List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/list-of-sovereign-states-and-dependent-territories-in-africa

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the number of sovereign states?56 sovereign states
2. What is the geographical diversity?Includes deserts, rainforests, savannas, mountains, and extensive coastlines
3. What are some of the different environments found in Africa?Africa has many amazing places like the hot Sahara Desert, the green Congo Basin rainforest, the deep East African Rift Valley, and the tall Drakensberg Mountains.
4. Why does Africa have 56 countries?The 56 countries were created after many people fought for independence in the mid‑1900s. The borders were drawn during the colonial era and have stayed since then.

Sovereign State: An independent political entity with defined territory, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
Dependent Territory: A territory that does not possess full political independence and remains subject to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of another state.
Decolonization: The process by which colonies become independent of the colonizing power.
Lingua Franca: A language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.