AFRICA

AN OVERVIEW

Overview
Africa is the world's secondlargest and second-mostpopulous continent, At about 30.2 million km (11.7 million sq mi) it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With 1.0 billion people,14.72% of the world's human population.

CONT
The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. 56 Countries.

 Eastern Africa, is widely regarded within the scientific community to be the origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes), The African expected economic growth rate is at about 5.0% for 2010 and 5.5% in 2011.

Cultural Factor

DEMOGRAPHIC
Africa's population has rapidly increased over the last 40 years, and consequently, it is relatively young. In some African states, half or more of the population is under 25 years of age. The total number of people in Africa grew from 221 million in 1950 to 1 billion in 2009

ECOLOGICAL
Deforestation. Climate Fauna

RELIGOIN
45% of the population are Christians, 40% are Muslims less than 15% continue to follow traditional African religions. A small number of Africans are Hindu, Bahai

LANGUAGES
The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout the Horn of Africa, North Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. The Nilo-Saharan language family consists of more than a hundred languages spoken by 30 million people.

 Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by tribes in Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and northern Tanzania. The NigerCongo language family covers much of SubSaharan Africa and is probably the largest language family in the world in terms of different languages.

 The Khoisan languages number about fifty and are spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 120,000 people. Many of the Khoisan languages are endangered. The Khoi and San peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa.

Cloth
Women's traditional clothes in Ethiopia are made from cloth called shemma and used to make habesha qemis: it is basically cotton cloth, about 90 cm wide, woven in long strips which are then sewn together. Sometimes shiny threads are woven into the fabric for an elegant effect.

 Men wear pants and a kneelength shirt with a white collar, and perhaps a sweater. Men often wear knee-high socks, while women might not wear socks at all. Men as well as women wear shawls, the neTela. In West Africa much of the local dress is influenced by Islamic traditions. Zulus wear a variety of attire, both traditional for ceremonial or culturally celebratory occasions, and modern westernised clothing for everyday use.

FOOD
Africa is a huge continent and the food and drink of Africa reflect local influences, as also glimpses of colonial food traditions, including use of food products like peppers, groundnuts and maize introduced by the colonizers. The African cuisine is a combination of traditional fruits and vegetables, milk, and meat products. The African village diet is often milk, curds and whey. Exotic game and fish are gathered from Africa's vast area.

Gestures
here are an immense variety of gestures and non-verbal communications throughout Africa that vary in meaning from one locale to another. Kenya is not synonymous with Nigeria, nor is Ethiopia with Angola

 The Forbidden Left hand: A general rule of thumb to live by when in Africa is to avoid taking or passing anything with your left hand. Objects are to be handled or passed with the right or both hands, but never the left hand, as this is considered the unclean hand (the hand used for personal hygiene). Do not eat, shake hands

 Displaying the sole of your foot: Particularly among Muslim cultures, and other groups who traditionally sit on the floor, it is improper to allow the sole of your foot to point at another person

 Throughout West Africa, the thumb lying on the index finger of a vertical fist with arm extended is equivalent to the American middle finger; insult is emphasized by motioning the thumb up (like thumbs-up) and down repeatedly

Business Etiquette
Business Etiquette in Africa The northern countries countries bordering the Mediterranean are Islamic, and you can expect that the kind of lavish generosity, indirect business discussions, expansive sense of time, and second class citizen status for women found in the Arabic countries is found here too.

 Handshakes Soft handshakes are common across Africa. In countries with large populations, such as Kenya and South Africa, you can expect European style handshakes from the white people you'll meet. In South Africa, handshakes between whites and whites, in the one hand, and blacks and whites on the other differ. Although white people shake the hand of another white person in much the same way as in northern Europe, whites and blacks shake hands with an additional flourish. After shaking the full hand, they grasp thumbs and then return to a full handshake.

 Business Attire Conservative is the keyword. In particular hot countries, some easing up on the dark business suit is permitted. And, of course, your host will not be bound to Western dress. He may show up in dressy traditional attire

 Dining and Entertaining Africans are justly famous for the pleasure they take in eating and entertaining and for their generosity. If you are invited to someone's home almost anywhere in Africa, be prepared - your host will go all out to impress you. In many countries, you will find no utensils of any kind and will be expected to eat with your hands. Remember, in Muslim countries, not to eat with your left hands. Watch your hosts in other countries for similar taboos. When in doubt, do as your host does.

 Gifts In Jewish homes, a gift of flowers to the host is preferred. but gifts to the host are frowned on in Muslim homes. and under no circumstances, should you give a Muslim a gift of alcohol, a picture of anyone or of any animal or anything made from pigs.

 Social Taboos In most of the Middle East, it's bad manners for an outsider to discuss politics or religion. Showing the soles of your shoes or feet is rude in Turkey and in the Arabic countries, as is openly disagreeing with someone. And in Turkey, fist names are only used when you know the person very well. The thumbs-up sign is rude in Muslim countries.