How Big is Africa – A quick lesson to use the poster
How Big is Africa?
The various maps shown here are not drawn to scale. (If we did draw them to scale, the answer would be too obvious!”
There are many ways to illustrate how big Africa is. Here’s another: How many Indias could you fit inside Africa? Think about it for a second and then click below to find out the answer.
Why Does Size Matter?
What reasons would you suggest? Now let’s turn to the photo and map below for a look at religious diversity. If you were able to be at the Kaaba in Mecca, pictured here, and see the Muslims on their religious pilgrimage, the hajj, you would see that they come from all parts of the world. Among them are many many Africans.
In fact roughly one in every seven of the world’s Muslims lives in Africa south of the Sahara. Nigeria alone has a larger Muslim population than Egypt. Christians are roughly 48% of the African population, Muslims roughly 41% and followers of indigenous religions roughly 10%. (These figures are at best estimates, as accurate religious censuses are not widespread; moreover, some people integrate in their own lives the practices of two different religions.)
The map shows those countries where Muslims are a majority or a large minority. This photo and map are just another expression of the extraordinary diversity of the continent.
The pictures you will see by clicking on the link below don’t begin to represent the many aspects of African diversity, but they attempt to demonstrate the wide range of difference on the vast continent.