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Afro-Eurasia

Afro-Eurasia, also referred to as Afroeurasia or Eurafrasia, is the largest contiguous landmass on Earth, comprising the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe, connected via the Isthmus of Suez and including adjacent islands as a single geographical entity.^[1] This supercontinent spans approximately 84,980,532 square kilometers, accounting for about 57% of the world's total land area.^[2] As of November 2025, it is home to approximately 7.15 billion people, representing about 87% of the global population, with Asia contributing around 4.85 billion, Africa 1.56 billion, and Europe 744 million residents.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] Geologically, Afro-Eurasia formed through the fusion of ancient tectonic plates, including the African, Arabian, Indian, and Eurasian plates, creating a diverse landscape that ranges from the Sahara Desert and the Himalayas to the fertile river valleys of the Nile, Indus, and Yellow Rivers.^[7] This vast region has been the cradle of human evolution and early civilizations, with evidence of Homo sapiens originating in Africa around 300,000 years ago before migrating across the landmass. Throughout history, Afro-Eurasia has facilitated extensive interconnected networks of trade, migration, and cultural exchange, such as the Silk Road, Indian Ocean maritime routes, and trans-Saharan caravans, which linked distant societies from ancient Egypt to imperial China.^[8] These interactions fostered the spread of technologies, religions like Islam and Buddhism, and innovations in agriculture, metallurgy, and navigation, shaping the development of major empires including the Roman, Persian, Mauryan, and Mongol.^[7] In modern times, Afro-Eurasia remains a dynamic geopolitical and economic powerhouse, hosting over 100 countries and driving global processes like urbanization, climate change impacts, and international trade through organizations such as the African Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.^[9] Its biodiversity hotspots, including the Congo Basin and the Indo-Burma region, support immense ecological diversity but face threats from rapid population growth and industrialization.^[10]^[11] The landmass's historical and contemporary unity underscores its role as the primary arena for human history, influencing global patterns in demographics, economics, and environmental challenges.^[7]

Terminology

Afro-Eurasia is a portmanteau term formed by combining the prefix "Afro-" (derived from Africa) with "Eurasia" (itself a fusion of Europe and Asia), highlighting the geological and geographical continuity of these three continents as a single landmass.^[12] "Eurafrasia" serves as a synonym for Afro-Eurasia, particularly in geological discussions emphasizing the unified continental crust across Europe, Asia, and Africa. In biogeography, "Eurasiafrica" (sometimes rendered as "EurAfrica") describes the combined landmass for analyzing evolutionary patterns and species dispersal between Africa and Eurasia. Archaic terms include "World Island," coined by geostrategist Halford Mackinder in his 1904 paper to refer to the strategic unity of Afro-Eurasia in geopolitical theory, reflecting early 20th-century imperial perspectives on global power dynamics. The term "Afro-Eurasia" itself emerged in mid-20th-century geographical and historical literature, popularized by scholars such as Marshall Hodgson in the 1970s to describe the interconnected historical and ecological zone.^[13]

Historical and Modern Usage

The concept of Afro-Eurasia as a unified landmass first appeared in early 20th-century geopolitical discourse, notably in Halford Mackinder's 1904 paper "The Geographical Pivot of History," where he described the combined continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa as the "World-Island," a strategic heartland pivotal to global power dynamics due to its vast resources and central position. This framing emphasized the interconnectedness of the region for imperial competition and control, influencing subsequent theories in international relations. Following World War II, the term gained adoption in plate tectonics discussions as scientists built on Alfred Wegener's continental drift hypothesis, recognizing Afro-Eurasia as a major continental assembly emerging from the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea around 200 million years ago. By the mid-20th century, with the formalization of plate tectonics in the 1960s, geologists highlighted how the northward drift of African and Arabian plates toward Eurasia formed this extensive landmass through ongoing collisions and convergences. In modern scientific contexts since the 2000s, Afro-Eurasia has been referenced in climate modeling, particularly in IPCC assessments analyzing monsoon patterns, such as the Afro-Asian monsoon system that influences precipitation across West Africa, South Asia, and East Asia under changing global temperatures. Similarly, in anthropology, the term underscores the landmass's role as a migration corridor in the Out-of-Africa model, with post-2000 genetic and archaeological refinements tracing Homo sapiens dispersals from Africa into Eurasia around 70,000–50,000 years ago via southern and northern routes.^[14]

