Washington DC

Washington DC map

Washington DC which is also known as the District of Columbia is the capital city of the United States of America and also the city in the pacific northwest of the Western United States of America. The state hosts important buildings such as the Capitol building, the White House, and others.

The entire state is called the District of Columbia. DC was created by congress in 1790 to serve as the official seat of government. Washington DC has a total landmass of 177km2 and a population of about 712,000 residents.

Nigeria

Map of Nigeria

Nigeria which is known officially as the Federal Republic of Nigeria has its political capital in Abuja and economic capital in Lagos. Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa and has also been ranked as the most populous black nation on earth with an estimated population of over 200 million people.

Geographically, Nigeria is located between the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and the Sahel to the North. Nigeria borders the Niger Republic to the North, the Republic of Chad to the Northeast, Cameroon to the East, and the Republic of Benin to the West.

Side by Side Comparison of Nigeria and Washington DC

Nigeria(L) and Washington DC(R)

With a landmass of 923, 756 km2, the Federal Republic of Nigeria is  about 5 times or 435% bigger than Washington DC in the United States which has a landmass of 184,665km2.

How many Washington DC can fit into Nigeria

Based on the total land mass of both countries,  and by observation from the superimposed image above, we can  fit in about 4.5 (four and half) Washington DC into Nigeria.

Population Demographics of Nigeria as compared to that of Washington DC

District of Columbia in which Washington is located has a total population of about 7 million people according to the United States Bureau of Statistics.

For Nigeria, the population dynamics are entirely different. Ranked as the most populous country in Africa and the largest black nation. The World Bank projects Nigeria’s Population to be about 206million with an annual growth rate of 5 million as of 2020.

GDP of Washington DC

Although Washington is not officially a state in the United States of America, the DC area boasts of a GDP of about $144,554.8 billion as of 2020, according to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis.

GDP of Nigeria

Nigeria has been ranked as the biggest economy in Africa. Although the Covid19 Pandemic has affected all its economic sectors, including Oil which is the economic mainstay, Nigeria’s GDP grew by 0.51% in the first quarter of 2021 according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics 2021 report.

As of 2021, Nigeria has a GDP of $432B which is 2.4 times bigger than that of Washington DC.

5 Facts about Washington DC

1. The state of Washington is the largest producer of Apples in the United States.
2. The King County in the state of Washington was initially named after William R. King before it was renamed after Dr. Martin Luther King, the leader of the civil rights movement.
3. Washington is the home to the Microsoft Corporation. The company is located in Redmond, DC.
4. The first European settlement in Washington was New Market (now Tum Water) in 1846.
5. The Grand Coulee Dam, which is the largest Dam in the United States was constructed during the great depression in 1941 to increase hydroelectric production. It is located in Washington DC.

5 Facts about Nigeria

1. More than 500 languages are spoken in Nigeria: Nigeria doesn’t only have a large population but also prides itself as the most diverse country in Africa. Although the major languages are Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba, there are hundreds of other languages such as Kanuri, Tiv, Nupe, Fulanis, Berom, Jukun, Idoma, etc.
2. More than 75 % use social media: Based on its status as the most industrialized country in Africa, Nigeria has a large percentage of its population online on majorly Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, and Twitter.
3. Abuja is one of the fastest growing cities on Earth: Although Lagos is more popular, Abuja which was designed to serve as the administrative capital is growing at a very face pace. As of 2020, the population of Abuja has been estimated to be about 7 million people.
4. Life expectancy is just 55.4 years: Nigerian has one of the lowest life expectancies on earth, due to poverty, high infant mortality, and poor healthcare.
5. The Eagle is the National animal of Nigeria.

Africa is the second-largest continent both by landmass and population after Asia. In the past, Africa has established several contacts with different civilizations from Asia to Europe and to the Americas which has significantly affected Africa’s societal composition. 

Is Africa an European Country?

