Hello,
What is hard and hairy on the outside but soft and wet on the inside?
Eritrea
• Eritrea has never held a presidential or national election since independence in 1993.
• It is a multilingual country with no official language. The Constitution established the equality of all Eritrea languages. However, the main languages spoken are Tigrinya, Tigre and Arabic.
• The first country to allocate an entire coastline as a reserve. The Dahlak group of islands is world-renowned for its pearl production and is largely uninhabited.
Eswatini
• Home to the world's second-largest single rock, the Sibebe rock.
• Africa's last remaining monarchy. It also holds the record for the youngest crowned and the longest reigning king.
• The country changed its name from Swaziland to Eswatini in April 2018.
Ethiopia
• Observes a unique 13-month calendar per year, making them seven years behind the rest of the world.
• The oldest country in Africa. It was founded in 980 BC.
• The only country in Africa with its alphabet, letters and numbers.
Gabon
• Mask-making is a prominent art. They are believed to offer spiritual protection and promote fertility.
• 80%- 85% of the country is covered by rainforests, and almost 12% are national parks.
• 80% of gorillas in Africa are found here.
The Gambia
• The smallest country in mainland Africa.
• They vote using marbles! Very eco-friendly and saves on paper.
• They believe crocodiles have magic power; therefore, crocodile ponds are sacred.
Ghana
• They have unique coffins, i.e. made in the shape of fish, aeroplane, lion and much more.
• Children are named based on the day of the week, i.e. a male born on a Sunday is Khwasi while a female is Akosua.
• Home to Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in the world.
Guinea
• Traditional healers are extremely popular, with around 80% of sick Guineans seeking their treatment first.
• It is also known as Guinea Conakry to distinguish it from Guinea Bissau.
• Chimpanzees were first observed using tools to chop up and reduce food into smaller bite-sized portions in the Nimba Mountains of Guinea.
Guinea-Bissau
• The islands of Bissagos or Bijagos, are run by women who are leaders in law, economy, spirituality, and marriage arrangements.
• It consists of 88 islands in total, with 20 inhabited all year round.
• The island of Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau used to be one country before 1980. The two countries separated after a coup.
Kenya
• Lake Turkana is the world's largest desert lake.
• It has a women-only village in Samburu.
• Home to the big five, marine five and special five animals.
Lesotho
• It is surrounded by South Africa.
• The only country in the world above 1000m.
• It is one of the first African languages to develop a written form and has extensive literature.
Libera
• It has a town called "Smell No Taste". During the Second World War, the United States positioned thousands of soldiers to guard military flights and rubber plantations. The smell of the soldiers' food cooking would often drift into the town, but the citizens weren't allowed to enter the soldiers' base, so they could only smell the food and never taste it.
• According to their Constitution, you must have dark skin to be a Liberian citizen.
• Most of the world's largest cruise ships are registered here because of the lenient laws.
Libya
• The name Lybia stems from an ancient tribe called Libu, first mentioned in texts from the 13th century BC.
• Hidden in the Sahara desert is the Ubari Sand Sea, a deep red lake fed by springs from an underground aquifer created by ancient rains.
• All meats eaten by Lybians must be halal. The animal must be killed humanely and prayed over ritually according to Muslim customs.
Madagascar
• 90% of its wildlife is endemic (not found anywhere else).
• More than 12,000 species of exceedingly diverse plants are growing in Madagascar, and with little access to medical care, the Malagasy people use plants for medicinal treatment. However, beyond traditional herbal remedies, species, such as the Madagascar periwinkle, are harvested to produce drugs used to treat Hodgkin's disease, Leukemia, and other cancers.
• The fourth largest island in the world.
Malawi
• Lake Malawi contains the largest number of freshwater fish species of any lake in the world.
• Despite it being landlocked, a fifth of it is covered in water.
• Lake Malawi is sometimes called the calender lake. It's 365 miles long at its longest point and the widest point at 52 miles.
Mali
• The Grand Mosque of Djenne is the world's largest man-made clay structure.
• The Mormyrops Oudoti, referred to as the elephant fish because of its elongated tubular snout fish, is only found here.
• Have the second highest fertility rate in the world.
Mauritania
• Home to the longest train in the world, measuring 3km.
• Only Mauritania and Madagascar still use imperial currencies. The rest of the world uses decimal currency.
• The Nouadhibou bay is the world's largest ship graveyard. There are more than 300 ships that are dumped within the bay once they become unwanted.
Mauritius
• There is no official language in Mauritius! However, most people speak Creole, French, English and Hindi.
• Mauritius is the only nation in Africa with Hinduism as the major religion.
• Mauritius is surrounded by the world's third largest coral reef, the Saya Del Malha. It's one of the best places on earth for snorkelling and scuba diving, with over 100 dive sites.
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