1. A sea that lies between Saudi Arabia and Africa.
Red Sea
A sea that lies between Saudi Arabia and Africa.
The Red Sea is part of the main shipping routes between Europe, the Persian Gulf and East Asia.
The Red Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world and cannot be used for drinking or irrigation.

2. The deepest and most powerful river in Africa.
Congo River
The deepest and most powerful river in Africa.
Used to generate hydro-electric power.
Important for transportation and shipping goods in a land without railroads or good roads

3. The longest river in the world.
Nile River
The longest river in the world.
Provides the primary water resource for 10 African countries.

4. The principal river of West Africa.
Niger River and Delta
The principal river of West Africa.
The Niger River is used for irrigation of crops and to generate hydro-electric power.
The river’s resources are under pressure, because the water is used for so many things.

5. Africa’s largest lake, located in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania
Lake Victoria
Africa’s largest lake, located in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania
Pollution is a problem on this lake, due to the dumping of raw sewage and industrial waste and the chemical run-off from fertilizers.

6. The worlds hottest desert, located in North Africa.
Sahara Desert
The worlds hottest desert, located in North Africa.
The Sahara the largest desert in Africa and is almost as large as the United States or China.

7. Kalahari Desert
A large semi-arid sandy savannah in Southern Africa that covers much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa.
This desert supports many more plants and animals than a true desert, but the summer temperatures are very high.

8. Drakensberg Mountains The highest mountains in southern Africa.
These mountains have the largest collection of bushman cave paintings in the world.

9. The highest free-standing mountain in the world.
Mount Kilimanjaro
The highest free-standing mountain in the world.
Mount Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania.
This mountain is a dormant volcano.

10. Great Rift Valley
The continuous geographic trench that runs from northern Syria to central Mozambique in South East Africa
The trench or valley contains some active volcanoes and contains a series of lakes.

11. The Sahel has a semi-arid climate.
The zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudan’s Savannas in the south.
The Sahel has a semi-arid climate.
It was once home to large numbers of grazing mammals, but over-farming and over-grazing has caused serious desertification to this region.

12. A grassland ecosystem that has grasslands and widely spaced trees.
Savanna
A grassland ecosystem that has grasslands and widely spaced trees.
The African Savannas are home to a large number of animals and plants.
The Savannas are threatened by cattle grazing and poaching.

13. Plateau
A high flat plain
The East African Plateau and the South African Plateau are the two primary plateaus of Africa.
Much of the continent is made up of raised mostly level areas of land that drop off sharply near the sea.

14. Desertification
A type of land destruction in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as plants and animals
Desertification is caused by draught, over-farming or grazing and changes in the climate.

15. A country in east Africa that lies on the equator.
Kenya
A country in east Africa that lies on the equator.
Kenya is home to more than 40 wildlife parks and reserves.

16. The war left the country in ruins with almost no infrastructure.
Liberia
Africa’s oldest republic which was founded by freed American and Haitian slaves.
Liberia had a long civil war in the 1990s which killed about 250,000 people.
The war left the country in ruins with almost no infrastructure.

17. A west African nation that is rich with oil resources.
Nigeria
A west African nation that is rich with oil resources.
Nigeria is a democratic republic, although it is constantly threatened by corruption and fighting.
Nigeria has the highest population in Africa.

18. Rwanda is a small land-locked country in the center of Africa
Rwanda is known for its brutal civil war which killed over 800,000 people

19. A country on the eastern horn-shaped part of Africa.
Somalia
A country on the eastern horn-shaped part of Africa.
A civil war and the collapse of the government has lead to a significant problem with piracy in the waters off Somalia’s coastline.

20. A country located at the southern tip of Africa.
South Africa
A country located at the southern tip of Africa.
A policy of racial segregation called Apartheid, existed from the 1940s-1990s.
South Africa has more than 5.6 million people living with AIDS, more than any other country in the world.
Political oppression and human rights violations (particularly towards women) are common.

21. A country in North Africa that borders the Red Sea
Sudan
A country in North Africa that borders the Red Sea
Two civil wars, ethnic conflicts in Darfur and a clash with the country of Chad have resulted in almost constant fighting since 1955.
The government and militia have both been accused of attacking civilians and aid workers.