Geography

Physical Features

Afro-Eurasia encompasses a vast landmass of approximately 84 million km², representing about 57% of Earth's total land surface. This supercontinent unites the African, European, and Asian continents into a single contiguous entity, characterized by diverse topography ranging from expansive plains and plateaus to towering mountain ranges and arid basins. The unified geography facilitates interconnected ecosystems and human migrations, though internal water bodies and mountain chains create natural subdivisions.^[15] The major physiographic divisions of Afro-Eurasia reflect ancient tectonic stability and ongoing plate interactions. The African Shield forms the core of the African portion, consisting of Precambrian cratonic rocks that underlie much of the continent's interior plateau, rising to elevations between 600 and 1,000 meters. To the northeast, the Arabian Plate features rugged highlands and rift-related depressions, including the elevated Arabian Peninsula with its volcanic fields and escarpments. The Eurasian Plate dominates the northern and eastern extent, incorporating the vast European plains—a low-lying expanse of sedimentary basins and glacial deposits extending from the British Isles to the Russian interior—and the dramatic Himalayan orogeny, where the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates has produced the world's highest peaks, exceeding 8,000 meters in elevation.^[16]^[17]^[18] Key internal features define the internal structure and hydrology of Afro-Eurasia. The Sahara Desert, the largest hot desert on Earth, covers roughly 9.2 million km² across northern Africa, dominated by sand seas, gravel plains, and rocky plateaus that act as a formidable barrier to north-south movement. The Nile River, the longest in the world at 6,650 km, traverses the Sahara and eastern Africa, originating from the Ethiopian Highlands and Lake Victoria before flowing northward into the Mediterranean, sustaining vital riparian ecosystems along its course. The Mediterranean Sea serves as a major internal divider, separating Africa from Eurasia with its 2.5 million km² basin, influencing regional climates and trade while connecting to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar. Further east, the Ural Mountains extend 2,500 km from the Arctic to the Caspian Sea, forming the conventional physiographic boundary between Europe and Asia with their low-relief ridges of Paleozoic rocks rising to about 1,895 meters at Mount Narodnaya.^[19]^[20] The coastal outlines of Afro-Eurasia interface with three major oceans, shaping its maritime boundaries and economic corridors. Along the western margins, the Atlantic Ocean borders Africa's northwest coast and Europe's western and northern shores, featuring irregular fjords in Scandinavia and sandy beaches in West Africa. To the south and east of Africa, the Indian Ocean meets the continent's elongated eastern seaboard, including coral reefs off the Swahili Coast, while also washing Asia's southern edges from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. The Pacific Ocean defines Asia's eastern perimeter, with deeply indented coastlines along Japan, Indonesia, and the Russian Far East, prone to tectonic activity. Notably, the Red Sea represents a rift zone between the African and Arabian plates, a narrow, elongated inlet of the Indian Ocean stretching 2,250 km with depths up to 3,040 meters. The Suez Canal, an artificial 193 km waterway completed in 1869, connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas, enabling direct navigation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigating Africa.^[21]

