Africa is the second largest continent, with 54 countries and a surface area of 30,244,050 sq km (11,677,293 mi2). Its highest point is Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro, which rises to 5,895 m (19,340 feet) above sea level. Africa's lowest point is Djibouti's Lake Assal, whose surface is 515 feet (157 m) below sea level.

Africa has extensive mineral resources, including gold, diamonds, and copper. Its longest river is the Nile, which runs 6,650 km (4,132 miles) from Burundi to Egypt. Its largest lake is the 69,485 sq km (26,828 square mile) Lake Victoria, which is surrounded by Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. Africa is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, by the Red Sea to the northeast, and by the Indian Ocean to the southeast.

REGIONS OF AFRICA
North Africa
(Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara)
The countries that rim the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Saharan Africa
(Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan)
The mostly desert and often landlocked nations that span the Sahara Desert.

West Africa
(Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Togo)
The tropical Atlantic coastal nations.

Central Africa
(Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Zambia)
The heart of Africa.

East Africa
(Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda)
The nations that border the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Southern Africa
(Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe)
Nations at Africa's southern tip.