Africa is the part of the world that occupies one fifth of the land on planet Earth. There are 60 states on the territory of Africa, but only 55 of them are universally recognized, the remaining 5 are self-proclaimed. Each of the states belongs to a particular region. Traditionally, five sub-regions are distinguished in Africa: four on the cardinal points (east, south, west, north) and one - central.
Central Africa
The Central African region occupies a continental area of 7.3 million square meters. km in an area rich in natural gifts. Geographically, the countries of Central Africa are separated from the rest of the sub-regions by the East African Continental Rift from the east; watershed between the rivers Congo - Kwanza and the rivers Zambezi - Kubangu - from the south. The west of the region is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea; the northern border of the region coincides with the state border of the Republic of Chad. The countries of Central Africa are located in the equatorial and subequatorial climatic zones. The climate is humid and hot.
Central Africa is the richest region in water resources: the rich Congo River, smallthe rivers Ogowe, Sanaga, Kwanza, Kvilu and others. The vegetation is represented by dense forests in the center of the region and small strips of savannas in the north and south.
Central Africa
The Central African region includes nine countries: Congo, Angola, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon. Interestingly, two states with the same name have a different form of government. Sao Tome and Principe is located on an island in the Atlantic Ocean.
Cameroon, whose coordinates are close to the West Africa region, is sometimes classified as a West African country.
Uniqueness of Central Africa
Active European penetration into the territory of tropical Central Africa began in the 18th century, when the desire of Europeans to possess new territories was especially great. The study of equatorial Africa was facilitated by the discovery of the mouth of the Congo River, along which navigable trips deep into the continent were made. There is very little information about the ancient peoples who inhabited the places where the modern countries of Central Africa are located. Their descendants are known - the Hausa, Yoruba, Athara, Bantu, Oromo peoples. The predominant indigenous race of this territory is the Negroid. In the tropics of the Ouele and Congo basin, a special race lives - the pygmies.
Short descriptions of some states
The Central African Republic is a country located in a territory that has long been unknown to Europeans because of itslocation deep in the mainland. The decoding of ancient Egyptian inscriptions testifies to the existence of small people, presumably pygmies, in the area. The land of the Central African Republic remembers the times of slavery, which ended only in the middle of the 20th century. Now it is a republic with more than five million people. The country has several large national parks that are home to giraffes, hippos, forest elephants, ostriches, several hundred species of birds and other animals.
The largest country in Africa is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The population of the Congo is about 77 million people. It is also one of the richest states in terms of natural resources. The selva of the Republic is so vast that it makes up about 6% of the world's wet forests.
The People's Republic of the Congo is located in western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The coastline is approximately 170 km. A significant part of the territory is occupied by the Congo depression - a swampy area. The toponym "Congo" (which means "hunters") is very common on the African continent: two states of the Congo, the Congo River, the people and language of the Congo and other lesser-known points on the map of Africa are named like this.
A country with an interesting history - Angola, for many centuries sent ships with slaves to South America. Modern Angola is a major exporter of fruits, sugar cane, coffee.
The territory of Cameroon has an exceptional relief: almost the entire country is located on the highlands. Here is Cameroon -an active volcano and the country's highest point.
Far from being the largest state, Gabon is one of the most developed and we althy states in Africa. The nature of the country - lagoons and estuaries - is beautiful and poetic.
Chad is the northernmost country in Central Africa. The nature of this state is very different from the nature that other countries of Central Africa have. There are no forests here, on the plains of the country there are sandy deserts and savannahs.