Climate Zones

Afro-Eurasia encompasses a vast array of climate zones, shaped by its extensive latitudinal span from subtropical southern Africa to subarctic Siberia, resulting in tropical, arid, temperate, and polar regions. The tropical zones, prevalent in equatorial Africa and Southeast Asia, feature high temperatures year-round averaging 25–30°C and abundant rainfall exceeding 2,000 mm annually, supporting dense rainforests and savannas. These areas experience minimal seasonal temperature variation but significant wet-dry cycles influenced by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. In contrast, arid zones dominate northern Africa, including the Sahara Desert, and the Middle East, where annual precipitation often falls below 250 mm, leading to extreme heat with summer temperatures surpassing 40°C and vast expanses of desert landscapes. Temperate zones cover much of Europe and northern China, characterized by four distinct seasons, with mild summers (15–25°C) and cold winters (below 0°C), and moderate rainfall of 500–1,500 mm distributed throughout the year. Polar conditions fringe the northern edges in Siberia, with prolonged winters dropping to -40°C or lower and minimal precipitation, primarily as snow, fostering tundra and permafrost environments.^[22]^[23] The Indian Ocean Monsoon profoundly influences the climate of South Asia and East Africa, driving seasonal reversals in wind patterns that deliver critical rainfall. In South Asia, the summer monsoon from June to September accounts for approximately 80% of the annual precipitation, transforming the region from arid to lush with intense downpours that can exceed 1,000 mm in a few months. This system connects to East Africa via cross-equatorial flows, where it contributes to bimodal rainfall patterns: the "long rains" in March–May and "short rains" in October–December, providing up to 70% of the year's total rainfall in coastal and highland areas. These monsoon dynamics are modulated by sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean, leading to variability that impacts agriculture across both regions.^[24]^[25] A distinctive Mediterranean climate prevails in southern Europe and North Africa, marked by mild, wet winters (average 10–15°C with 300–800 mm rainfall) and hot, dry summers (25–35°C with negligible precipitation). This regime arises from the seasonal shift between subtropical high pressure in summer, suppressing rain, and westerly storms in winter, fostering olive groves and scrub vegetation. Latitude plays a primary role in delineating these broad zones, with equatorial regions receiving direct solar insolation for consistent warmth, while higher latitudes experience greater seasonal contrasts due to angled sunlight. Elevation further amplifies variability, as seen in cooler, wetter conditions on plateaus like the Ethiopian Highlands or Tibetan Plateau compared to surrounding lowlands, creating microclimates that alter temperature gradients by about 6.5°C per 1,000 m rise.^[26] El Niño events, part of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, introduce variability to Afro-Eurasia's eastern margins, often disrupting normal patterns in East Africa and East Asia. In East Africa, El Niño typically reduces rainfall in the Horn region, exacerbating droughts during the March–May season, while increasing flood risks in southern areas. Along East Asia's coasts, it intensifies summer wave heights by up to 2 m and extends extreme events, particularly when aligned with positive Pacific Decadal Oscillation phases, affecting maritime activities and coastal precipitation. These teleconnections highlight the interconnected atmospheric influences across the supercontinent's fringes.^[27]^[28]

Geology

Geological Past

The formation of Afro-Eurasia as a unified landmass traces back to the assembly of the supercontinent Pangaea during the late Paleozoic era, specifically around 300 million years ago (Ma) in the Carboniferous period. This process involved the convergence and fusion of the southern Gondwanan supercontinent, which included the African craton, with the northern Laurasian supercontinent comprising the Eurasian plates, closing the Rheic Ocean and integrating these components into a single coherent mass.^[29]^[30] By the Permian period, Pangaea encompassed nearly all continental crust, with Afro-Eurasia forming its central and eastern core, flanked by the Panthalassa Ocean to the west and remnants of earlier oceans to the east.^[29] Pangaea's breakup began in the Mesozoic era, initiating the rifting that reshaped global continents while preserving Afro-Eurasia's integrity for much longer than other connections. Around 180 Ma in the Middle Jurassic, extensional forces led to the initial separation of the Americas from the western margins of Pangaea, with North America rifting from Eurasia and South America from Africa, driven by the upwelling of mantle plumes and the development of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province.^[31]^[32] This left Afro-Eurasia largely intact as a contiguous landmass, connected through the Tethys Ocean remnants and the Arabian-Nubian shield. Subsequent key events further defined its evolution: in the Eocene, around 50 Ma, the northward drift of the Indian plate culminated in its collision with the Asian margin, initiating the uplift of the Himalayan orogeny and compressing the southern Eurasian edge.^[33] Later, during the Oligocene around 30 Ma, the Arabian plate began separating from the African plate, forming the Red Sea rift through continental extension and volcanism.^[34] Concurrently, the Alpine orogeny, spanning from approximately 65 Ma to 5 Ma, resulted from the convergence of the African and Eurasian plates, folding and thrusting sedimentary sequences to build the major mountain chains of southern Europe, including the Alps and Pyrenees.^[35]^[36] The Permian-Triassic mass extinction, occurring around 252 Ma near the end of Pangaea's assembly phase, profoundly impacted the biota across this early landmass, serving as a critical marker in its geological record. This event, the most severe in Earth's history, eliminated approximately 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species and up to 96% of marine species, with fossil evidence from Afro-Eurasian sites revealing widespread devastation of glossopterid flora, therapsid faunas, and insect communities adapted to the supercontinent's arid interior.^[37]^[38] Deposits in regions like the Karoo Basin (southern Africa) and the Sichuan Basin (Eurasia) show abrupt shifts in sedimentary layers with reduced diversity, including a "Lilliput effect" where surviving taxa were notably smaller, reflecting ecological collapse driven by volcanism from the Siberian Traps and associated climate perturbations.^[37] This extinction reset biotic distributions on Afro-Eurasia, paving the way for Mesozoic radiations that influenced later biogeographical patterns.^[39]