Although Africa had had contacts with Europeans during the days of slavery and colonial rule, it is not a European country. Interestingly, some European territories are located in mainland Africa. Melilla and Cruella are located in Africa and are only separated by Morocco by a wire mesh fence. 

Also, there is a significant white population in African countries such as South Africa.

To understand the relationship between Africa and Europe we need to go back to history a little bit. 

1. The first African Contact with Europe

The Portuguese sailed across Africa in the 15th Century 

The Portuguese are believed to be the first set of Europeans to establish contacts with Africa from the 15th century. The Portuguese sailed across the coasts of Africa in a bid to fight off Islam and find sea access to the Indies. They arrived at Angola in 1482 and sailed around the continent. Although this first Portuguese journey into Africa was not successful, it marked the beginning of European contact with Africa. 

A few years later the Portuguese faced new challenges. With the growing resistance by Africans and the rise of the British empire, the Portuguese power diminished massively.

2. The Dutch

After the Portuguese era of influence came the Dutch, who settled in Southern Africa in the Cape of Good Hope in the early 17th century. The Dutch however did not have much influence on the rest of Africa but ushered in the slavery regime in Africa. 

3. The British and French Rule

The British and French arrived in Africa in the early 18th century. Britain established colonies in most Western African regions. They did this through a concept known as indirect rule. When the British came, most of Western Africa was not organized.

The highest level of organization was empires and kingdoms, with the Benin empire having vast influences in the region. However, the British rule organized these kingdoms and empires into colonies which are today organized countries. 

Is Africa in the European Union?

According to the European Union membership treaty, the criteria for admission as a member into the European Union is that the country must be a European state that respects the general EU shared values and have the willingness to keep and promote them. To this end, Africa is not in the European Union. 

The Copenhagen criteria which were set out at the Copenhagen summit of 1993 provide the economic and political conditions for membership into the European Union. 

Is Africa near Europe

Africa and Europe are near each other. It will take less than 10 minutes to travel from Morocco to the Italian city of Cruella. The average travel distance to mainland Spain from Morocco is about 1000km, and will take an travel time of about 2 hrs by Air.

From Morocco to Madrid Spain is about about 1000km.

Will Europe become Africa?

It is believed that Africa and Europe will someday meet at the Strait of Gibraltar, which will pave way for an African connection to mainland Europe by land. In the event such a thing happened, the line that separate both continents will become even blurred. In the past, the Mediterranean was said to have evaporated but was filled up again during a great flood that occurred 5.3 million years ago.

Is South Africa an European Country?

Although South Africa has a significant White population, the number is too small for it to be considered a western country. 

However, South Africa has been heavily influenced by European ways of life due to years of Apartheid, no wonder South Africa has become a hotbed of western liberal policies.

Is South Africa in the European Union?

South Africa is not a member of the European Union, it is however a highly influential member of the African Union. According to the European Union membership treaty, the criteria for admission as a member into the European Union is that the country must be a European state that respects the general EU shared values and possess the willingness to keep and promote them. 

The Copenhagen criteria which were set out at the Copenhagen summit of 1993 provide the economic and political conditions for membership into the European Union.

Is North Africa part of the EU?

Although Northern African countries have strong economic and trade relations with much of Europe, they are not part of the European Union. Although Morocco left the Africa Union in 1984 due to the controversy surrounding the Western Sahara region, it did not join the EU and has since returned to the African Union on 31st January 2017. 

It is important to note that some European administered territories and cities such and Cuella, Melila, and Gibraltar are located in North Africa

Is Africa, Europe, and Asia connected? 

The connection points between Africa, Asia

The term used to explain the connections between Africa, Europe, and Asia is known as Afro-Eurasia. The Afro-Eurasia comprises a large intercontinental landmass of about a 32million km2, it is the most populous landmass on Earth. The connection points between Africa, Europe, and Asia are in the following geographic points:

• East point – Cape Dezhnev, Russia
• North point – Cape Chelyuskin, Russia
• South point – Cape Agulhas, South Africa
• West point – Cap-Vert Senegal
• Suez Canal – Egypt 
• Gibraltar Island – Morocco

The 180th Meridian (Red Line) also crosses both Africa, Asia and Europe.

