Africa is generally considered the cradle of humanity. The most ancient human remains have been found there. The Sahara is a vast desert region of Africa and it has been an important element in the historical evolution of the continent. It is the largest desert in the world: it extends for about 1.600 km from north to south, for about 5.150 km from east to west and has a total area of over 9 million km2, of which approximately 207.000 are occupied by the oases. The landscape consisting entirely of sand dunes is constantly changing. The desert winds that blow turn it into new scenarios, always changing its appearance.
The Sahara is completely free of surface water, but it is rich in groundwater, which gives rise to most of the oases in the area. The climate of the Sahara is extremely hot, characterized by extreme temperature changes with high temperatures during the day and very cold at night, which makes this region quite inhospitable, so that only less than 2 million people live there. In the region of Algeria there are the highest dunes in the world, which come to reach more than 460 meters. Politically, the Sahara lies in the territories of several countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan.
The growth of the global population is concentrated in South Asia and Africa.
With respect to population in Africa, over the past two decades, these countries of North Africa have gone through a phase characterized by profound changes due to a robust economic growth. The relationship between the area of the Black Continent and Europe is also about to change radically, mainly through migration processes. The North African countries are experiencing an economic progress never occurred in the past. For the first time they are seeing, at least in some cases, an incredible development in the industrial and agricultural sector.
Population growth requires, though, the ability of governments and of the environment to meet social needs of the population and make the improvements in quality of life gradual and stable.