Current Formation

Afro-Eurasia is tectonically composed primarily of the African, Arabian, Indian, and Eurasian plates, forming a vast continental mass with minor separations such as the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.^[40]^[41] The African Plate forms the southern and western portions, while the Arabian Plate occupies the Arabian Peninsula, separated from Africa by the ongoing rifting in the Red Sea.^[42] To the north and east, the Eurasian Plate encompasses Europe and Asia, with the Indian Plate having collided with it to form the Himalayan orogeny, integrating the Indian subcontinent into the landmass.^[43] These plates converge and interact along complex boundaries, creating a stable cratonic core in much of the interior but with active deformation at the margins.^[42] Key active zones define the current dynamics of Afro-Eurasia. The East African Rift System represents an ongoing divergent boundary within the African Plate, where the Somalian subplate pulls away from the Nubian Plate at a rate of approximately 6 mm per year.^[44] This rifting extends from the Afar region in Ethiopia southward through the Great Rift Valley, manifesting as volcanic activity and faulting that could eventually lead to continental separation.^[44] In contrast, the Himalayan region exemplifies convergent tectonics, where the Indian Plate advances northward toward the Eurasian Plate at 40-50 mm per year, causing ongoing crustal shortening and uplift.^[45] These opposing motions highlight the landmass's role as a zone of both extension and compression. Seismic activity is prominent along Afro-Eurasia's plate boundaries. The Ring of Fire extends into western Indonesia, where the Indo-Australian Plate subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate, generating about 90% of the world's earthquakes and hosting numerous active volcanoes.^[46] In the Mediterranean region, subduction zones such as the Hellenic Trench contribute to frequent seismicity, exemplified by the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the East Anatolian Fault, which caused extensive damage due to the area's tectonic complexity.^[47] These events underscore the high seismic hazard across the convergent margins of the African, Arabian, and Eurasian plates.^[47] The structural makeup of Afro-Eurasia also influences its mineral resources. Sedimentary basins in the Arabian Plate, formed by tectonic subsidence and foreland development during the collision with Eurasia, host vast oil reserves, particularly in the Persian Gulf region where Paleozoic and Mesozoic source rocks have accumulated hydrocarbons.^[48] Similarly, the ancient cratons of the African Plate, such as the Kaapvaal and Congo cratons, contain diamond deposits formed deep within the stable lithospheric roots under high-pressure conditions billions of years ago.^[49] These resources are directly tied to the plates' geological stability and deformation history.^[49]

