North Africa North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent , linked by the Sahara to Sub - Saharan Africa . Geopolitically , the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes seven countries or territories ; Algeria , Egypt , Libya , Morocco , Sudan , Tunisia , and Western Sahara . Algeria , Morocco , Tunisia , Libya and often Mauritania are the Maghreb or Maghrib , while Egypt and Sudan are referred to as Nile Valley . Egypt is a transcontinental country by virtue of the Sinai Peninsula , which is in Asia . North Africa also includes a number of Spanish " possessions " , Ceuta and Melilla ( tiny Spanish exclaves or islets off the coast of Morocco ) . The Canary Islands and the Portuguese Madeira Islands , in the $ 3 northwest of the African mainland , are sometimes included in considerations of the region . The distinction between North Africa and much of Sub - Saharan Africa is historically and ecologically significant because of the effective barrier created by the Sahara desert . Throughout history this barrier has culturally separated the North from large parts of the rest of the continent . As the seafaring civilizations of the Phoenicians , Greeks , Romans , Muslims and others facilitated communication and migration across the Mediterranean , the cultures of North Africa became much more closely tied to Southwestern Asia and Europe than Sub - Saharan Africa . The Islamic influence in the area is significant , and North Africa , along with Somalia , Djibouti and the Middle East , is also a part of the Arab world . Some researchers have postulated that North Africa , and not East or Southern Africa , was the original home of the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent . Geography . The Atlas Mountains , which extend across much of Morocco , northern Algeria and Tunisia , are part of the fold mountain system that also runs through much of Southern Europe . They recede to the south and east , becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert , which covers more than 75 % of the region . The sediments of the Sahara overlie an ancient plateau of crystalline rock , some of which is more than four billion years old . Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains , the Nile valley and delta , and the Mediterranean coast are the main sources of fertile farming land . A wide variety of valuable crops including cereals , rice and cotton , and woods such as cedar and cork , are grown . Typical Mediterranean crops , such as olives , figs , dates and citrus fruits , also thrive in these areas . The Nile Valley is particularly fertile , and most of the population in Egypt and Sudan lives close to the river . Elsewhere , irrigation is essential to improve crop yields on the desert margins . People . The inhabitants of North Africa are generally divided in a manner roughly corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North Africa : the Maghreb , the Nile Valley , and the Sahara . Northwest Africa on the whole is believed to have been inhabited by Berbers since before the beginning of recorded history , while the eastern part of North Africa has been home to the Egyptians and Nubians . Ancient Egyptians record extensive contact in their Western desert with people that appear to have been Berber or proto - Berber . The official language or one of the official languages in all of the countries in North Africa is Arabic . The largest ethnic groups in North Africa are the Arabs and Berbers . North Africa is predominantly Muslim , with small Christian and Jewish minorities . Genetics . Y - Chromosome . Listed here are the human Y - chromosome DNA haplogroups in main countries of North Africa . Culture . The people of the Maghreb and the Sahara regions speak various dialects of Berber and Arabic and almost exclusively follow Islam . The Arabic and Berber groups of languages are distantly related , both being members of the Afro - Asiatic family . The Sahara dialects are notably more conservative than those of coastal cities ( see Tuareg languages ) . Over the years , Berber peoples have been influenced by contact with other cultures . Nubians , Greeks , Phoenicians , Egyptians , Romans , Vandals , Arabs , and lately European s . The cultures of the Maghreb and the Sahara therefore combine indigenous Berber , Arab and elements from neighboring parts of Africa and beyond . In the Sahara , the distinction between sedentary oasis inhabitants and nomadic Bedouin and Tuareg is particularly marked . The diverse peoples of the Sahara are usually categorized along ethno - linguistic lines . In the Maghreb , where Arab and Berber identities are often integrated , these lines can be blurred . Some Berber - speaking North Africans may identify as " Arab " depending on the social and political circumstances , although substantial numbers of Berbers ( or Imazighen ) have retained a distinct cultural identity which in the 20th century has been expressed as a clear ethnic identification with Berber history and language . Arabic - speaking Northwest Africa ns , regardless of ethnic background , often identify with Arab history and culture and may share a common vision with other Arabs . This , however , may or may not exclude pride in and identification with Berber and / or other parts of their heritage . Berber political and cultural activists for their part , often referred to as Berberist s , may view all Northwest Africa ns as principally Berber , whether they are primarily Berber - or Arabic - speaking ( see also Arabized Berber ) . The Nile Valley through northern Sudan traces its origins to the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Kush . The Egyptians over the centuries have shifted their language from Egyptian to modern Egyptian Arabic , while retaining a sense of national identity that has historically set them apart from other people in the region . Most Egyptians are Sunni Muslim and a significant minority adheres to Coptic Christianity . In Nubia , straddling Egypt and Sudan , a significant population retains the ancient Nubian language but has adopted Islam . The Republic of the Sudan is home to a largely Arab Muslim population , although there remains significant non - Arab ( through Muslim ) populations in the far north ( Nubians ) , far west ( Fur , Masalit and Zaghawa ) and far south ( Nuba ) of Sudan . North Africa formerly had a large Jewish population , almost all of whom emigrated to France or Israel when the North African