The central and southern regions of Africa contain dense jungles and rainforests as well as steppe land and savanna plains and the climate ranges from tropical to sub-arctic. Despite the harsh land and climate, and the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the world, it is home to over 770 million people as well as some of the least developed countries in the world. Over the last 40 years there has been a significant growth in population - in some African nations, more than 50% of the population is under the age of 25. With a growth rate of 2.3%, the United Nations has predicted that the population will grow to 1.5 billion by the year 2050. However large the numbers may look on paper, Africa holds only 10% of the world's population, but includes 60% of all people living with HIV: 68% of adults and nearly 90% of children! According to the 2003 Human Development Report by the United Nations, the 25 nations ranked at the very bottom were all African nations - around 80% of Zimbabweans are unemployed. On the other hand, a few Sub-Saharan countries have done very well, primarily Botswana and South Africa. Botswana's capital, Gaborone, is one of the world's fastest growing cities and over 25% of the country's budget is used to continuously improve the city's infrastructure. Additionally, South Africa has the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (one of the major stock exchanges of the entire continent), and is the leading producer of gold and diamonds throughout the world.

Africa is the most multilingual continent in the world - most reports list at least 1,000 different languages throughout the enormous landmass. While most are of African origin, several European languages thrive as well. Of the four major language families found in Africa, the Niger-Congo language envelops most of the Sub-Saharan region and is most likely the largest language family in the world. The major subgroups of the Niger-Congo language are the Kordofanian, Mande, and Atlantic-Congo languages. Apparently, it is not uncommon for people to speak several African languages as well as one or even two European languages.

Political leaders and citizens generally have little or no experience in allotting resources, opportunities, and power fairly and efficiently, which has lead to widespread turbulence. Some 200,000 children and around 100,000 women are currently enslaved in the sex and labor markets, and these numbers do not include the children forced to work as soldiers. Agriculture is one of the major sources of livelihood within the continent, with nearly two-thirds of the population growing and producing their own food.