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Do not fill this in! ==Demographics== {{Main|Demographics of Africa|Genetic history of Africa|Child marriage#Africa{{!}}Child marriage in Africa}} {{See also|List of African countries by population|List of African countries by life expectancy}} {{Pie chart | caption= [[List of African countries by population|Proportion of total African population by country]] | other = yes | label1 = Nigeria | value1 = 15.38 | color1=#36A | label2 = Ethiopia | value2 = 8.37 | color2=#1A9 | label3 = Egypt | value3 = 7.65 | color3=#6A5 | label4 = Democratic Republic of the Congo | value4 = 6.57 | color4=#CC5 | label5 = Tanzania | value5 = 4.55 | color5=#928 | label6 = South Africa | value6 = 4.47 | color6=#E33 | label7 = Kenya | value7 = 3.88 | color7=#E72 | label8 = Uganda | value8 = 3.38 | color8=#FE3 | label9 = Algeria | value9 = 3.36 | color9=#A45 }} Africa's population has rapidly increased over the last 40 years, and is consequently relatively young. In some African states, more than half the population is under 25 years of age.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.overpopulation.org/Africa.html|title=Africa Population Dynamics|publisher=overpopulation.org|access-date=26 July 2007|archive-date=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217040305/http://www.overpopulation.org/Africa.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The total number of people in Africa increased from 229 million in 1950 to 630 million in 1990.<ref>[http://www.geohive.com/earth/his_proj_africa.aspx Past and future population of Africa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924044751/http://www.geohive.com/earth/his_proj_africa.aspx |date=24 September 2015 }}. Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2013)</ref> As of {{UN_Population|Year}}, the population of Africa is estimated at {{#expr:{{replace|{{UN_Population|Africa}}|,|}} / 1e9 round 1}} billion {{UN_Population|ref}}. Africa's total population surpassing other continents is fairly recent; African population surpassed Europe in the 1990s, while the Americas was overtaken sometime around the year 2000; Africa's rapid population growth is expected to overtake the only two nations currently larger than its population, at roughly the same time – India and China's 1.4 billion people each will swap ranking around the year 2022.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/world/asia/india-will-be-most-populous-country-sooner-than-thought-un-says.html|title=India Will Be Most Populous Country Sooner Than Thought, U.N. Says|first=Rick|last=Gladstone|date=29 July 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=14 February 2017|archive-date=1 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201022241/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/world/asia/india-will-be-most-populous-country-sooner-than-thought-un-says.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This increase in number of babies born in Africa compared to the rest of the world is expected to reach approximately 37% in the year 2050; while in 1990 sub-Saharan Africa accounted for only 16% of the world's births.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/22/what-to-do-about-africas-dangerous-baby-boom|title=What to do about Africa's dangerous baby boom|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=26 September 2018|language=en|archive-date=25 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925235351/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/22/what-to-do-about-africas-dangerous-baby-boom|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[total fertility rate]] (children per woman) for Sub-Saharan Africa is 4.7 as of 2018, the highest in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fertility rate, total (births per woman) – Sub-Saharan Africa |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=ZG |website=The World Bank |access-date=29 May 2020 |archive-date=13 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513095844/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=ZG |url-status=live }}</ref> All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had [[Total fertility rate|TFRs]] (average number of children) above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27.1% of [[earth|global]] livebirths.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30977-6/fulltext|title=Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2019: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019|publisher=[[The Lancet]]}}</ref> In 2021, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 29% of global births.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[United Nations]]. Department of Economic and Social Affairs |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf |title=World Population Prospects 2022. Summary of Results |location=New York |page=14}}</ref> Speakers of [[Bantu languages]] (part of the [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]] family) are the majority in southern, central and southeast Africa. The Bantu-speaking peoples from [[the Sahel]] progressively expanded over most of sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>Luc-Normand Tellier (2009). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC Urban world history: an economic and geographical perspective] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924171325/https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC |date=24 September 2015 }}''. PUQ. p. 204. {{ISBN|2-7605-1588-5}}</ref> But there are also several [[Nilotic]] groups in [[South Sudan]] and East Africa, the mixed [[Swahili people]] on the [[Swahili Coast]], and a few remaining [[Indigenous peoples of Africa|indigenous]] Khoisan ("[[Bushmen|San"]] or "Bushmen") and [[Pygmy peoples]] in Southern and Central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon. In the [[Kalahari Desert]] of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "[[Khoikhoi|Hottentots]]") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other Africans and are the indigenous people of southern Africa.{{cn|date=October 2023}} Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of central Africa.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article402970.ece Pygmies struggle to survive in war zone where abuse is routine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525095020/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article402970.ece |date=25 May 2010 }}. ''Times Online''. 16 December 2004</ref> The peoples of West Africa primarily speak [[Niger–Congo languages]], belonging mostly to its non-Bantu branches, though some [[Nilo-Saharan]] and Afro-Asiatic speaking groups are also found. The Niger–Congo-speaking [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]], [[Igbo language|Igbo]], [[Fulani]], [[Akan language|Akan]], and [[Wolof people|Wolof]] ethnic groups are the largest and most influential. In the central Sahara, [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] or [[Mande languages|Mande]] groups are most significant. Chadic-speaking groups, including the [[Hausa language|Hausa]], are found in more northerly parts of the region nearest to the Sahara, and Nilo-Saharan communities, such as the [[Songhai people|Songhai]], [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]] and [[Zarma people|Zarma]], are found in the eastern parts of West Africa bordering Central Africa. [[Image:African_countries_by_HDI_(2019).png|thumb|upright=1.2|left| {| width="100%" style="background:transparent;" | Map of Africa indicating [[Human Development Index]] (2018). |-Africa | {{Col-begin}} {{Col-break}} {{Legend|#00C400|0.800–0.849}} {{Legend|#00F900|0.750–0.799}} {{Legend|#D3FF00|0.700–0.749}} {{Legend|#FFFF00|0.650–0.699}} {{Legend|#FFD215|0.600–0.649}} {{Legend|#FFA83C|0.550–0.599}} {{Col-break}} {{Legend|#FF852F|0.500–0.549}} {{Legend|#FF5B00|0.450–0.499}} {{Legend|#FF0000|0.400–0.449}} {{Legend|#A70000|≤ 0.399}} {{Legend|#D9D9D9|No data}} {{Col-end}} |}]] The peoples of North Africa consist of three main indigenous groups: Berbers in the northwest, Egyptians in the northeast, and Nilo-Saharan-speaking peoples in the east. The Arabs who arrived in the 7th century CE introduced the Arabic language and Islam to North Africa. The Semitic [[Phoenicia]]ns (who founded [[Carthage]]) and [[Hyksos]], the Indo-Iranian [[Alans]], the Indo- European [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], Romans, and [[Vandals]] settled in North Africa as well. Significant Berber communities remain within [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]] in the 21st century, while, to a lesser extent, Berber speakers are also present in some regions of Tunisia and Libya.<ref>{{cite news|title=Q&A: The Berbers|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3509799.stm|access-date=30 December 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=12 March 2004|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112181804/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3509799.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Berber-speaking [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] and other often-[[nomad]]ic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. In Mauritania, there is a small but near-extinct Berber community in the north and Niger–Congo-speaking peoples in the south, though in both regions Arabic and Arab culture predominates. In Sudan, although Arabic and Arab culture predominate, it is mostly inhabited by groups that originally spoke Nilo-Saharan, such as the Nubians, Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, who, over the centuries, have variously intermixed with migrants from the Arabian peninsula. Small communities of Afro-Asiatic-speaking Beja nomads can also be found in Egypt and Sudan.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1017/9781108634311.014 |chapter=The Linguistic Prehistory of the Sahara |title=Burials, Migration and Identity in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond |year=2019 |last1=Blench |first1=Roger |pages=431–463 |isbn=978-1-108-63431-1 |s2cid=197854997 }}</ref> In the [[Horn of Africa]], some Ethiopian and Eritrean groups (like the [[Amhara people|Amhara]] and [[Tigrayans]], collectively known as [[Habesha people|Habesha]]) speak languages from the [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] branch of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]] language family, while the [[Oromo people|Oromo]] and [[Somalis|Somali]] speak languages from the [[Cushitic]] branch of Afro-Asiatic. Prior to the [[decolonization]] movements of the post-World War II era, [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]] were represented in every part of Africa.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901759-3,00.html "We Want Our Country" (3 of 10)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723000220/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901759-3,00.html |date=23 July 2013 }}. ''Time'', 5 November 1965</ref> Decolonization during the 1960s and 1970s often resulted in the mass emigration of white settlers – especially from Algeria and Morocco (1.6 million ''[[pieds-noir]]s'' in North Africa),<ref>Raimondo Cagiano De Azevedo (1994). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=N8VHizsqaH0C&pg=PA25 Migration and development co-operation.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906025429/https://books.google.com/books?id=N8VHizsqaH0C&pg=PA25 |date=6 September 2015 }}''. Council of Europe, p. 25. {{ISBN|92-871-2611-9}}</ref> Kenya, Congo,<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826488-4,00.html "Jungle Shipwreck"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722210703/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826488-4,00.html |date=22 July 2013 }}. ''Time'' 25 July 1960</ref> Rhodesia, Mozambique and Angola.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12079340 "Flight from Angola"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723131954/http://www.economist.com/node/12079340?story_id=12079340 |date=23 July 2013 }}, ''The Economist '', 16 August 1975</ref> Between 1975 and 1977, over a million colonials returned to Portugal alone.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/portugal/48.htm Portugal – Emigration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629081956/http://countrystudies.us/portugal/48.htm |date=29 June 2011 }}, Eric Solsten, ed. Portugal: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1993</ref> Nevertheless, [[White Africans of European ancestry|white Africans]] remain an important minority in many African states, particularly [[Zimbabwe]], [[Namibia]], [[Réunion]], and [[South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite book|first=John A.|last=Holm|title=Pidgins and Creoles: References survey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PcD7p9y3EIcC&pg=PA394|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=1989|page=394|isbn=978-0-521-35940-5|access-date=14 October 2015|archive-date=5 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905192604/https://books.google.com/books?id=PcD7p9y3EIcC&pg=PA394|url-status=live}}</ref> The country with the largest white African population is South Africa.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-africa/ South Africa: People: Ethnic Groups.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110042951/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-africa |date=10 January 2021 }} CIA World Factbook</ref> [[Dutch people|Dutch]] and [[British diaspora in Africa|British]] [[diaspora]]s represent the largest communities of European ancestry on the continent today.<ref name=World>{{cite encyclopedia|date=1989|title=Africa|encyclopedia=[[World Book Encyclopedia]]|publisher=World Book, Inc.|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-7166-1289-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/1989worldbookencyclo22worl}}</ref> European colonization also brought sizable groups of [[Asian people|Asians]], particularly from the [[Indian subcontinent]], to British colonies. Large [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian communities]] are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and southeast African countries. The large [[Indians in Uganda|Indian community in Uganda]] was [[expulsion of Asians from Uganda|expelled]] by the dictator [[Idi Amin]] in 1972, though many have since returned. The islands in the Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans. The [[Malagasy people]] of Madagascar are an [[Austronesian people]], but those along the coast are generally mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. Malay and Indian ancestries are also important components in the group of people known in South Africa as [[Cape Coloureds]] (people with origins in two or more races and continents). During the 20th century, small but economically important communities of [[Demographics of Lebanon#Diaspora|Lebanese]] and [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese]]<ref name="Africa"/> have also developed in the larger coastal cities of [[West Africa|West]] and East Africa, respectively.<ref>[http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2007-07-10-voa46.html Naomi Schwarz, "Lebanese Immigrants Boost West African Commerce"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224135631/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2007-07-10-voa46.html |date=24 December 2011 }}, VOANews.com, 10 July 2007</ref> === Alternative Estimates of African Population, 0–2018 AD (in thousands) === Source: Maddison and others. (University of Groningen).<ref name="ggdc.net">{{cite web|url=http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/other_books/appendix_B.pdf|title=Growth of World Population, GDP and GDP Per Capita before 1820|author=Maddison|date=27 July 2016 |access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=12 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212183845/http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/other_books/appendix_B.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> {| class="wikitable " style="text-align:right" |- ! scope="col" |Year<ref name="ggdc.net"/> ! scope="col" |0 ! scope="col" |1000 ! scope="col" |1500 ! scope="col" |1600 ! scope="col" |1700 ! scope="col" |1820 ! scope="col" |1870 ! scope="col" |1913 ! scope="col" |1950 ! scope="col" |1973 ! scope="col" |1998 ! scope="col" |2018 ! scope="col" |2100<br>(projected) |- |'''Africa''' |16 500 |33 000 |46 000 |55 000 |61 000 |74 208 |90 466 |124 697 |228 342 |387 645 |759 954 |1 321 000<ref name="worldometers"/> |3 924 421<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Five key findings from the 2022 UN Population Prospects |url=https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-update-2022 |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=Our World in Data}}</ref> |- |'''World''' |230 820 |268 273 |437 818 |555 828 |603 410 |1 041 092 |1 270 014 |1 791 020 |2 524 531 |3 913 482 |5 907 680 |7 500 000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/2018/world-population.html|title=World Population Day: July 11, 2018|website=United States Census Bureau|date=11 July 2018|access-date=18 July 2019|archive-date=18 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718064224/https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/2018/world-population.html|url-status=live}}</ref> |10 349 323<ref name=":6" /> |} === Shares of Africa and World Population, 0–2020 AD (% of world total) === Source: Maddison and others (University of Groningen).<ref name="ggdc.net"/> {| class="wikitable " style="text-align:right" |- ! scope="col" |Year<ref name="ggdc.net"/> ! scope="col" |0 ! scope="col" |1000 ! scope="col" |1500 ! scope="col" |1600 ! scope="col" |1700 ! scope="col" |1820 ! scope="col" |1870 ! scope="col" |1913 ! scope="col" |1950 ! scope="col" |1973 ! scope="col" |1998 ! scope="col" |2020 ! scope="col" |2100<br/>(projected) |- |'''Africa''' |7.1 |12.3 |10.5 |9.9 |10.1 |7.1 |7.1 |7.0 |9.0 |9.9 |12.9 |18.2<ref name="worldometers">{{cite web|url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/|title=Africa Population (LIVE)|website=worldometers.info|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=2 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902033531/https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/|url-status=live}}</ref> |39.4<ref name="www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank">{{cite web|website=Pew Research Center|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/worlds-population-is-projected-to-nearly-stop-growing-by-the-end-of-the-century/|title=World's population is projected to nearly stop growing by the end of the century|author1=ANTHONY CILLUFFO|author2= NEIL G. RUIZ|date=17 June 2019}}</ref> |} ===Religion=== [[File:Religion distribution Africa crop.png|A map showing religious distribution in Africa|thumb|upright=1.1]] {{Main|Religion in Africa}} {{See also||African divination}} While Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, the majority of the people respect African religions or parts of them. However, in formal surveys or census, most people will identify with major religions that came from outside the continent, mainly through colonisation. There are several reasons for this, the main one being the colonial idea that African religious beliefs and practices are not good enough. Religious beliefs and statistics on religious affiliation are difficult to come by since they are often a sensitive topic for governments with mixed religious populations.<ref name=stanford>{{cite web|url=http://library.stanford.edu/africa/religion.html|title=African Religion on the Internet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902182749/http://library.stanford.edu/africa/religion.html |archive-date=2 September 2006 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[Stanford University]]}}</ref><ref name=NYT>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/01/world/rising-muslim-power-in-africa-causes-unrest-in-nigeria-and-elsewhere-963950.html|date=1 November 2001|title=Rising Muslim Power in Africa Causing Unrest in Nigeria and Elsewhere|first=Normitsu|last=Onishi|work=The New York Times|access-date=1 March 2009}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> According to the ''[[World Book Encyclopedia]]'', [[Islam in Africa|Islam]] and [[Christianity in Africa|Christianity]] are the two largest religions in Africa. Islam is most prevalent in Northern Africa, and is the state religion of many North African countries, such as Algeria, where 99% of the population practices Islam.<ref>{{Citation |title=Algeria |date=2024-04-11 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/algeria/#people-and-society |access-date=2024-04-16 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref> The majority of people in most governments in Southern, Southeast, and Central Africa, as well as in a sizable portion of the Horn of Africa and West Africa, identify as [[Christians]]. The [[Copts|Coptic Christians]] constitute a sizable minority in [[Egypt]], and the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox Church]] is the largest church in Ethiopia, with 36 million and 51 million adherents.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Center |first=Pew Research |date=2017-11-08 |title=Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}</ref> According to [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], 45% of the population are Christians, 40% are Muslims, and 10% follow [[Traditional African religions|traditional religions]].