Tectonic Future

The East African Rift System is projected to progressively widen and deepen over millions of years, potentially leading to the separation of the African continent into two landmasses and the formation of a new ocean basin in the eastern region. Current extensional tectonics at rates of 6-7 mm per year suggest that significant rifting could result in the Somali Plate detaching from the Nubian Plate within approximately 50 million years, allowing seawater to inundate the rift valley and create an inland sea that evolves into a full ocean.^[50] This process mirrors the earlier formation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where successful rifting has already produced oceanic crust.^[40] Ongoing convergence between the Indian and Eurasian Plates, at rates exceeding 40 mm per year, will continue to deform the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen and close remnants of the Neo-Tethys Ocean, including subduction zones and intra-oceanic arcs incorporated into the continental margin. Seismic tomography reveals slab remnants in the mantle from this subduction, indicating persistent closure dynamics that could further shorten the region by thousands of kilometers over tens of millions of years.^[51] In the western segment, the collision of the African Plate with Eurasia may lead to the closure of the Mediterranean Sea within about 50 million years, as northward motion at 2-3 cm per year narrows the basin through subduction along the Gibraltar Arc and compression of the Alpine belt. On a longer timescale, Afro-Eurasia is expected to contribute to the assembly of the hypothetical supercontinent Amasia through the subduction and closure of the Pacific Ocean basin, projected to occur in 200 to 300 million years. In this scenario, the combined landmass of Afro-Eurasia would migrate northward, converging with the Americas over the Arctic region, while Antarctica remains relatively stationary near the South Pole.^[52]^[53] The rifting in East Africa could alter global ocean circulation patterns by introducing a new seaway connecting the Indian Ocean to the rift valley, potentially disrupting the Agulhas Current and thermohaline circulation, which might enhance upwelling and lead to cooler global temperatures through increased carbon sequestration in the nascent ocean.^[54] Such changes would parallel past tectonic events where rift-related uplift influenced regional aridity and monsoon dynamics, but on a planetary scale, they could amplify cooling feedbacks in a future greenhouse world.^[55]

Extreme Points

Mainland Extremes

The northernmost point of the Afro-Eurasian mainland is Cape Chelyuskin, located on the Taimyr Peninsula in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, at coordinates 77°43′ N, 104°15′ E. This rocky promontory marks the northern boundary of the Eurasian continent's continuous landmass, extending into the Arctic Ocean where the Kara Sea and Laptev Sea meet, and it represents the farthest reach of mainland Asia northward.^[56]^[57] The southernmost point of the Afro-Eurasian mainland is Cape Agulhas, situated at the southern tip of the African continent in Western Cape province, South Africa, at 34°50′ S, 20°00′ E. This coastal headland defines the southern limit of the combined Afro-Eurasian landmass, where the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean converge, and it lies approximately 50 km southeast of the more famous but less southerly Cape of Good Hope.^[58]^[59] The easternmost point of the Afro-Eurasian mainland is Cape Dezhnev, on the Chukchi Peninsula in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, at 66°05′ N, 169°39′ W. Forming the eastern edge of the Asian mainland near the Bering Strait, this cape overlooks the Chukchi Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south, standing just 82 km from the Alaskan mainland and emphasizing the narrow continental divide at this longitude west of the 180th meridian.^[56]^[60] The westernmost point of the Afro-Eurasian mainland is Pointe des Almadies (Cap-Vert), near Dakar in Senegal, at 17°30′07″N 16°00′28″W. This rocky peninsula on the Atlantic coast marks the western boundary of the African continent and thus the entire Afro-Eurasian landmass.

Including Islands

When considering the extreme points of Afro-Eurasia to include associated islands, the scope broadens beyond the mainland to encompass insular territories that are politically administered by Afro-Eurasian states and geologically linked to the African or Eurasian tectonic plates through proximity or plate affiliation.^[61] This inclusion typically prioritizes islands on the continental shelves or those formed by extensions of the same lithospheric plates, excluding more distant oceanic islands without clear continental ties.^[62] The northernmost point, incorporating islands, is Cape Fligely on Rudolf Island in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, administered by Russia in the Arctic Ocean, at 81°50′35″N 59°14′22″E. This barren, ice-covered promontory marks the farthest northward extension of Eurasian territory, approximately 900 km from the North Pole, and serves as a key outpost for Russian meteorological and research stations.^[63] The southernmost point including islands remains Cape Agulhas, as adjacent islands do not extend farther south under standard geographical definitions. The easternmost point, including islands, is on Big Diomede Island (Ratmanov Island) in Russia's Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, at approximately 65°47′N 169°01′W, just west of the International Date Line in the Bering Strait. This rocky, uninhabited islet, separated by only 3.8 km from U.S.-controlled Little Diomede, represents Eurasia's farthest eastward protrusion and hosts a Russian border outpost.^[64]^[65] The westernmost point including islands is Pointe des Almadies (Cap-Vert), Senegal (17°30′07″N 16°00′28″W), as adjacent islands like those in the Azores (partially on the North American plate, over 1,400 km west of Lisbon) or Cape Verde are typically excluded from core Afro-Eurasian extremes due to their mid-Atlantic positions.^[61]^[66]

