Did you know that the West African Franc (WAF) is the currency of eight independent states in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo?
How about the fact that the most widely spoken language in Africa is Arabic?
Below are some fascinating facts about African countries:
Algeria
• Petrol is cheaper than water.
• The Sahara desert covers 80% of the country.
• Home to the famous Djama El Dhazair mosque (3rd largest in the world) and houses the world's largest minaret.
Angola
• It is illegal to take their currency(Kwanza) out of the country.
• The country has a shortage of men. Men lost their lives during the civil war (from 1975 to 2002).
• Believed to be the origin of the dreadlock hairstyle.
Benin
• People wear winter jackets in summer to avoid extreme heat.
• Snakes are highly respected and admired. It is a sign of good luck to come across a snake.
• Due to superstitious voodoo, some communities believe that photography steals part of the soul.
Botswana
• Water is highly valued. They even named their currency pula, meaning rain in Setswana.
• It is the oldest democratic state in Africa.
• It holds several world records: shortest border, largest salt pans and largest inland delta.
Burkina Faso
• The national anthem was composed by Thomas Sankara, the first president.
• They are known as the cowboys of Africa for their love for horses.
• Burkina Faso means land of honest people.
Burundi
• Random morning runs and jogging is banned. You have to join a jogging club and register with the government.
• The capital city shifted from Bujumbura to Gitega in 2019.
• People in Burundi believe that 'planting' horns bring good luck.
Cape Verde
• It is an archipelago (a group of islands).
• It is considered rude to eat in public without sharing food.
• There is an estimation of one goat for every two people.
Cameroon
- Home to the world's largest frog species - The Goliath.
- The first country in Africa to reach the quarter-final in the FIFA world cup.
- It has about 250 languages.
Central African Republic (CAR)
• One of the best places in the world for stargazing.
• Compasses don't work here. The country has one of the largest magnetic anomalies in the world (Bangui magnetic anomaly).
• The Bangui River Basin covers more than half of the country.
Chad
• It holds the best camel racing in the world in the Tibesti Mountains.
• It gets its name from Lake Chad which has shrunk by 95% since the 1960s.
• Are you a doctor? Go to Chad! For every 23600 people, there's one doctor available.
Comoros
• Someone attempts a coup every two years.
• It is known as the 'perfume isles' due to its fragnant plant life, particularly the Ylang-Ylang flower.
• The closest neighbouring country is France. This results from the island of Mayotte remaining in France as an overseas department. The distance between the two nations is only 175.9 km (109.3 mi).
Congo Brazaville
• Home to the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, the last natural habitat on earth with no interference from humans or global warming.
• The rainforest covers 70% of the land.
• The only place you can find the Bonobos, a chimpanzee species considered closest to human beings.
DRC Congo
• Music is the largest export.
• It shares a border with nine countries: Cono Brazaville, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania.
• Kinshasa and Brazaville are the world's closest capital cities, separated by the River Congo(5km apart).
Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
• It is the world's largest exporter of cocoa.
• Home to the world's largest church: The Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix (Basilica of Our Lady of Peace).
• It has two capital cities, Yamoussoukro and Abidjan.
Djibouti
• Djibouti city accounts for 76% of the country's population
• It has no permanent streams or rivers.
• It has the lowest points in Africa.
Egypt
• Egyptians invented the 365 days calendar to predict the flooding of the River Nile.
• It has the world's oldest dress.
• Home to the world's largest dam: the Aswan high dam.
Equatorial Guinea
• It has one of the longest-serving presidents in the world. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been president since 1979.
• It is one of the only nations that do not have the capital on the mainland.
• The only African country with Spanish as the official language.
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