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patterns such as sahel and steppe domi-
nate. Africa is the hottest continent on
earth and 60 percent of the entire land
surface consists of drylands and deserts.
Range of freedom
Africa boasts perhaps the world’s larg-
est combination of density and ‘range of
freedom’ of wild animal populations and
diversity, with wild populations of large
carnivores (such as lions, hyenas, and
cheetahs) and herbivores (such as buffa-
lo, elephants, camels, and giraffes) rang-
ing freely on primarily open non-private
plains. It is also home to a variety of ‘jun-
gle’ animals including snakes and pri-
mates and aquatic life such as crocodiles
and amphibians. In addition, Africa has
the largest number of megafauna species,
as it was least affected by the extinction of
the Pleistocene megafauna.
Africa has over 3000 protected areas,
with 198 marine protected areas, 50 bio-
sphere reserves, and 80 wetlands reserves.
Visual art and architecture
African art and architecture reflect the
diversity of African cultures. The region’s
oldest known beads were made from
Nassarius shells and worn as personal
ornaments 72,000 years ago. The Great Kenya produces some of the finest long-distance runners in the world
Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was the world’s
tallest structure for 4000 years, until Highlife music. Modern music of the con- geria, Senegal, Ghana, and Algeria have
the completion of Lincoln Cathedral tinent includes the highly complex choral advanced to the knockout stage of recent
around the year 1300. The stone ruins of singing of southern Africa and the dance FIFA World Cups. South Africa hosted the
Great Zimbabwe are also noteworthy for rhythms of the musical genre of soukous, 2010 World Cup tournament, becoming
their architecture, as are the monolithic dominated by the music of the Democrat- the first African country to do so.
churches at Lalibela, Ethiopia, such as the ic Republic of Congo. Indigenous musical Cricket is popular in some African na-
Church of Saint George. and dance traditions of Africa are main- tions. South Africa and Zimbabwe have
tained by oral traditions. Arab influences Test status, while Kenya is the leading non-
Music and dance are visible in North African music and test team and previously had One-Day
Egypt has long been a cultural focus of dance and, in Southern Africa, western in- International cricket (ODI) status. The
the Arab world, while remembrance of fluences are apparent due to colonisation. three countries jointly hosted the 2003
the rhythms of sub-Saharan Africa, in Cricket World Cup. Namibia is the other
particular West Africa, was transmitted Sports African country to have played in a World
through the Atlantic slave trade to mod- All 54 African countries have football Cup. Morocco in northern Africa has also
ern samba, blues, jazz, reggae, hip hop, (soccer) teams in the Confederation of hosted the 2002 Morocco Cup, but the na-
and rock. The 1950s through the 70s saw African Football. Egypt has won the Afri- tional team has never qualified for a major
a conglomeration of these various styles can Cup seven times, and a record-mak- tournament. Rugby is a popular sport in
with the popularisation of Afrobeat and ing three times in a row. Cameroon, Ni- South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

AUGUST 2019 l INDIAN ENGINEERING EXPORTS l 67