Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Africa is the world's second-largest continent, covering approximately 30.37 million square kilometers (11.72 million square miles). This represents about 20% of Earth's total land area. Only Asia is larger.
The continent stretches roughly 8,000 km (5,000 mi) from north (Ras ben Sakka, Tunisia) to south (Cape Agulhas, South Africa) and 7,400 km (4,600 mi) from west (Cap-Vert, Senegal) to east (Ras Hafun, Somalia). It straddles the equator, encompassing the Mediterranean and subtropical zones, the vast Sahara Desert, the Congo Basin rainforest, the savannas of the Serengeti, and the mountains of the Great Rift Valley.
Africa comprises 54 recognized sovereign states, the most of any continent, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion.