Subject Index / Countries / Africa
Background Information
SOS Children volunteers helped choose articles and made other curriculum material SOS Children is the world's largest charity giving orphaned and abandoned children the chance of family life.
After Asia, Africa is the world's second biggest largest continent. It is also second largest in terms of population. Africa covers about 6% of the total surface of the planet. There are about 922 million people (as of 2005), including nearby islands. Africa is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. There are 53 countries, including all the island groups and Madagascar.