nations gained independence . A smaller number went to Canada . Prior to the modern establishment of Israel , there were about 600 , 000 - 700 , 000 Jews in Northern Africa , including both Sfardīm ( refugees from France , Spain and Portugal from the Renaissance era ) as well as indigenous . Today , less than fifteen thousand remain in the region , almost all in Morocco and Tunisia , and are mostly part of a French - speaking urban elite . ( See Jewish exodus from Arab lands . ) History . Antiquity and ancient Rome . The most notable nations of antiquity in western North Africa are Carthage and Numidia . The Phoenicians colonized much of North Africa including Carthage and parts of present day Morocco ( including Chellah , Mogador and Volubilis ) . The Carthaginians were of Phoenician origin , with the Roman myth of their origin being that Queen Dido , a Phoenician princess was granted land by a local ruler based on how much land she could cover with a piece of cowhide . She ingeniously devised a method to extend the cowhide to a high proportion , thus gaining a large territory . She was also rejected by the Trojan prince Aeneas according to Virgil , thus creating a historical enmity between Carthage and Rome , as Aeneas would eventually lay the foundations for Rome . The Carthaginians were a commercial power and had a strong navy , but relied on mercenaries for land soldiers . The Carthaginians developed an empire in the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily , the latter being the cause of First Punic War with the Romans . Over a hundred years and more , all Carthaginian territory was eventually conquered by the Romans , resulting in the Carthaginian North African territories becoming the Roman province of Africa in 146 B . C . This led to tension and eventually conflict between Numidia and Rome . The Numidian wars are notable for launching the careers of both Gaius Marius , and Sulla , and stretching the constitutional burden of the Roman republic , as Marius required a professional army , something previously contrary to Roman values to overcome the talented military leader Jugurtha . North Africa remained a part of the Roman Empire , which produced many notable citizens such as Augustine of Hippo , until incompetent leadership from Roman commanders in the early fifth century allowed the Germanic barbarian tribe , the Vandals , to cross the Strait of Gibraltar , whereupon they overcame the fickle Roman defense . The loss of North Africa is considered a pinnacle point in the fall of the Western Roman Empire as Africa had previously been an important grain province that maintained Roman prosperity despite the barbarian incursions , and the wealth required to create new armies . The issue of regaining North Africa became paramount to the Western Empire , but was frustrated by Vandal victories . The focus of Roman energy had to be on the emerging threat of the Huns . In 468 AD the Romans made one last serious attempt to invade North Africa but were repelled . This perhaps marks the point of terminal decline for the Western Roman Empire . The last Roman emperor was deposed in 476 by the Heruli general Odoacer . Trade routes between Europe and North Africa remained intact until the coming of Islam . Some Berbers were Christians ( but evolved their own Donatist doctrine ) , some were Jewish , and some adhered to their traditional polytheist religion . African pope Victor I served during the reign of Roman emperor Septimius Severus , of Roman / Berber ancestry . The Byzantine reconquest of North Africa from the Vandals began in 533 AD , as Justinian I sent his general Belisarius to reclaim the former Roman province of Africa . Arab conquest to modern times . The Arab Islamic conquest reached North Africa in 640 AD . By 670 , most of North Africa had fallen to Muslim rule . Indigenous Berbers subsequently started to form their own polities in response in places such as Fez , Morocco , and Sijilimasa . In the eleventh century , a reformist movement made up of members that called themselves Almoravids , expanded south into Sub - Saharan Africa . The North Africa ' s populous and flourishing civilization collapsed after exhausting its resources in internal fighting and suffering devastation from the invasion of the Bedouin tribes of Banu Sulaym and Banu Hilal . Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert . After the Middle Ages the area was loosely under the control of the Ottoman Empire , except Morocco . After the 19th century , the imperial and colonial presence of France , the United Kingdom , Spain and Italy left the entirety of the region under one form of European occupation . In World War II from 1940 to 1943 the area was the setting for the North African Campaign . During the 1950s and 1960s all of the North African states gained independence . There remains a dispute over Western Sahara between Morocco and the Algerian - backed Polisario Front . In 2010 - 2011 massive protests swept the region leading to the overthrow of the governments in Tunisia and Egypt , as well as civil war in Libya . Large protests also occurred in Algeria and Morocco to a lesser extent . Many hundreds died in the uprisings . Transport and industry . The economies of Algeria and Libya were transformed by the discovery of oil and natural gas reserves in the deserts . Morocco ' s major exports are phosphate s and agricultural produce , and as in Egypt and Tunisia , the tourist industry is essential to the economy . Egypt has the most varied industrial base , importing technology to develop electronics and engineering industries , and maintaining the reputation of its high - quality cotton textiles . Oil rigs are scattered throughout the deserts of Libya and Algeria . Libyan oil is especially prized because of its low sulphur content , which means it produces much less pollution than other fuel oils . Recorded Temperature . In 2010 , Chad , Niger and Sudan all recorded their hottest all - time temperatures on record . In Chad , the temperature reached 47 . 6 °C ( 117 . 7 °F ) on June 22 in Faya - Largeau , breaking a record set in 1961 at the same location . Niger tied its highest temperature record set in 1998 , on also June 22 , at 47 . 1 °C ( 116 . 78 °F ) in Bilma . That record was broken the next day , on June 23 when Bilma hit 48 . 2 °C ( 118 . 8 °F ) . The hottest temperature recorded in Sudan was reached on June 25 , at 49 . 6 °C ( 121 . 3 °F ) in Dongola , breaking a record set in 1987 .