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Seen from space, Africa is one huge and undivided landmass.

But for some on the continent, however, the widely-held perception is of two very different regions; Africa south of the Sahara desert, or sub-Saharan Africa, and north Africa.

For some, the dividing line is more than the Sahara - it is culture, language and even skin tone.

North Africa is predominantly Arab and relatively more developed. Many residents identify more with the Middle East than they do with the larger part of the continent.

Hundreds of people from the south migrate to the north in search of greener pastures - but they are often met with hostility.

But when it comes to an African identity, some sub-Saharan Africans believe they have more claim to the continent than their northern counterparts.

On the other hand, the formation of the African Union in 2002 was a great leap forward in the effort to drive forward common action throughout the continent.

And issues that are crippling the continent are just as relevant in the north as the south - Egypt and Libya are suffering from greatly increased rates of HIV and Aids, just as Southern Africa is.

On the BBC’s Africa Live Programme on Wednesday, we ask just how African is north Africa?

Does culture and language link the region more to the Arab world, or should geography be the deciding factor?

Join the BBC’s Africa Live debate Wednesday, 28 January at 1630 & 1830GMT.

Use the form to send us your comments, some of which will be published below.

If you would like to take part in the discussion, e-mail us with your telephone number, which will not be published.

COMMENTS:

In 1986, when Egypt won the African cup of Nations in Burkina Faso, we learnt a bitter lesson. All the newspapers wrote about how Egypt has conquered the Africans in football. It was an Arab victory. Please, Black Africa, if you happen to read this, don’t let us through the same painful ordeal once this time round.

Unisa Kanu, Saudi Arabia

To all those who try to divide us by the colour of our skin, I’m a Berber white African. If I was black I’d feel exactly the same, because colour is given by God. It is not a human choice.

Mohamed, Midar, London (Morocco)

Imazighen (Berbers and Tuaregs) of Africa have maintained a distinct African culture from prehistoric times to the present-day. The presence of our people in Africa since prehisory is often denied by some sub-Saharan Africans. Yet, we are over thirty million today. We still speak our language and preserve our millenia-old alphabet, the Tifinagh. We have maintained our non-Arabic traditions. Imazighen means “Free Human Beings.” We live in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, the Sahara, Niger, Mali and Burkina-Faso. The name Africa comes from our language.
Helene Hagan, USA

Africa should be more united. The division that we see between the northern and sub-saharan regions is not as bad as the tribal and ethnical divisions that exist in the heart of all Africa. I see division and conflict inside each of the regions more than the divison between the north and south. Morocco for example has forgiven all its debts to African countries.

Tarik, Morocco

If you live in Sudan with Arab mentality and culture you are an Arab. However; if you are black living in the USA with American mentality and culture you are American. There is no way Michael Jackson is African according to his mentality and culture. Therefore if North Africans live with Arab mentality and culture they would probably be offended if they were called Africans.

Eddie Williams, Sudan/Canada

You always come up with a racial tone or a divide and rule policy, in your question. Africa for all Africans, black, white, yellow or brown. As archeologists tell us all humans began in Africa.

Harry Massele, Ethiopian/ USA Citizen

Whichever way you chose to cut the cake I don’t think you will ever find any clear boundaries. North Africa is as African as any other bit of the continent. Can I also question Ahmed’s remark - where does it say that the Christian God is white?

Jon Winter, England

Those that are born and live in Africa are African. Afrikaners (an Afrikaans word meaning African) are white and live in South Africa. They dont call themselves European Africans

Wessel van Rensburg, United Kingdom

I think many of you are mixing up two things about North Africa. The Arabs are not African in the sense that the Berbers are. Man people from Kabyle region (Berber region) have been killed in Algeria because of their “African” identity.

Lila, Algeria

Conflict of identity is a global phenomenon that will increase as we continue to move from place to place. In defined boundaries within African countries most people prefer to identify themselves with their tribes first, then region or religion, then country.