Apart from Geographic connections, the three continents are connected by religious (Christianity, and Islam) groups of Asian origins. Another area of shared connection is trade, diplomacy, health, education, security, and politics. 

Is Africa and Europe connected? 

A map showing the connections between Africa and Europe

Africa and Europe are connected by both land and Sea. The Mediterranean Sea is the major connection point between Africa and Europe.

Every point has a geographic identity called the Latitude and Longitude. Lines of Latitude run from East to West (take it as a line which run from left to right) while lines of Longitude run from North to South (take it as a line which run from up to down). The Prime Meridian is a special North-South line used to measure Eastern and Western Meridians. The earth’s prime meridian is point where the longitude is defined as zero degrees.

It was internationally agreed that this point runs through Greenwich in England, and of course, this is considered the official prime meridian.

In this post, we are going to discover basic facts about the Prime Meridian especially as it relates to Africa. However, to answer the question of whether Africa lies East or West of the Prime Meridian…some parts of Africa like Ghana and Mali lies West of the Prime Meridian while places like Algeria, Togo and Burkina Faso lies East of the Prime meridian.

What is the prime meridian and why is it important?

The prime meridian is the point where the lines of longitude begin. The prime meridian separates the Western hemisphere from the eastern hemisphere at 180 degrees.

The prime meridian is not a static point on the earth’s surface. Any line along the 0-degree longitude can be chosen to serve as the prime meridian. Each country publishes its maps based on the longitude of the meridians passing through each of these countries.

However, in 1884, more than 25 countries met and agreed to adopt the royal observatory in England as the standard meridian or reference meridian, since then, the Royal Observatory meridian has become the globally accepted standard meridian.

Importance of the Prime Meridian

• The primes meridian helps to measure the distance between two points on the earth’s surface.
• The prime meridian helps in establishing the international dateline.
• The prime meridian helps to separate the Earth into various hemispheres.
• It is used to calculate time using the Universal Coordinated Time (UTC).

Does most of Africa lies east or west of the prime meridian

The prime meridian crosses Africa through the coast near Accra in Ghana.

Most of Africa lies east of the prime meridian and west of the international dateline. The eastern hemisphere refers to areas of the earth east of the prime meridian, and west of the international dateline.  The prime meridian divides the globe into the eastern and western hemispheres, these divisions have increasingly become a means of political identity.

Although most of Africa lie East of the prime meridian, a good portion of it is also in the western hemisphere. Overall however, we can conclude that Africa lies East of the Prime Meridian.

Is London east or west of the prime meridian

London, Spain, Mali, France lie on the Prime Meridian.

London is neither east nor west of the prime meridian, it lies exactly on the Greenwich meridian. Greenwich, a small fishing village was chosen during the meridian conference of 1884 to serve as the global meridian standard. There London is located at point 0 of the Greenwich meridian.

Greenwich is an area that is located on the Southern bank of the Thames River, an area in of South East London. Since Greenwich is in London, we can conclude that the Prime Meridian passes through London, not East,  not West, but Right through London.

What countries are west of the prime meridian

The western part of the meridian is a geographic term to identify earth’s division by the line of the prime meridian. The Western meridian is used to describe both sea and lands surface of the earth that lies from 0 to 180 W of the prime meridian. All of North America, South America as well as parts of Asia, Africa, Russia, Antarctica, lie in the western hemisphere.

Is Egypt east or west of the prime meridian

Egypt lies at both the East and West of the Greenwich Meridian which is also referred to as the standard or reference meridian.

Africa is a continent located in the Southern hemisphere covering about 30 million km2 of land or 20% of the total land area of the earth’s surface. With a population of about 1.3 billion people according to the United Nations estimation, Africa is the second-largest continent by both population and land size, just after Asia.

