Africa

[af-ri-kuh]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a continent south of Europe and between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. About 11,700,000 square miles (30,303,000 square kilometers).

Africa

/ ˈæ�ڰ�ɪ��ə /

noun

the second largest of the continents, on the Mediterranean in the north, the Atlantic in the west, and the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean in the east. The Sahara desert divides the continent unequally into North Africa (an early centre of civilization, in close contact with Europe and W Asia, now inhabited chiefly by Arabs) and Africa south of the Sahara (relatively isolated from the rest of the world until the 19th century and inhabited chiefly by Negroid peoples). It was colonized mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries by Europeans and now comprises independent nations. The largest lake is Lake Victoria and the chief rivers are the Nile, Niger, Congo, and Zambezi. Pop: 887 964 000 (2005 est). Area: about 30 300 000 sq km (11 700 000 sq miles)

Africa

The second-largest continent, after Asia; located south of Europe and bordered to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east by the Indian Ocean.

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Africa south of the Sahara is sometimes called sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa has been the home of great civilizations, particularly in Egypt (see also Egypt), along the Mediterranean Sea. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European nations colonized much of the continent (see colonialism). In the twentieth century, the colonies became independent countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit especially hard by HIV/AIDS, drastically decreasing the life expectancy of much of the population.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Africa¹

See African ( def. )

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

According to Amnesty International, South Africa has one of the most unequal school systems in the world - with a child's outcome very much dependent on their place of birth, wealth and colour of their skin.

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Carney has also invited European and Nato leaders and his counterparts from Australia, South Africa, South Korea, Indonesia, and Brazil.

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Australia's bid to win back-to-back World Test Championships ended in disappointment after they lost an engrossing final to South Africa at Lord's.

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Other leaders also attending the summit, from Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, are not expected to pick a fight.

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"The buildings that once graced Somalia before the war were not only beautiful but also attracted attention due to their Italian-style architecture, which was rare in Africa at that time," he tells the BBC.

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Afric African

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