 27 twins per 1,000 births.
- Benin & TwinsYouth literacy (ages 15-24) is highest in Zimbabwe at 99%.
- Youth literacy in ZimbabweNamibia has some of the tallest (and most beautiful) sand dunes in the world.
- Namibia has some of the tallestEthiopia was the only nation in Africa that was not colonized by Europeans.
- Ethiopia never colonizedThere are 16 landlocked countries in Africa (2013).
- 15 landlocked countriesThe world’s biggest hospital is in Soweto. In terms of land area, South Africa’s Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital is the biggest hospital in the world, as it stands on 173 acres of land (as of 2009).
- The world’s biggest hospitalWith a population of more than 113 million, Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and the 10th most populous country in the world.
- Nigeria is easily the most populated countryEquatorial Guinea is the richest country in Africa.
- Equatorial Guinea is the richestAt least half of the African population lives in cities, towns, or modern coastal cities. Highly urbanized areas of Africa include (but are not limited to): Lagos, Alexandria, Algiers, Abidjan, Johannesburg, Capetown, and Kinshasa.
- African population lives in citiesThe African population is 80% Black, 19% Arab, and 1% Asian, European (2009).
- Population & RaceWhile Egypt is most well known for its pyramids, the Republic of Sudan has 223 pyramids, double the number of pyramids in Egypt.
- Sudan PyramidsHuman life began in Africa. People lived in Africa for at least 4 million years before they lived anywhere else in the world.
- Human life began in AfricaThe Maasai, in their bright red clothing, are probably the most familiar African ethnic group.
- The MaasaiLake Malawi has the largest number of fish species in the world. There are over 500 species.
- Lake Malawi has the largest number of fishNiger, Mali and Uganda take the #1,2 and 3 spots for the highest birth rates in the world (2009).
- highest birth rates