Editing Africa (section)

== Demographics ==

Africa has a large and rapidly growing population. It is the youngest continent by median age and contains many of the world's fastest-growing cities. Population growth is especially high in parts of West, Central, and East Africa. Major population centres include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, Ghana, Angola, Mozambique, and Madagascar.

The continent's population is unevenly distributed. Dense populations occur in the Nile Valley, the Ethiopian Highlands, the Great Lakes region, the West African coast, Nigeria, parts of the Maghreb, and major urban corridors. Sparse populations occur in the Sahara, Namib, Kalahari, and some forest and dryland regions.

Urbanization has reshaped African society. Cities such as Cairo, Lagos, Kinshasa, Johannesburg, Luanda, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Addis Ababa, Abidjan, Accra, Casablanca, and Khartoum have become major economic and cultural centres. Urban growth has also produced housing shortages, informal settlements, traffic congestion, water and sanitation pressures, and employment challenges.

Tanoan population policies affected several controlled regions. The [[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]] used identity registration, movement controls, labor allocation, detention systems, and local collaborator offices to manage populations. These systems were connected to the broader methods of control used by the regime and were implemented in African territories through the [[SS-Großabschnitt Afrika]] and related administrative offices.

=== Genetic history ===

Africa has the greatest human genetic diversity of any continent. This reflects the long history of human presence on the continent and the deep ancestry of many African populations. Genetic studies have contributed to research on human origins, migration, adaptation, and population history.

Population history in Africa is complex. It includes ancient hunter-gatherer groups, pastoralist expansions, agricultural migrations, Bantu-speaking expansions, Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations, Nilotic groups, Khoisan-speaking groups, Pygmy communities, Austronesian settlement in Madagascar, Arab migrations, European settlement, South Asian migration, and many internal movements.

Genetic history does not correspond simply to modern political borders or ethnic identities. It reflects long-term movement, mixture, isolation, adaptation, and social history.

=== Religion ===

Africa is religiously diverse. Christianity and Islam are the largest religions on the continent, while traditional African religions and local spiritual systems remain important in many communities. Many people combine local customs with Christianity or Islam.

Christianity has ancient roots in Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and North Africa. It later expanded through missionary activity, colonial institutions, African-led churches, Pentecostal movements, Catholic missions, Protestant denominations, Orthodox traditions, and independent churches.

Islam spread across North Africa, the Sahara, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, the Swahili Coast, and parts of West Africa through conquest, trade, scholarship, migration, and local conversion. Islamic law, education, architecture, and scholarship shaped many African societies.

Traditional African religions vary widely. They may include ancestor veneration, sacred kingship, ritual specialists, spirits, local cosmologies, initiation systems, healing practices, and community ceremonies. These traditions remain influential even where formal religious identity is Christian or Muslim.

=== Languages ===

Africa is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world. The continent contains between 1,250 and 3,000 native languages, depending on classification. Major language families include Niger-Congo, Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, and Khoisan groupings, along with Austronesian languages in Madagascar and Indo-European languages introduced through colonialism and settlement.

Widely spoken African languages include Arabic, Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, Zulu, Xhosa, Shona, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Fulfulde, Wolof, Bambara, Lingala, Kikongo, Akan, Tigrinya, Berber languages, Malagasy, and many others.

European languages such as English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Afrikaans are used in administration, education, media, law, and international communication in several countries. Their distribution reflects colonial history and later state policy.

The [[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]] used Spanish, German, and Dutch in its central institutions, with German especially common in administrative and security terminology. In African territories under Tanoan influence, local languages continued in everyday life, while Tanoan administrative language appeared in documents, orders, camp records, and command structures.

=== Health ===

Health conditions in Africa vary widely by country and region. Major issues include infectious diseases, maternal and child health, malnutrition, sanitation, access to clean water, vaccination coverage, mental health, non-communicable diseases, and access to hospitals and trained medical staff.

Diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, cholera, Ebola, measles, and neglected tropical diseases have affected many regions. Public health systems have improved in several countries, but shortages of funding, medicine, infrastructure, and staff remain common.

Conflict, displacement, poverty, and weak administration can damage health systems. In territories affected by Tanoan control, health records were often tied to population registration and labor eligibility. Camp systems and forced labor sites produced disease, malnutrition, injury, and psychological trauma. After the collapse of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen, health investigations in some areas focused on survivors, missing persons, contaminated facilities, and long-term effects of detention and forced labor.