The arid Sahara Desert, the largest subtropical desert in the world, covers the centre-north region of the continent. East Africa is home to the highest summit on the continent, Kilimanjaro, which peaks at 5,895 meters. The continent also has some of the largest water basins in the world, such as the Nile, Congo, and Niger rivers.
The political geography of Africa has been shaped by its colonial history, with the European colonisers dividing up the continent in the 19th and 20th centuries. Most African countries gained their independence in the latter half of the 1900s, and the newest country on the continent is South Sudan, which became independent in 2011.
With all this in mind, here are the top 10 largest countries in Africa by area:
- Algeria: 2,381,741 square kilometres
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: 2,344,860 square kilometers
- Sudan: 1,878,000 square kilometers
- Libya: 1,759,540 square kilometers
- Chad: 1,284,000 square kilometers
- Niger: 1,267,000 square kilometres
- Angola: 1,246,700 square kilometres
- Mali: 1,240,190 square kilometres
- South Africa: 1,219,090 square kilometres
- Ethiopia: 1,136,240 square kilometers