· "Humanity's Home", the oldest known site of human habitation with archaeological finds dating back some 7 million years.
· Vast natural resources, including four of the world's major rivers (Congo, Nile, Niger and Zambezi) and huge forest areas covering some 20 percent of its landmass.
· Rich mineral and energy deposits. Africa accounts for about 30 percent of global mineral resources, including 40 percent of the world's gold, 60 percent of its cobalt and 7 percent of proven petroleum reserves.
· Total population is roughly 830 million, or 13 percent of the world's total, and is expected to rise to 1.5 billion by 2030. Eighty percent of Africans are still engaged in manual agricultural labour.
· Africa accounts for just 1 percent of global foreign direct investment, one percent of global gross domestic product and 2 percent of world trade.
· Africa is home to 35 of the world's 48 poorest countries, and more than 40 percent of the sub-Saharan population lives on less than $1 per day, the international poverty threshold.
· The average economic growth rate across the continent is just 3.5 percent.
· Roughly 200 million Africans are underfed, and per capita food production is declining in 31 out of 53 African countries.
· Three-quarters of Africa's adult population can neither read nor write, and nearly half of school-age children have no access to a classroom.
· Africa is the epicentre of the world HIV/AIDS pandemic, with roughly 27 million people infected. AIDS prevalence rates vary widely through the region, ranging from 1 percent in Mauritania to close to 40 percent in Botswana and Swaziland. More than 11 million African children have already been orphaned by AIDS.
· Africa experienced 186 coups d'etat between 1956 and 2001, half of which occurred in the 1980s and 1990s.
· Africa has been the scene of some of the world's longest and most brutal wars, with conflicts lasting decades devastating countries ranging from Chad and Sudan to Eritrea and Angola.
Political violence has made some 3 million Africans into refugees, and displaced at least 20 million more.

(Sources: African Union, UNAIDS, UNICEF)