Elevation Extremes

The highest elevation in Afro-Eurasia is Mount Everest, located in the Himalayas on the border between Nepal and China, reaching 8,848.86 meters above mean sea level.^[67] This peak exemplifies the extreme orogenic uplift resulting from prolonged continental collision, contributing to the region's dramatic vertical relief.^[68] The lowest elevation occurs at the Dead Sea, a hypersaline lake straddling the border between Jordan and Israel in the Jordan Rift Valley, with its surface approximately 440 meters below mean sea level (as of 2025).^[69] This depression forms part of a major transform fault system, creating one of Earth's deepest terrestrial basins. Among other notable extremes, the Turpan Depression (Ayding Lake) in Xinjiang, China, lies at 154 meters below mean sea level, marking the lowest non-rift continental point in Afro-Eurasia. The shores of the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water spanning multiple countries in southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe, lie at about 28 meters below mean sea level.^[70] For elevated features on peripheral landmasses, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, an active stratovolcano in Russia's Kamchatka region, stands at approximately 4,750 meters, representing a significant high point in the area's volcanic landscape.^[71] Elevations across Afro-Eurasia are standardized relative to mean sea level, defined as the average height of the ocean's surface over a 19-year tidal cycle, providing a consistent global reference for topographic measurements.^[72] This datum accounts for gravitational variations and tidal influences, ensuring reliable comparisons of highs and lows despite ongoing tectonic adjustments.^[73]

Biodiversity

Flora and Fauna Distribution

Afro-Eurasia's flora exhibits diverse zonal patterns shaped by latitudinal and climatic gradients, ranging from equatorial rainforests to boreal forests. In the tropical rainforests of the Congo Basin, dominant species include the okoumé tree (Aucoumea klaineana), a tall evergreen that thrives in the humid, low-lying forests of central Africa and supports plywood production due to its lightweight wood.^[74] Further north and east, the vast Eurasian steppes feature perennial grasses such as feather grass (Stipa pennata), which forms dense tussocks adapted to arid, continental climates across Kazakhstan and southern Russia, contributing to the region's grassland biodiversity.^[75] In the northern reaches, the Siberian taiga is characterized by coniferous forests dominated by larch species like Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii), a deciduous conifer that covers millions of hectares in eastern Siberia, tolerating permafrost and extreme cold through its needle-shedding adaptation.^[76] The fauna of Afro-Eurasia includes iconic megafauna distributed across its varied habitats, reflecting historical connectivity and ecological niches. African elephants (Loxodonta africana) roam savannas and forests in sub-Saharan Africa, with populations concentrated in eastern and southern regions where they shape landscapes through foraging and migration.^[77] In Asia, the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) inhabits tropical and subtropical forests from India to Bangladesh, preying on ungulates in dense undergrowth as an apex predator.^[78] The gray wolf (Canis lupus), particularly its Eurasian subspecies (Canis lupus lupus), occupies forests and open areas across much of the continent, from Scandinavia to the Balkans, with packs maintaining territorial ranges that support ecosystem regulation.^[79] Migratory birds utilize Afro-Eurasian flyways extensively, with over 500 species traversing routes from Arctic breeding grounds to African wintering sites, facilitating gene flow and nutrient transfer across continents.^[80] Endemism hotspots underscore the region's biological uniqueness, particularly on peripheral islands and coastal enclaves. Madagascar, though insular, hosts approximately 90% endemic species among its vertebrates and plants, including lemurs and unique baobabs evolved in isolation.^[81] On the mainland, South Africa's Cape Floristic Region boasts over 9,000 vascular plant species, with 69% endemic, featuring diverse fynbos shrubs like proteas that thrive in nutrient-poor, fire-prone Mediterranean-climate soils.^[82] Distribution patterns reveal a north-south divide, with the northern Holarctic realm (encompassing the Palearctic portion of Eurasia) supporting shared temperate and boreal species like wolves and conifers, overlapping with Nearctic affinities due to past glacial connections. In contrast, the southern Afrotropical realm features distinct tropical taxa, such as elephants and rainforest flora, separated by arid barriers that limit faunal exchange.^[83]