{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} A small number of Africans are [[Hindu]], [[Buddhist]], [[Confucianist]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]], or [[Judaism in Africa|Jewish]]. There is also a minority of people in Africa who are [[Irreligion in Africa|irreligious]]. ===Languages=== {{Main|Languages of Africa}} {{See also|Writing systems of Africa#Indigenous writing systems}} By most estimates, well over a thousand [[language]]s ([[UNESCO]] has estimated around two thousand) are spoken in Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=8048&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |title=Africa |date=2005 |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=1 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602050234/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D8048%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html |archive-date= 2 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Most are of African origin, though some are of European or Asian origin. Africa is the most [[Multilingualism|multilingual]] continent in the world, and it is not rare for individuals to fluently speak not only multiple African languages, but one or more European ones as well.{{Further explanation needed|reason=Africa is not one country with one single tradition of polyglots|date=February 2023}} There are four major groups indigenous to Africa: [[File:Map of African language families.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|A simplistic view of language families spoken in Africa]] * The [[Afroasiatic languages|''Afroasiatic'']] languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout the Horn of Africa, North Africa, the [[Sahel]], and Southwest Asia. * The [[Nilo-Saharan languages|''Nilo-Saharan'']] languages consist of a group of several possibly related [[Language family|families]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wolff |first1=Ekkehard |title=Linguistic features and typologies in languages commonly referred to as 'Nilo-Saharan' |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=326–381 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335691200 |access-date=22 October 2023}}</ref> spoken by 30 million people between 100 languages. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by ethnic groups in [[Chad]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Kenya]], [[Nigeria]], [[Sudan]], [[South Sudan]], [[Uganda]], and northern [[Tanzania]]. * The [[Niger–Congo languages|''Niger-Congo'']] language family covers much of sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of number of languages, it is the largest language family in Africa and perhaps one of the largest in the world. * The [[Khoisan languages|''Khoisan'']] languages form a group of three unrelated<ref>{{cite book |last1=Güldemann |first1=Tom |title=Beyond 'Khoisan': Historical relations in the Kalahari Basin |date=29 August 2014 |pages=1–40 |url=https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books/9789027269928#overview |access-date=22 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref> families and two [[Language isolate|isolates]] and number about fifty in total. They are mainly spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 400,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Khoisan Languages|url=http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Khoisan.html|website=The Language Gulper|access-date=2 January 2017|archive-date=25 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125082754/http://languagesgulper.com/eng/Khoisan.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the Khoisan languages are [[endangered language|endangered]]. The [[Khoikhoi|Khoi]] and [[Bushmen|San]] peoples are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa. Following the end of [[colonialism]], nearly all African countries adopted [[official language]]s that originated outside the continent, although several countries also granted legal recognition to indigenous languages (such as [[Swahili language|Swahili]], [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]], [[Igbo language|Igbo]] and [[Hausa language|Hausa]]). In numerous countries, English and French (''see [[African French]]'') are used for communication in the public sphere such as government, commerce, education and the media. Arabic, [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Afrikaans]] and Spanish are examples of languages that trace their origin to outside of Africa, and that are used by millions of Africans today, both in the public and private spheres. Italian is spoken by some in former [[Italian Colonial Empire|Italian colonies]] in Africa. German is spoken in [[Namibia]], as it was a former German protectorate. In total, at least a fifth of Africans speak the former colonial languages.