Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
AFRICA - OCEANS, COUNTRIES AND MAIN CITIES
Africa is a continent that is home to over 1 billion people. This is around 14% of the world’s
population.
The map below shows the position of Africa on the world map.
Africa Location
Wikimedia Creative Commons
Attribution Share-Alike: NotscottMartin23230
World Map
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Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Geography: Grade 5
The position of Africa on a globe is shown below:
Orthographic Projection of Africa,
Wikimedia Creative Commons,
Attribution Share-Alike: Martin23230
Size of Africa
Africa is the second largest continent on
Earth (Asia is the largest), and comprises of
20% of the land on Earth.
Africa is 3 times the size of the United
States and is about 8000 km long from north
to south.
At its widest point, the continent is nearly as
wide as it is long. The total land area of
Africa is 30,368,609 sq km.
The Equator bisects (cuts in half) the
continent into two equal halves. The Prime
(Greenwich) Meridian runs through Africa,
as does the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic
of Capricorn.
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Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Political Map of Africa
The map below shows the oceans and seas that surround Africa, the African countries and
their capital cities, and some of the main African cities.
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Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Oceans and Seas
Africa is separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from most of Asia by the Red
Sea. The Strait of Gibraltar separates Africa from Spain. The Gulf of Aden is found off the
north coast of the Somali Peninsula (called the Horn of Africa).
It is thought that Africa and South America were split apart by tectonic forces over 150
million years ago.
The Indian Ocean lies to the east of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The Gulf of
Guinea is found off the coastline of central west Africa.
The Mozambique Channel separates Madagascar from mainland Africa.
Mozambique Coast
Africa is surrounded by oceans on all sides, i.e.:
-
The Mediterranean Sea to the north
The Suez Canal and the Red Sea on the Sinai Peninsula to the north east
The Indian Ocean to the south east
The Atlantic Ocean to the west
The coastline of Africa is mostly straight, smooth and
short compared to other continents and therefore
needs more harbours than continents with broken
shorelines. It is fringed by coral reefs, mangrove
swamps and lagoons.
False Bay- Cape Town
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Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Geography: Grade 5
African Countries and Capital Cities
A country is a large piece of earth within fixed borders, where people live under one
government. The borders separate one country from the other.
The capital city of a country is the city that is the official seat of government of the country.
There are 55 countries on the continent of Africa, of which 49 are on the mainland and 6 are
islands. Zanzibar is another island off the coast of Africa, but it is part of Tanzania.
The largest African island is Madagascar, which is the 4th largest island in the world.
Also in the Indian Ocean, to the east of Madagascar, the island of Mauritius can be found.
The Seychelles and the Comoros Islands are found to the north of Madagascar.
In the Atlantic Ocean, the islands of Sao Tome and Principe are found in the Gulf of Guinea.
The island of Cape Verde is found further north, west of Mauritania and Senegal.
The following is a list of the countries in Africa and their capital cities:
Country
Capital City
Algeria
Algiers
Angola
Luanda
Benin
Porto-Novo
Botswana
Gaborone
Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou
Burundi
Bujumbura
Cameroon
Yaounde
Cape Verde
Praia
Central African Republic
Bangui
Chad
N’Djamena
Comoros
Moroni
Congo, Democratic Republic of (DRC)
Kinshasa
Congo, Republic of
Brazzaville
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Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Country
Capital City
Cote d’Ivoire
Yamoussoukr
Djibouti
Djibouti
Egypt
Cairo
Equatorial Guinea
Malabo
Eritrea
Asmara
Ethiopia
Addis Ababa
Gabon
Libreville
Gambia
Banjul
Ghana
Accra
Guinea
Conakry
Guinea-Bissau
Bissau
Kenya
Nairobi
Lesotho
Maseru
Liberia
Monrovia
Libya
Tripoli
Madagascar
Antananarivo
Malawi
Lilongwe
Mali
Bamako
Mauritania
Nouakchott
Mauritius
Port Louis
Morocco
Rabat
Mozambique
Maputo
Namibia
Windhoek
Niger
Niamey
Nigeria
Abuja
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Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Geography: Grade 5
Country
Capital City
Rwanda
Kigali
Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome
Senegal
Dakar
Seychelles
Victoria
Sierra Leone
Freetown
Somalia
Mogadishu
South Africa
Pretoria *
South Sudan
Juba
Sudan
Khartoum
Swaziland
Mbabane
Tanzania (including Zanzibar)
Dodoma
Togo
Lomé
Tunisia
Tunis
Western Sahara
El-Aaiun
Uganda
Kampala
Zambia
Lusaka
Zimbabwe
Harare
*South Africa actually has 3 capital cities, i.e.:



Cape Town – the seat of parliament
Pretoria - the administrative capital
Bloemfontein – the legal capital
Bloemfontein
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Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Geography: Grade 5
Cape Town
Pretoria
Main African Cities
The following are the 10 largest cities in Africa (2010 figures):
No
City
Country
1
Cairo
Egypt
15,2 million
2
Lagos
Nigeria
11,8 million
3
Kinshasa
DRC
8,9 million
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Flag
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Population of City
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Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Geography: Grade 5
No
City
4
Johannesburg South
Africa
5
Mogadishu
Somalia
5,85 million
6
Khartoum
Sudan
4,97 million
7
Dar Es
Salaam
Tanzania
4,7 million
8
Alexandria
Egypt
4,57 million
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Country
Flag
Population of City
7,55 million
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Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Geography: Grade 5
No
City
Country
Flag
Population of City
9
Abidjan
Cote
D’Ivoire
4,4 million
10
Casablanca
Morocco
3,97 million
11
Cape Town
South
Africa
3,77 million
12
Durban
South
Africa
3,65 million
Source: Wikipedia, Agglomeration – Citypopulation.de.