Biogeographical Significance

Afro-Eurasia encompasses a complex mosaic of biogeographical realms, primarily the Palearctic realm covering Europe and northern Asia, the Indomalayan realm spanning southern and southeastern Asia, and the Afrotropical realm dominating sub-Saharan Africa. This overlap, as delineated in Alfred Russel Wallace's foundational framework and refined in contemporary analyses, establishes the supercontinent as a critical biodiversity corridor, allowing for the intermingling of species adapted to temperate, tropical, and arid environments across vast latitudinal gradients.^[84] The region's biogeographical significance extends to its central role in evolutionary history, particularly as the primary pathway for the dispersal of Homo sapiens from Africa into Eurasia around 70,000 years ago, marking a major expansion of the human niche into diverse habitats. This connectivity is sharply demarcated by the Wallace Line, a faunal boundary in Southeast Asia that isolates Afro-Eurasian biota from the distinct Australasian realm, preventing significant biotic exchange with Australia and New Guinea despite proximity during low sea-level periods.^[85]^[86] Conservation challenges underscore Afro-Eurasia's global importance, as it contains numerous of the 36 recognized biodiversity hotspots defined by Conservation International, including nine in Africa and several in Asia such as the Himalaya and Indo-Burma, alongside the transregional Mediterranean Basin. These hotspots harbor exceptional endemism but are imperiled by habitat fragmentation and degradation, which contribute to biodiversity loss affecting 85% of all threatened species as a primary driver.^[87] The supercontinent's land bridge configurations during the Pleistocene facilitated bidirectional exchanges of megafauna between Africa and Eurasia, influencing the assembly of modern ecosystems through migrations of large mammals and the homogenization of faunal assemblages across climatic zones.^[88]

Human Geography

Population and Settlement

Afro-Eurasia is home to approximately 7.15 billion people as of 2025, representing about 87% of the global population of 8.23 billion.^[89]^[6] Population densities across the supercontinent vary significantly due to diverse geography and economic conditions, ranging from over 100 inhabitants per square kilometer in densely populated regions of Europe, such as the European Union with 106 people per km², to less than 5 per km² in sparsely settled areas like Siberia, where the density is around 3 people per km².^[90] Major urban centers dominate settlement patterns, with several megacities exceeding 20 million residents. Tokyo-Yokohama stands as the largest urban agglomeration at 37 million people, followed by Delhi at 35 million, Shanghai at 30 million, and Cairo at 22 million.^[91] These cities serve as hubs for economic activity and cultural exchange, drawing populations from across the continent. Demographic trends highlight stark contrasts within Afro-Eurasia. Europe and Japan exhibit aging populations, with median ages of approximately 43 years in Europe and 50 years in Japan, driven by low fertility rates and longer life expectancies. In contrast, Africa features a youth bulge, with a median age of 19 years, reflecting high birth rates and a growing young population. Overall, the urbanization rate stands at about 55% in 2025, as rural residents increasingly migrate to cities for opportunities.^[92]^[93]^[4]^[94] Migration patterns are predominantly internal, with significant rural-to-urban flows shaping settlement. In Africa, millions move from countryside to cities like Lagos and Johannesburg seeking employment, contributing to rapid urban expansion. Similarly, in Eurasia, rural populations shift toward metropolitan areas in India and China. Refugee movements add complexity, such as the displacement of over 6 million Syrians since 2011 due to conflict, many of whom have resettled in neighboring Eurasian countries like Turkey and Lebanon. As of late 2025, ongoing Red Sea disruptions have further complicated maritime migration and trade routes, exacerbating refugee movements in the region.^[95]^[96]^[97]^[98]

