Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.2 million km (11.7 million s mi!

including ad"acent islands# it co$ers si% percent o& the 'arth's total sur&ace area and 20.( percent o& the total land area. )2* +ith 1.0 billion people (as o& 200,# see table!# it accounts &or about 1-. o& the world's human population. /he continent is surrounded b0 the 1editerranean 2ea to the north# both the 2ue3 4anal and the 5ed 2ea along the 2inai 6eninsula to the northeast# the 7ndian 8cean to the southeast# and the Atlantic 8cean to the west. /he continent includes 1adagascar and $arious archipelagoes. 7t has -( &ull0 recogni3ed so$ereign states (9countries9!# , territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition.)3* A&rica is the 0oungest continent in terms o& its population - -0 percent o& A&ricans are 1, 0ears old or 0ounger.)(* :espite some &ast-growing economies# A&rica continues to ha$e some o& the highest child malnutrition rates and lack o& schooling rates in the world. A&rica's name is deri$ed &rom an ancient area in modern da0 /unisia known as 7&ri i0a or sunny place# in /ama3ight. Algeria is the largest A&rican countr0 b0 area# and ;igeria is the largest b0 population. A&rica# particularl0 central 'astern A&rica# is widel0 accepted as the origin o& humans and the <ominidae clade (great apes!# as e$idenced b0 the disco$er0 o& the earliest hominids and their ancestors# as well as later ones that ha$e been dated to around se$en million 0ears ago = including Sahelanthropus tchadensis#Australopithecus africanus# A. afarensis# Homo erectus# H. habilis and H. ergaster = with the earliest Homo sapiens (modern human! &ound in 'thiopia being dated to circa 200#000 0ears ago.)-* A&rica straddles the e uator and encompasses numerous climate areas> it is the onl0 continent to stretch &rom the northern temperate to southern temperate 3ones.)?*