Africa also has a significant number of off-coast islands which include Madagascar (the largest island in the world), Seychelles, Socotra, Comoros, Mauritius, Reunion, Ascension, and tens of others.

Is Africa west of Australia

Geographically Africa is located West of Australia separated by the Indian Ocean which is the 3rd largest ocean among the global oceanic division. African countries sharing an oceanic border with Australia include; South Africa, Madagascar, and Mozambique.

Africa (red) is located West of Australia (Green)

Countries that lie west of Australia

All countries below the black line are African Countries that lies West of Australia

Australia shares an oceanic border with three African countries. The following African countries FULLY lie West of Australia:

1. South Africa
2. Madagascar
3. Mozambique
4. Botswana
5. Namibia
6. Zambia
7. Zimbabwe

The following African countries partially lies West of Australia:

1. Tanzania
2. Angola
3. DRC

Is South Africa east or west of Australia?

South Africa is located at the Western end of Australia. South Africa and Australia are separated by the Indian Ocean (the third largest ocean).

Is Africa near Australia

Distance between Australia and South Africa Countries

Although both Australia and South Africa share a significant oceanic border, they are not near in any sense.

The shortest distance from Australia to South Africa is about 10,389km, which is a very long distance. Australia is one of the farthest places to Africa.

Which ocean is east of Africa and west of Australia?

The Indian Ocean is located east of Africa and West of Australia. The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean of the five major oceanic divisions, covering a surface area of 70,560,000 km2. The Indian Ocean shares borders with Asia by the North, Northern Africa at its western end, and Australia to the east.

The Indian Ocean is saltwater that constitutes about 1/5 of the earth’s total ocean area, it is the most complex, and youngest among the global oceanic divisions.

Is Australia in the West?

‘West’ is a term used to describe social norms, customs, traditions, beliefs, and technological advancements that have some European origin or relations. Although, Australia is not in geographical Europe, it is considered a Western country just as the United States of America.

To get an insight into how Australia became a Western country, we need to go back in time.

Australian Aborigines at an event commonly called a corroboree.

Australian Aboriginal people and the Torres Strait Islander people were the indigenous inhabitants of the territory known as Australia today. However, the story began to change with the landing of the Portuguese in 1528. The quest for power, wealth, and natural resources motivated the Portuguese to explore this new found land.

Not long after the Portuguese, came the Spanish explorers. Alvaro de Mendana led a trip that discovered the Solomon Islands, thereby opening up the window for Spanish colonization and settlements.

In the late 1610s, the Dutch came, Willem Janz, sailed from Bantam to the Torres Strait discovering the Cape Yor Peninsula.

The Duyfken off Australia, 1606 The Duyfken off Australia, 1606.
Image: Robert Ingpen, National Library of Australia, nla.obj-138210565

However, Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch exploration did not cause a significant impact on Australian society until the coming of the British explorers in 1688. An English Buccaneer Williams D led the expedition to discover the Australian territory of New Holland.

After returning from his voyage, Williams published a book about his adventure, igniting curiosity in much of Britain about this unknown land. Years later the British people began migrating massively into this newfound land.

The British settlements and migration will later alter the entire history and culture of this newfound land. By early 1900, the native Australian population has been significantly diminished paving way for an overwhelming British majority.

For these reasons, Australia today is considered a Western country.

Although there is no definite figure on the number of ethnic groups in Africa, thousands of ethnic groups exist in Africa, most of these ethnic groups are defined by their history, religion, culture and languages.

Africa is a continent of diverse people; it has been the bedrock of human civilization. Despite its diversity, majority of Africa is racially black. Understandably, race has become an important point of reference for African culture, and a means of differentiating it from other societies.

African culture is deeply rooted in traditional religious beliefs, respect for the aged, and a strong family system. African culture extends beyond the continental African, its influences are also felt among African immigrants in the diaspora.

Africans have always been friendly people, this explains how fast Africans adapt to other cultures and how African countries are increasingly becoming westernized. However, there is a rise in the clamor for the recovery of African cultures in society.