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Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Geography: Grade 5
South Africa’s Neighbours
The map below shows the neighbouring countries of South Africa.
Botswana
Location of Botswana
Botswana is situated to the north of South Africa and
is 70% covered by the Kalahari Desert.
It is bordered by South Africa to the south and south
east, Namibia to the west and Zimbabwe to the north
west. It also meets Zambia at a single point.
Botswana Map,
Wikimedia Public Domain, CIA Factbook
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Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Botswana covers an area of 581,730 sq km and has a population of 2 million people. It gained
independence from Great Britain in 1966.
The country is mainly flat and dominated by the Kalahari Desert. The Okavango Delta is the
world’s largest inland delta and is found in the north west of the country. There is also a large
salt pan, called the Makgadikgadi Pan in the north.
The Limpopo, Chobe and Zambezi Rivers run through Botswana. Blue wildebeest and antelope
are found on the grasslands and savannas. Botswana’s Chobe and Moremi National Parks are
major tourist attractions.
Aerial View of Okavango
Delta
Moremi National Park
Blue Wildebeest
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Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Geography: Grade 5
Lesotho
Location of Lesotho
Location of Lesotho
The small kingdom of Lesotho is landlocked (no
sea around it) by South Africa. It is the southernmost landlocked country in the world.
Lesotho has a population of 2 million people and
covers an area of 30,355 sq km. The name
Lesotho means “land of the people who speak
Sesotho”.
Lesotho is the only independent state in the world
that is entirely above 1400 metres from sea level.
80% of the country lies above 1800 m.
Lesotho Map
Wikimedia Public Domain,
CIA Factbook
Lesotho Landscape
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Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Swaziland
Location of Swaziland
The Kingdom of Swaziland is also a landlocked country. It is
bordered by South Africa to the north, south and west, and
Mozambique to the east. The country is named after the 19th Century
King Mswati the Second.
Swaziland has a population of 1,185,000 million. It is a small
country, with an area of 17,363 sq km and measuring only 200
kilometres from north to south and 130 kilometres from east to west.
Swaziland gained its independence from Great Britain 1968.
The terrain is mainly mountains and hills with some sloping
plains. The lowest point is the Great Usutu River (21 metres
above sea level) and the highest point is Emlembe
Mountain (1862 m).
Swaziland Map,
Wikimedia Public Domain,
CIA World Factbook
Swaziland Landscape
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Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Mozambique
Location of Mozambique
Mozambique is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east,
Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the north west,
Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the
south west.
At 801,537 sq km, Mozambique is the 35th largest country in the
world. The population of Mozambique is 22.8 million people.
Mozambique is divided into 2 main regions by the Zambezi River,
i.e., the north, with its narrow coastline, moving inland to hills and
low plateaus and further east to the highlands.
To the south of the Zambezi there are broad lowlands and the
Lebombo Mountains further to the south.
Mozambique Map,
Wikimedia Public Domain,
CIA World Factbook
Mozambique was a Portuguese colony until 1975 when it
became independent. There was a civil war from 1977 –
1992. The name Mozambique comes from an Arab trader
who visited the country and later on lived there.
Mozambique Coastline
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Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Namibia
Location of Namibia
Namibia meets the Atlantic Ocean at its western border
and Angola and Zambia in the north. It also borders
Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and to
the east.
Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990
and has a population of 2.1 million people.
At 825,418 sq km, Namibia is the 34th largest country in
the world and is the 2nd least densely populated (after
Mongolia).
Namibia Map,
Wikimedia Public Domain,
CIA World Factbook
Namibia has five main geographical areas: The Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, the Great
Escarpment, the Bushveld and the Kalahari Desert.
The coastal desert, the Namib Desert is one of the oldest in the world and has the world’s
highest sand dunes.
Namib Sand Dunes
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Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
Namib Desert
Kalahari
Zimbabwe
Location of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country situated between the
Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, with South Africa to the
south, Botswana to the south west, Zambia to the north
west and Mozambique to the east.
Zimbabwe was formerly known as Rhodesia and gained
independence from Great Britain in 1980. The population
is 12 million people.
Zimbabwe covers an area of 390,757 sq km. Much of
Zimbabwe is elevated in the central plateau with altitudes
of 1 200 to 1 600 metres.
Map of Zimbabwe,
Wikimedia Public Domain,
CIA Factbook
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Geography: Grade 5
Map Skills: Africa – Oceans, Countries and Main Cities
The east of the country is mountainous, with Mount Nyangani being the highest point at 2592
metres. 20% of the country is lowveld, being under 900m.
Victoria Falls in the north west of the country is part of the Zambezi River.
Victoria Falls
Zimbabwean Landscape
Zambezi River
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