Africa is the second largest continent, occupying more than 20% of the entire planet. In terms of size, this continent is second only to Eurasia today. The climatic conditions of this continent are very diverse. Here are the world's second largest Nile river, as well as the largest Sahara desert.
general information
The population of this hot mainland is currently about one billion people. On its territory there are fifty-five states and far from one hundred cities in which, according to approximate estimates of experts, more than six hundred different ethnic groups and tribes live. It should be especially noted that this continent is considered the ancestral home of humanity. At one time, it was in Africa that the most ancient remains of hominids and their ancestors were found. As for modern history, today on this continent people of various nationalities live, who came here from all over the world.
Cities of Africa
Trying to create a kind of universal image that would be characteristic, if not for all, then at least for most cities of this southern continent, is a futile task. The countries represented on this continent are too many-sided and diverse. In the same way, as it is impossible, for example, to combine them according to some quantitative criterion. The cities of Africa, located in the south, are more than two hundred cities with a population exceeding thirteen thousand people in each of them. The most famous and largest of them are Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Soweto. The largest cities in Africa located in the north of the continent are, first of all, Algeria, Cairo, Tripoli, Lagos, Tunisia and El Aaiun. For this region of the mainland, in contrast to the south, the influence of colonial and Arab culture, as well as the presence of a large number of minarets and mosques, is very characteristic.
The largest southern cities in Africa
The largest city in South Africa, with a population of about four and a half million people, is Johannesburg. Today it is included in the list of the forty largest megalopolises in the world and at the same time continues to grow very rapidly. In addition, Johannesburg is a powerful financial and economic center of South Africa. Currently, about 16-18% of the country's GDP is produced here. Among other things, the city is included among the fifty largest centers of world trade.
The second most populous in southern Africa is Cape Town. This city is located near the Cape of Good Hope, on the Atlantic coast. According to an official census conducted in 2011, the population of this city is slightly less than three and a half million people. It is interesting that in the ranking of tourist attendance by tourists, Cape Town confidently takes first place and is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In addition, it is the economic center of the so-called Cape Province, the second most important economic center of the south of the continent and the third in the whole continent.
The largest northern cities in Africa
As for the north of this hottest continent, it is here that the largest states in Africa are located on the territory occupied by the territory . One of the most populous cities is Cairo. In the capital of Egypt, according to 2009 data, more than eight million people live. Moreover, this figure does not take into account people living in the numerous suburbs of Cairo. In second place after Cairo in terms of population is Lagos, which is the largest city in Nigeria. Today, just under eight million people live here. Lagos is a major port and industrial center with about 50 percent of Nigeria’s industry. Third place in the category of "big cities in Africa" is Kinshasa. It is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Leopoldville. In 1966, the city was renamed. As of 2005, the population of Kinshasa was approximately seven and a half million people. Moreover, more than 60% of the territory, the area of which, according to various estimates, is equal to 9700-9900 square kilometers, is rural sparsely populated land.
Africa's largest city
This city has already been mentioned in the ranking of the largest cities in North Africa, but it is also the largest on the entire African continent - it is Cairo. The population of the agglomeration is (according to 2009) almost eighteen million people. This figure is several times higher than that of other large cities, also located on a hot continent. At the same time, experts note that the population of the capital of Egypt has grown rapidly, mainly over the past three to four decades. Today, the largest city in Africa - Cairo - is populated by twice as many people as in the 1960-1970s.