Is Africa western culture or Eastern Culture?

Western culture or western lifestyle is a broad term that has seen increased usage in describing the social norms, heritage, values, political systems, belief systems, and technological advancements of European origin. The term ‘west’ is both used to define the geography of the European people and their cultural identity regardless of their location.

Western Culture is heavily influenced by Celtic, Germanic, French, Greek, Jewish, Latin philosophies as well as Christianity.  Western culture has emancipated over the years to encourage rational thoughts, freethought, and scholasticism. It is a melting point of science, Christianity, humanism, and mysticism.

Africa is neither Western nor Eastern culture as Africa has a culture of its own called the African Culture. Although Africa is made of diverse ethnicity, the most widely accepted culture in Africa is called the UBUNTU Culture. Ubuntu is the African culture of reciprocity, harmony, humanity, compassion and dignity with the aim  of living in a peaceful and just society. Ubuntu is more than a culture, it defines both the spirituality and ethic of all African societies. 

Although African culture has been heavily influenced by European culture due to largely slavery and immigration, Africans still maintain a distinct cultural stand from Europe. African is largely a conservative society in contrast to the European society which is liberal.

Africa shares land borders with both Eastern and Western Cultures and has seen a significant westernization and easternization of its culture, the cultural stand of Africa is still distinct from that of the West and East.

African culture and its relationship with western culture

The San people of Africa

Every culture has a unique identity that separates it from other cultures, these unique differences are defined by norms, customs, and beliefs. The African culture is gradually fading away especially among young people due to the influences of western culture through movies, tv shows, and music.

Africans are gradually adopting western ways of life. For example, the western form of marriage has been adopted in many African countries due to the influence of Euro-Christian culture. African culture and Western cultures are closely interrelated in terms of Religion, and system of governance, even the democracy we practice today is a European import.

What is the concept of eastern and western culture?

The Chinese have contributed significantly to the Prominence of Asia. China is an Eastern culture.

The term ‘Eastern Culture’ is used to refer to social norms and customs, beliefs, and political systems of Asian origin. The eastern culture covers a wide scope in terms of geography and history and it is not limited to Asian countries alone. Eastern culture is heavily influenced by religious groups such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Shenism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Western Culture on the other hand is used to describe customs, beliefs, social norms, political systems of European origin. The term ‘west’ is not limited only by geography, it is used to describe Europeans wherever they live. This also includes USA, Canada and Australia.

Explain eastern and western culture [Features, geography, and beliefs]

Christianity has contributed significantly to the culture and history of Europe.

Eastern cultures refer to beliefs and social norms of Asian origin. Eastern culture is deeply rooted in religious beliefs and a strong family system. Western Culture is used to describe the way of life of Europeans wherever they live.

Unlike Easterners, Westerners are liberal, things such as sex and other sensitive reproductive issues which a considered taboo by Easterners can be discussed openly by Westerners. Also, in the East there is a strong regard for family living, unlike in the West most children leave home at a young age to live alone.

Also, geographically most of the western culture is located or originated from continental Europe, while eastern culture is of Asian origin.

Is South Africa western culture

Although South Africa has a significant White population, the number is too small for it to be considered a Western country.

However, South Africa has been heavily influenced by Western ways of life due to years of Apartheid, no wonder South Africa has become a hotbed of western liberal policies.

Is Africa considered Western

Africa is not a Western country, and or culture, although western ways of life have increasingly become common among Africans especially in urban areas, Africa is still far from becoming a truly Western country at least in the European sense.

Why is Western culture better than African culture and vice versa

Both Western and African cultures have their advantages, we can’t conclude on which one is the best, however below are the three reasons why both cultures are good;

African culture

• African encourages moral standards and behaviors.
• African culture encourages regard for the poor and aged.
• It encourages an organized societal stratum.

European culture

• European culture encourages independence.
• European culture encourages punctuality (time culture), leading to more productivity.
• European culture encourages rationality, transparency, and accountability.