22. South Sudan
South Sudan became an independent nation in 2011 when it split from Sudan
The long history of war has led to many relocated people and severe problems with the country’s infrastructure.
Many human rights violations have been committed by the government and censorship is common.

23. Imperialism
Imperialism means creating an empire, expanding into the neighboring regions and expanding power.
Imperialism, on the other hand is described where a foreign government governs a territory without significant settlement.

24. Colonialism
Building and maintaining colonies in one territory by the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.
When a country defeats and rules over other regions. It means using the resources of the conquered country for the benefit of the conqueror

25. Tribalism
A strong sense of identifying with and being loyal to one's tribe, group
Tribalism involves the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates one member of a group from the members of another group

26. Someone's cultural background or where they came from
Ethnicity
Someone's cultural background or where they came from
Ethnic groups in Africa number in the hundreds each generally having its own language (or dialect of a language) and culture

27. The condition of having many different elements; variety
Diversity
The condition of having many different elements; variety
Africa is home to many different nations, people, languages, religions and environments.

28. The belief that all things in nature have souls.
Animist
The belief that all things in nature have souls.
An ethnic religion, mostly practiced by tribes and small groups of people in rural areas.

29. Nationalism
Nationalism is defined as being devoted to your country, or the feeling that nations should act independently instead of working together
In the early 20th century, the Pan-Africanist movement tried to unite Africans and overcome ethnicity by stressing the similarities and connections among all Africans

30. Nation Building
The process of building or forming a national identity using the power of the state
The efforts of newly-independent nations, to reshape territories that had been carved out by colonial powers without regard to ethnic, religious, or other boundaries.

31. The use of children to take direct part in warfare.
Child Soldiers
The use of children to take direct part in warfare.
An estimate in 2004 said that up to 100,000 children participated in combat roles in Africa

32. A war where both sides are from the same nation.
Civil War
A war where both sides are from the same nation.
Ethnic conflicts have led to civil war in many African countries.

33. Genocide
The killing or attempted killing of an entire people belonging to the same race, religion or nation
One of the worst examples of genocide was the Rwandan conflict between the Tutsi and Hutu. Over 800,000 were killed (mostly Tutsis)

34. The ethnic tribes involved in the Rwandan genocide.
Hutu and Tutsi
The ethnic tribes involved in the Rwandan genocide.
the Hutu-Tutsi conflict originated from class warfare, with the Tutsis thought to have greater wealth and social status, because they were treated more favorably by the Dutch Colonists.

35. Military Dictatorship A government run by the military
Some African examples include: Nigeria, Chad, The Republic of Congo, Sudan and Somolia.

36. Darfur
An area of Sudan where approximately 400,000 people have been killed by genocide.
The genocide is racial-based, because the Muslim Arab Sudanese are killing the Muslim Black Sudanese, by way of the Arab militia (known as the Janjaweed) and the Sudanese Army.

37. An example of the separatist movement is South Sudan.
Separatism
A state of, or the support of political, religious, or racial separation
Black separatism is a movement to create separate a society for people of African descent in societies historically dominated by whites
An example of the separatist movement is South Sudan.

38. Apartheid
A political system where people are clearly divided based on race, gender, class or other such factors
The National Party governments of South Africa, the ruling party from 1948 to 1994 limited the rights of the majority black inhabitants. White supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule were maintained.

39. Nelson Mandela
a South African anti-apartheid activist, revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa.
Received international recognition for his anti-colonial and anti-apartheid positions, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.

40. Extremism
Belief in and support for ideas that are very far from what most people consider correct or reasonable
Violent terrorist groups operate in Mali, Nigeria and other African countries

41. Failed State
A state perceived as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a ruling government
Following the outbreak of the civil war and the collapse of the central government, Somalia became a failed state.

42. Blood Diamonds
A diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance a revolution, invading army's war efforts, or a warlord’s activity.
Examples of conflicts financed by blood diamonds include: Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe

43. Renewable and Non-renewable Natural Resources
Natural resources are materials found in a natural environment that can be used in some way.
Renewable resources can be replaced in a relatively short time span, while non-renewable resources require many hundreds of years to regenerate.
Natural resources give a country geopolitical power.

