How Big is Africa?

How big is Africa? You can see from this map created by Kai Krause, that Africa is large. If you combine the USA, China, India, Europe and Japan - they all fit into the continent of Africa. Click on the map to see it in detail. The US can fit comfortably no less than three times. The UK can fit into Africa over 120 times. Even those of us who were educated in Africa may be surprised at these statistics. That's because the geography books at school tend to originate from Europe or the US, and show a proportionally skewed perspective of the world.

Why Should Size Matter?
The fact that Africa is much bigger than most people realize just goes to show how little people know about the continent. This is not just a giant slab of land that's filled with poverty, disease and war. There are 54 nations in Africa, with cities, towns and villages. This is not a piece of land that can be generalized. A simple reality check by looking at this type of map, will hopefully lead at least some to find out a little more about the continent.

And if you happen to be planning a trip to Africa, best to check out a map. Make sure you understand that combining a trip to Egypt with a safari in Kenya means you'll be covering more than two thousand miles. You probably wouldn't think of combining a visit to San Francisco with a quick side-trip to New Orleans, nor a trip to Paris with a weekend in Tel Aviv.

More About: Africa Facts l Maps of Africa l Maps of Individual African Countries