What Is the Absolute Location of Africa?

By Staff WriterLast Updated April 06, 2020

The absolute location of the whole continent of Africa is between 20 degrees west and 60 degrees east, and 35 degrees north and 35 degrees south. Africa is located to the south of Europe and to the west of the Middle East.

Africa is the second largest and second most-populous continent in the world after Asia. As of 2015, it is split up into 54 individual countries, the largest of which is Algeria and the newest of which is South Sudan. It is also home to the world’s longest river, the Nile, and the world’s largest desert, the Sahara. Africa is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Indian Ocean to the east and southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the northeast.