44. Not enough of something.
Scarcity (Scarce)
Not enough of something.
Africa has a scarcity of water to use for drinking and growing plants.

45. Abundance (Abundant)
A lot of something.
Even when farmers grow abundant crops, sometimes they go to waste because it is too hard to transport them.

46. Farm (agricultural) crops that are produced to sell to others.
Cash Crops
Farm (agricultural) crops that are produced to sell to others.
Planting decisions may be based on the available markets or prices for the crops.
Examples of cash crops in Africa include:
Coffee, tea, cotton, cocoa, fruit and rubber.

47. Subsistence Farming
Farm crops that are grown solely to feed the farmers and their families.
Planting decisions are made based on what the family will need in the coming year.
Examples of subsistence crops include: rice, wheat, millet, sorghum, cassava, and vegetables.

48. The structures needed to run a society or business.
Infrastructure
The structures needed to run a society or business.
Examples of infrastructure include: roads, railways, telephone and computer networks, access to electricity and water.

49. Some examples of illegal trade are:
Illegal Trading
Trading ivory or other parts of African wildlife is illegal, because it has endangered animal populations.
Some examples of illegal trade are:
Elephant ivory, tiger skins and bones, and rhinoceros horns

50. The change in population over time
Population Growth
The change in population over time
Africa’s population is growing rapidly.
Half of all the persons born in the world from now until 2050 will be Africans

51. The average length of life for a particular country.
Life Expectancy
The average length of life for a particular country.
The life expectancy of Africans has dropped by 15 years within the past twenty years because of the spread of Aids, and the effect of continuing wars and poverty.

52. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world most effected by AIDS.
HIV/AIDS
A disease of the immune system which is spread by sexual contact or from mother to child.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world most effected by AIDS.
About 5% of the adult population is infected and it is believed to be the cause of 10% of all deaths in children

53. A mosquito borne infectious disease.
Malaria
A mosquito borne infectious disease.
A child in Africa dies about once every minute from malaria.

54. Cholera
An infection of the small intestine caused by drinking unclean water or eating food that has been contaminated.
The risk of cholera is highest in areas where basic infrastructure is not available, as well as in camps for internally displaced population or refugees, where minimum requirements of clean water and sanitation are not met.

55. Some examples of authoritarian governments in the Middle East include:
A government where decisions are made by one person or a very small group of people.
The revolutions of the Arab Spring were prompted by reaction to extreme authoritarian governments.
Some examples of authoritarian governments in the Middle East include:
Iran (a theocracy)
Syria (a presidential republic)
Yemen (a republic)

56. Democratic Government
When the government representatives are elected by the people.
The U.S. is an example of a democratic government.

57. Freedom from oppression, or pressure.
Political Freedom
Freedom from oppression, or pressure.
The ability to take political action to vote, run for office or participate in government.
Many of the democratic gains have been erased by corrupt politicians who want to hold on to power at any cost

58. Evil, decay and dishonesty, particularly in governments.
Corruption
Evil, decay and dishonesty, particularly in governments.
Corruption is destroying many African countries while keeping the majority of its people poor

59. A war between ethnic groups
Ethnic Conflict
A war between ethnic groups
An example would be the Rwandan war

60. Controls 41% of the world’s crude oil and 15% of its natural gas
OPEC
An international organization of oil exporting countries. Member nations include: Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela
Controls 41% of the world’s crude oil and 15% of its natural gas

61. Cartel
A formal agreement among competing firms to control industry output, market shares, price or other issues. The purpose is to increase individual members’ profits by reducing competition.
OPEC is an example of a cartel, formed to control profits on oil and natural gas.

62. Any disruption can lead to instability in oil prices.
Choke Point
A chokepoint is a strategic passage or canal which could be closed or blocked to stop sea traffic.
Oil tankers face a number of risks at chokepoints, ranging from heavy traffic to piracy.
Any disruption can lead to instability in oil prices.