Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent after Asia with some 2000 distinct ethnic groups and 54 separate countries, not including several disputed territories. At about 30.2 million km² (11.7 million sq mi) including islands, Africa covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With 1.0 billion people (2009) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.72% of the world's human population. Africa has over 2000 languages spoken with Arabic being the highest number of speakers with over 170 million, mostly living in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. It is the most compact of all the continents and comprises the oldest rocks pertaining to the Pre-Cambrian Era. The Sahara desert, the largest expanse of dry land in the world, is over 10.4 million square kilometers. South Sudan is Africa's newest country officially born July 9, 2011.