Musa Bah, UK/Gambian

Location is not a big deal. Let’s fight for unity among us.
Alim Okelo, San Diego, USA

Africa is one Africa and there are no two ways about it. Look at it this way, why should we bother about who is in the north or in the south, when we have have a lot of other recent comers - such as Europeans - who call themselves Africans.
Richard D Munsaka, Zimbabwe

Like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Jamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt also believed in the Pan African vision during the hey-days of African liberation. Yet one can undoubtedly claim that one of the biggest supporters of African Unity today is President Gaddafi of Libya, just as his South African counterpart, President Thabo Mbeki. So why will anybody claim to be an original African simply because he is ‘Black’ and he belongs to the sub-Saharan region? Africa, as I see it, belongs to any person who happens to be born in it, or whose parents belong to it.
Abdul, Ghanaian in New York

Classic divide and rule policies at play here. The Arabs are generally a lot less racist than Europeans, as Islam does not promote a white God, as Christianity does. One of the Prophet Mohammed’s closest companions, Bilal, was a black Abyssinian slave. Blacks have been an important part of Middle Eastern culture, stretching all the way back to the oldest civilisation in Egypt, since the beginning of time. We do not need the Europeans lecturing us on racial harmony.
Ahmed, UK

The question is who decides what an African is? What criterion is used to make such a decision? What do we include and exclude in or from the category “African”? Any attempt to make such definitions is a dangerous process.
Michael, Birmingham, United Kingdom

All Africans, despite their cultural diversity and differences in physionomy, belong to Africa. Every African culture is unique and one is not inferior or superior to the other. North Africans have nothing more special than the rest of the Africans. The perception that there are two different Africas is in the mind of those who promote division and hatred among people.
Teamrat Zeresenai, Canada

The Arabs trace their orgins to Ishmael - whose mother was Hagar - an African women from Ancient Egypt. She was a Princess according to Islam, or a slave women according to the Bible. Are they not people of African descent then?
Elias Karim, UK

Up north African? Only when it suits them. The rest of the time they are racist, slave trading Arabs. The western nations and the Arabs deserve each other!
Thabo, SA

I understand that Africa should be taken as a black continent - which means black people, African cultural in the sub-Sahara sense of the term. The north Africa should be called Arab - maghreb - but no word related to Africa should be put in. There should a great difference, like Asia and Europe, who are sharing the same geographical area but different in culture, religion, skin tone, hair and features of the body. And we have to bring Reunion (a Christian single online dating service island), all the islands where black people are found - such as Solomon Islands, New Guinea - as belonging to African continent. It is high time we identify ourselves culturally, traditionally and by the way we look because it is our main identity - and if we refuse we are bringing illusions to the next generation. We are racists against each other and we have to accept the reality which is our differences - blacks (Subsaharan Africans) and maghrebin (North Africans)
Foster Chipyoza, Malawi

To Foster Chipyoza of Malawi: I believe you are wrong in calling North Africa, Mahgreb and its inhabitants Mahgrebin. The Arabic origin of the word is Maghreb, meaning the west. It was what the Arabs called present day Morocco, because of its western location in north Africa. That did not apply to the more eastern countries such as Libya and Egypt.
Fikry Salib, Egypt/USA

Countries like Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Tunisia are African by geography but Arabian by culture. There is no denying that some people in these “African” countries are very offended when referred to as Africans instead of Arabs. Personally, I consider Hussein Mubarak, the president of Egypt to be an Arab. He is very active in settling disputes in the Middle East as compared to his obscure involvement in “black-african” affairs. However, when it benefits them, these countries will not hesitate to classify themselves as African and indentify with Sub-Saharan Africa. All in all, it is up to these countries to define their indentity by their interests and actions. So far, they have remained at best Arabic and at worst African.
George Mutua, Kenya

No matter how we Africans are different, the basic fact is we are all Africans, whether from the north, west or wherever. Africa is Africa - and as long as you were born within the borders of any African country, you are the same as any other African from any other African country.
Mubari Mwanga, Malawi

