Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma regrets having called Africa the biggest continent on earth, this according to his spokesperson on Monday.
Presidency spokesperson Bongani Majola referred to Zuma’s address on December 9, 2015 at a business gala dinner in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Speaking to the business leaders, Zuma said Africa was the biggest continent on earth and that all continents put together would fit into Africa.
A video of the president’s mistake went viral, inspiring ridicule online. Online platforms also looked to explore the president’s statements, such as Africa’s first data journalism school, Code for South Africa (Code4SA).
Testing Zuma’s theory that Africa could house all of the world’s continents, Code4SA found that at least four Africas would be needed to house the world’s continents, excluding Antarctica.
“Africa is in fact the second biggest continent in terms of population size, and the biggest continent in this regard is Asia,” said Majola.
In acknowledging the president’s error, Majola referred to statistics by the United Nations which showed that not only did Zuma overestimate Africa’s landmass, but its population too.
“60 [per cent] of the world population lives in Asia (4.4 billion), 16% in Africa (1.2 billion), 10% in Europe (737 million), 9% in Latin America and the Caribbean (634 million), and the remaining 5% in North America (358 million) and Oceania (39 million),” said Majola.
“The president regrets the error.”
African News Agency