Who remembers the ‘Avenue of baobabs,’ one of only two countries in the world with a ‘the’ before its name or the only Spanish speaking African country? 

Catch up on that and more in our previous installment of the series. For now it’s time to dig into more.

South Africa

As the name implies, South Africa is probably the southernmost country on the continent. The only country in the world with three capital cities designated as, Pretoria the administrative, Cape Town the legislative and Bloemfontein the judicial capital.

South Africa’s Table Mountain is one of the oldest mountains in the world and part of the new seven natural wonders of the world. Tsitsikamma at the border of the Western and Eastern Cape, is the site of the highest commercial bungee jumping in the world at 216m.

It is also the only country in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu lived on the same street, Vilakazi street in Soweto. 

The world’s first heart transplant took place in South Africa, performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard on 3 December 1967. Amongst Dr. Barnard’s team was Hamilton Naki, a former black gardener who had no access to formal education because of his race. He learned the practice through assisting university researchers.

Liberia

This West African nation is the oldest republic on the continent, acquired for freed United States slaves by the American Colonization Society.

With a population of just over 5 million, Liberia has the largest rubber plantation and is home to the subsidiary of Bridgestone, the infamous tyre company since 1926.

Former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first African woman head of state. She led the country from 2006-2018.

Of all the ships in the world, around 10% are registered in Liberia for ease of passage and escaping stricter employment regulations. The ships in question hoist the Liberian flag as a ‘flag of convenience,’ only Panama has more such ships.

Chad

This nation of close to 18 million people is somewhere between Central and North Africa. Of all the 16 landlocked African countries, it is the biggest and thrives through the export of gold, uranium and oil.

One other interesting fact, Chad is the only country in the world with a single syllable and vowel in its name.

Quite a peculiar beauty pageant known as the Gerewol festival takes place in the country. Men of a polygamous tribe known as the Wodaabe, battle to be selected as partners by unmarried women.

Algeria

The North African nation is the biggest on the continent and 10th largest in the entire world. Over 80% of the country is covered by the largest hot desert in the world, the Sahara (excluding the Arctic and Antarctic).

In 2019, Algeria became only the second African country to be declared Malaria free after Mauritius in 1973. The smallest fox in the world, the fennec fox is found in the country and also happens to be their national animal.

Algeria’s exports are predominantly fossil fuels, with petroleum, ammonia and natural gas accounting for 95% of the total.

Seychelles

The island of Seychelles is the smallest country on the continent in both physical and population size. 

There are 115 islands in Seychelles and the most developed, Mahe, is home to around 90% of the population. The world’s biggest population of giant tortoises, about 150,000 of them, is found on Seychelles’s UNESCO listed Aldabra Atoll.

Coco-de-mer otherwise known as sea coconut which bears the largest seed in the plant kingdom is found in the country. And so is the  largest land dwelling arthropod, the Coconut Crab, which can grow up to 1m in size and weigh 4.1kg.

Kenya

The East African country is home to over 55 million people. Named after its tallest mountain, Mount Kenya, the nation predominantly exports tea, cut flowers and coffee which bring in billions of dollars every year.

The nation is also endowed with diverse flora and fauna, holding the world record of bird species observed in 24 hours. Around 342 such species were observed at Kenya’s Lake Baringo. 

Mount Kenya is also the second highest after Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, standing at 5,199m. Kenya is also home to the Umoja, an all-female village founded as refuge for victims of sexual violence. Men are permitted to visit but are not allowed to live there. 

Kenya’s Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.”

Sudan

The 3rd largest country in Africa is home to around over 45 million people. It used to be the biggest before South Sudan got their independence. Sudan in Arabic means, ‘land of the black people.’

Unknown to many, Sudan has more pyramids than the infamous Egypt. It has over 200 of them, built by ancient Nubian civilisation from around 2500 BC. Around 75-80% of the world’s gum Arabic comes from the North Eastern African country, a sap from acacia trees used in the production of adhesives, candy, and pharmaceuticals.

Sudan is also part of the ambitious Great Green Wall project we once profiled in this series, an 8,000 km wall of trees stretching across Africa.

Conclusion

Which interesting facts gripped your attention the most? And let us know who you want us to feature in our 5th installment of the series.