I’m so proud of being both African and Muslim.
Khaled Bechou, Algeria

Saying that Northern Africa is less ‘African’ is like saying that Northern England is less ‘English’ than the south. Africa is merely an adjective which encompasses an continent. You can see just as much cultural, geographical and social diversity in the USA as in Africa - and the US is only one country.
Joe Poole, United Kingdom

There is nothing new about the attempts by the Western press to “Balkanise” the African continent. It is the interest of the West to “divide and rule” Africa. I have never heard any one suggest that Canadians are not Americans. Simply put, it is a crazy idea.
Farai D Majuru, Belgium

Farai D. Majuru is gravely mistaken- Canadians are NOT American, any more than the people of Mexico consider themselves to be American. I suggest that Farai do some research.
Peggy, Canada

One of your comments says “I have never heard anyone suggest that a canadian is not an american,” that is crazy. Was that put in there for comic relief?
Mark Freed, Canada

Fellow Africans, don’t fall for this old trick question that emphasizes difference than unity amongst us. Funny, the BBC has already divided Africa (Sub & North Africa) on this very page I am writting on. (Refer to the World map top left of page). So what does it matter to you what we (Africans) say, except widen the artificial rift you have created amongst us ? Sadly most of us believe the artifical boundries you left us with and keep on waging wars and kill each other based on what you, the French and few other left us with.
Girma, Ethiopia

Lets keep to the geographic factor because every country in Africa has language, cultural and religious diversity. If we were supposed to be considering such factors, Africa would have had 1001 countries considering the number of different tribes found in each country.
Maxwell Eyram Afari, Ghanaian in Brazil

No part of Africa belongs to anybody. The people in Africa belong to the Africa, so Africa is home to all in it. North or south, having the sense of belonging in Africa makes you African, no matter black, white or Arab.
Papo, Lesotho

The word “Africa” in Roman times referred only to Tunisia and western Algeria; only later was it extended to encompass the whole continent. Even the word is said to originally come from Berber. So if you want to be pedantic, you can claim a Namibian or an Ethiopian isn’t African - but don’t try to tell me that an Algerian isn’t!
Lameen, USA / Algeria

Africa is a large family house, and Africans are the family members no division.
David Kalu, Nigeria

To say the least, an ordinary north African will rarely identify himself as being an African. North African leaders such as Gaddafi have decided to identify with black Africa after being frustrated by failed efforts to unite the Arab world.
Michael Kithinji, USA

As a Libyan, I wouldn’t class myself as being “African” we have very little in common with African nations, and I’m confident that 98% of Libyans are against any African Union, contrary to the opinion of our “leader”. Since the formation of the African Union, Libya has only suffered due to the mass movement of Africans to the north, spreading drugs, prostitution, HIV and AIDS, with them which until recently was never an issue in Libya or any other Arab state.
Karima, Yorkshire, England

Although Arabs and Barbers, who make the up the current populations in North Africa did not originate in Africa, they still have as much right as being classed ‘African’ as their Sub-Saharan counterparts.
Otman, UK

Remember that the word Africa comes from the Roman word for what is now Tunisia.
Tom French, Oregon, USA

Africa is Africa from Cape Gadaffi to the Cape of Good Hope. Instead of debating how African is North Africa, let’s debate how to bridge our gap and develop together.
Mohamed Suleiman, Tanzania

Africa is the name given by the Greeks and the Romans to the lands watered by the southern coast of the Mediterranean. And the first Arabs called Ifriqiya what today is Tunisia. So why should black Africa monopolise the name of Africa?
Omar Ali, Spain/UK

North Africa is very African just as the rest of it is African; despite the differences that can be found anywhere. The problem is that Africans wait for other people to define them as Sub-Saharan Africans, North Africans, Arabs, Blacks and the what not, without correcting them. So, everybody else believes it is so! But Africans are all one whether they are whites of South Africa or Pigmies of Congo, or Indians of Reunion.
Masanga Kishashi, