8 The Volta-Gur peoples number nearly 15 million in 165 ethnic groups

9 The Hausa are dominant in Niger and northern Nigeria, but live in 27 countries and number 30 million

10 Kanuri-Kanembu — 5.1 million in northwest Nigeria and the Chad basin

11 The Chadian peoples. Five intermingled clusters of Sudanic, Saharan and Chadic peoples

12 Cushitic-Horn of Africa peoples. There are 55 million in over 140 ethnic groups living mainly in Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia

13 The East Coast peoples of Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi

14 The Pygmy peoples of the central African forests

Geography

Area 30,212,000 sq.km; 22.3% of the surface area of the world's 238 countries.

Population (2000) 784,315,000 +2.41%AGR

Peoples

African 77.9%; Arab 17.3%; Imazighen (Berber) 2.6%; European 1.1%; Mixed race 0.7%; Asian 0.4%.

Languages 2,110; 30.5% of the world's total. Official languages Arabic in North Africa (7 countries). Elsewhere French (22), English (21), Portuguese (4), Spanish (1). The increasing use of European languages in education is at the expense of local languages. In only 6 nations is an African language officially used as the main means of conducting the nation's business.

Bible translation Africa is the greatest remaining challenge for Bible translation with existing openings for missionary translators. Languages with Scriptures 130Bi 237NT 250por. There is work in progress in 373 and a definite need for translators in 297 more. This latter number could rise to 1,290 after careful field research.

Economy

Africa's economy has stagnated for 40 years; many countries have become poorer, a few have made progress. HDI is a measure of the quality of life of 174 nations. Of the bottom 40 in this list, 33 are in Africa. Income/person $660 (2% of USA). Only 1.7% of the world's GNP is generated in Africa.

Politics

Black Africa's isolation from the rest of the world ended in the 'Scramble for Africa' by the European colonial powers in the 19^th Century.

Religion

Religious freedom has increased over much of Africa during the 1990s, but persecution of Christians by Muslims has also increased in Egypt, Sudan, northern Nigeria and the Comores.

Missionaries from Africa

12,442 in 620 agencies with 3,126 in other lands.

Missionaries to Africa

17,737 expatriates in 620 agencies.

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