Africa in Fact (2005)

• % of world's total land mass: 20%
• Population: 900 million (14% of world total)
• % of population under 25: 71%
• Annual rate of growth in Africa's urban population: 3.5% a year
• Most Populous city: Lagos, Nigeria - 16.9 million
• Most populous nation: Nigeria - 131 million
• Number of refugess: 15 million - 3.3 million who have fled their native countries because of conflict, some 12 million who are internally displaced
• Number of languages spoken: over 2,000
• Number of Muslims: 358 million
• Number of Christians: 410 million
•Number of democratic governments: 19 of a total of 53 nations
• % of population dependent on agriculture for a living: 66%
• Average income: 50% of Africans live on less than $1 a day
• Richest Nation: Mauritius - per capita GDP of $12,800
• Poorest Nations: Burundi, Malawi, Sierra Leonne, Somalia - all have per capita GDP of $600
• Number of heavily indebted poor countries: 32 of the 38 nations worldwide classed as such IMF-World Bank
• % of population with access to improved drinking water: Sub-Saharan Africa - 82 urban/45 rural
                                                                                              North Africa - 96 urban/84 rural
• Number of firearms in sub-Saharan Africa: 30 million
• Infant Mortaliy Rates (birth to one year old): Sub-Saharan Africa - 102/1000
                                                                           North Africa - 33/1000
• Average life expectancy: Sub-Saharan Africa - 46   North Africa - 67
• Most common cause of death: AIDS
• Literacy rates (15 and older): 60%
• Most literate country: Seychelles - 92%
• Least literate: Burkina Faso - 12.8%