Africa is the third biggest continent for its size followed by Asia and America, and the second most populated in the world. Its population represents 17% of the world population. Africa’s boundaries are: the Mediterranean Sea by the north; the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The largest island outside the mainland is Madagascar.

The average height of Africa is 600 meters above sea level, and it does not have, like other continents, extremely high zones and other low ones, because plateaus predominate. Africa is a continent crossed by the equinoctial line and as it is so long, it extends from the temperate zones of the north to the temperate zones of the south, comprising numerous climatic zones.