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oluwole |first=Victor |date=2021-09-12 |title=A comprehensive list of all the English-speaking countries in Africa |url=https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/a-comprehensive-list-of-all-the-english-speaking-countries-in-africa/hdp1610 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=Business Insider Africa |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stein-Smith |first=Kathleen |date=2022-03-17 |title=Africa and the French language are growing together in global importance |url=http://theconversation.com/africa-and-the-french-language-are-growing-together-in-global-importance-179224 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Babbel.com |last2=GmbH |first2=Lesson Nine |title=How Many People Speak Portuguese, And Where Is It Spoken? |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-portuguese-and-where-is-it-spoken |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=Babbel Magazine |language=en}}</ref>{{Efn|The previous three references show that there a total of 130 million English speakers, 120 million French speakers, and over 30 million Portuguese speakers in Africa, making them about 20% of Africa's 2022 population of 1.4 billion people.}} ===Health=== [[File:HIV in Africa 2011.svg|thumb|upright=1.1|Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa, total (% of population ages 15–49), in 2011 ([[World Bank]]) {| style="width:100%;" |- | valign=top | {{legend|#2b0000|over 15%}} {{legend|#800000|5–15%}} {{legend|#d40000|2–5%}} {{legend|#ff2a2a|1–2%}} {{legend|#ff9955|0.5-1%}} {{legend|#ffb380|0.1–0.5%}} {{legend|#b9b9b9|not available}} |}]] More than 85% of individuals in Africa use traditional medicine as an alternative to often expensive allopathic medical health care and costly pharmaceutical products. The [[Organisation of African Unity|Organization of African Unity]] (OAU) Heads of State and Government declared the 2000s decade as the African Decade on [[African traditional medicine]] in an effort to promote The WHO African Region's adopted resolution for institutionalizing traditional medicine in health care systems across the continent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kofi-Tsekpo |first1=Mawuli |title=Editorial: Institutionalization of African Traditional Medicine in Health Care Systems in Africa |journal=African Journal of Health Sciences |date=11 February 2005 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=i–ii |doi=10.4314/ajhs.v11i1.30772 |pmid=17298111 }}</ref> Public policy makers in the region are challenged with consideration of the importance of traditional/indigenous health systems and whether their coexistence with the modern medical and health sub-sector would improve the equitability and accessibility of health care distribution, the health status of populations, and the social-economic development of nations within sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunlop |first1=David W. |title=Alternatives to 'modern' health delivery systems in Africa: Public policy issues of traditional health systems |journal=Social Science & Medicine |date=November 1975 |volume=9 |issue=11–12 |pages=581–586 |doi=10.1016/0037-7856(75)90171-7 |pmid=817397 }}</ref> [[HIV/AIDS in Africa|AIDS in post-colonial Africa]] is a prevalent issue. Although the continent is home to about 15.2 percent of the world's population,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/world_population.htm|title=World Population by continents and countries – Nations Online Project|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=5 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105110631/http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/world_population.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> more than two-thirds of the total infected worldwide – some 35 million people – were Africans, of whom 15 million have already died.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Africa| first1 = Anthony | last1 = Appiah | first2 = Henry Louis | last2 = Gates | name-list-style = vanc |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|pages=8}}</ref> [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] alone accounted for an estimated 69 percent of all people living with HIV<ref name="2012 Facts">{{Cite web |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_FactSheet_Global_en.pdf |title="Global Fact Sheet", Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, 20 November 2012 |access-date=18 October 2020 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327233932/http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_factsheet_global_en.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and 70 percent of all AIDS deaths in 2011.<ref name="dUNAIDSi ck 2012">{{cite web|title=UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2012 | url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids//documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_UNAIDS_Global_Report_2012_with_annexes_en.pdf | access-date=13 May 2013}}</ref> In the countries of sub-Saharan Africa most affected, AIDS has raised death rates and lowered life expectancy among adults between the ages of 20 and 49 by about twenty years.<ref name=":0" /> Furthermore, the life expectancy in many parts of Africa has declined, largely as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with life-expectancy in some countries reaching as low as thirty-four years.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of The Modern World|last=Stearns|first=Peter N. | name-list-style = vanc |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|pages=556}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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