Africa’s regions and population

Africa’s population is growing fast: the textbook gives 1.203 billion for 2016, and according to the UN it is now about 1.5 billion; there are 54 independent states on the political map (the textbook says more than 50). The most populous countries are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Arabs and Berbers live in the north, while south of the Sahara there are countless peoples, including the Bantu groups; pygmies (shorter than about 150 cm) live in the equatorial forest, Bushmen (San) and Khoikhoi in the southern semi-deserts and deserts, and the Malagasy in Madagascar. In the south and on the Mediterranean coast there are also descendants of European settlers (for example Dutch descendants — Afrikaners). The population is unevenly spread: dense along the Mediterranean coast, the Nile valley, the Gulf of Guinea and the south-east coast; the Sahara is very sparse. Human economic activity is changing African nature, so many national parks and reserves have been created to protect wildlife and plants (the textbook cites 392; current counts are much higher). Only scientists enter a reserve, while tourists who obey the rules may enter a national park. The biggest parks: Serengeti, Maasai Mara, Kruger, Chobe, Etosha, Central Kalahari.