Economic and Cultural Impact

Afro-Eurasia's economy represents the world's largest contiguous economic bloc, with a combined nominal GDP of approximately $78 trillion in 2025, encompassing the vast majority of global economic output outside the Americas and Oceania. This scale is driven by powerhouse economies including the European Union at $21.1 trillion, China at around $19 trillion, and India at $4.3 trillion, which together account for over half of the region's total.^[99] Key sectors highlight regional strengths: Asia leads in manufacturing, producing a significant share of global electronics, automobiles, and textiles through hubs like China, Japan, and Southeast Asian nations; Africa relies heavily on natural resources such as oil, minerals, and agricultural commodities, with countries like Nigeria and South Africa exporting vast quantities of petroleum and precious metals; while Europe excels in services, including finance, information technology, and tourism, which comprise about 70% of the EU's economic output.^[100]^[101]^[102] Trade networks in Afro-Eurasia build on ancient foundations like the Silk Road, which facilitated exchanges of goods, ideas, and technologies across Eurasia for centuries, evolving into contemporary initiatives that enhance connectivity.^[103] A prime example is China's Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, which has committed over $1.3 trillion in investments and loans to infrastructure projects spanning more than 140 countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe by 2025, aiming to revive overland and maritime silk routes.^[104] Critical maritime chokepoints like the Suez Canal underscore this integration, handling approximately 12% of global trade volume annually prior to 2024 disruptions, though volumes have declined significantly due to Red Sea security issues as of 2025, including vital oil and container shipments between Europe and Asia.^[105]^[98] Cultural exchanges have profoundly shaped Afro-Eurasia, promoting the spread of religions and languages that bind diverse populations. Islam, originating in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century, diffused rapidly across North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia through trade and conquest, reaching approximately 2 billion adherents worldwide in 2025, with major concentrations in Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Egypt.^[106] Similarly, expansive linguistic families illustrate historical migrations and interactions: the Indo-European family, encompassing languages like Hindi, Russian, and English, is spoken by over 3 billion people across Europe, South Asia, and parts of the Middle East; the Afro-Asiatic family, including Arabic, Amharic, and Berber, unites around 500 million speakers primarily in North Africa and the Horn of Africa, reflecting millennia of cultural synthesis.^[107] Despite these achievements, Afro-Eurasia grapples with modern challenges that threaten socioeconomic stability. Economic inequality varies starkly across the region, with Gini coefficients ranging from about 30 in more equitable European countries like Slovakia to over 60 in African nations such as South Africa, exacerbating poverty and social tensions.^[108] Climate change poses an acute risk, with projections estimating up to 216 million internal migrants by 2050 due to factors like droughts, floods, and sea-level rise, disproportionately affecting Sub-Saharan Africa (up to 86 million displaced), South Asia (40 million), and East Asia (49 million).^[109]

References

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Afroeurasia - World History for Us All
A. Afroeurasia. The land masses of Africa and Eurasia, together with adjacent islands, as a single spatial entity.
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Largest discrete landmass | Guinness World Records
The combined continents of Africa and Eurasia form a continuous landmass covering 84,980,532 km2. It is referred to as Afro-Eurasia, and sometimes as The World ...
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Population by Continent 2025 - World Population Review
Population by Continent 2025 ; Asia, 4,977,954,915, 0.56% ; Africa, 1,549,862,036, 2.29% ; Europe, 744,094,971, -0.09% ; North America, 617,280,500, 0.68% ...Africa · North America · Asia · South America
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Big Era 5 - World History for Us All - UCLA
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[PDF] Carbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles
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A lifeline under threat: Why the Suez Canal's security matters for the ...
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