Culture, Language and Scholarship
East African lingua franca with heavy Arabic loanwords, written in Latin script.
What is Swahili / Kiswahili?
The only African country entirely enclosed by another.
What is Lesotho?
Waterfall on the Zambezi River straddling Zambia and Zimbabwe.
What is Victoria Falls?
Nigerian star nicknamed the “African Giant.
Who is Burna Boy?
Indian Ocean island nation famous for lemurs and baobab trees.
What is Madagascar?
Name one modern national language that uses the Ge’ez abugida
Amharic or Tigrinya?
The only national flag to depict a modern firearm (an AK-47).
What is Mozambique?
Pan-African reforestation initiative launched in 2007 to combat Sahel desertification.
What is the Great Green Wall?
First African-led track to enter Spotify’s Billions Club.
What is “Calm Down” by Rema (with Selena Gomez)?
The only African country with Spanish as an official language.
What is Equatorial Guinea?
Literary-political movement founded by Césaire, Senghor, and Damas
What is Négritude?
An Angolan exclave separated from the rest of the country by a strip of the DRC.
What is Cabinda?
Rift Valley lake famed for its unparalleled cichlid diversity, also called Nyasa/Niassa.
What is Lake Malawi?
On Spotify Wrapped 2024, the most-streamed artist in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Who is Asake?
Semi-arid desert covering parts of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.
What is the Kalahari Desert?
Kenyan writer of Decolonising the Mind who champions writing in Gikuyu.
Who is Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o?
This state’s political capital is Yamoussoukro, but its economic hub remains Abidjan.
What is Côte d’Ivoire?
Africa’s smallest country by area
What is the Seychelles?
On Spotify Wrapped 2023 (South Africa), the most-streamed song—an Amapiano smash.
What is “Mnike” (Tyler ICU feat. DJ Maphorisa, Nandipha808, Ceeka RSA & Tyron Dee
Atlantic island nation (capital Praia) that gained independence in 1975.
What is Cabo Verde / Cape Verde?
West African city central to debates over restitution of the Benin Bronzes.
What is Benin City?
De facto state controlling Hargeisa since 1991 yet lacking broad recognition.
What is Somaliland?
Man-made waterway in Egypt that links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and is vital for global shipping.
What is the Suez Canal?
Winner of the inaugural 2024 Grammy for Best African Music Performance.
Who is Tyla for “Water
The only African country with coastlines on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
What is Morocco?