Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,370,000 km˛ (11,730,000 mi˛) including adjacent islands, it covers 6.0% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area.With more than 890,000,000 people (as of 2005) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14% of the world's human population.

The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.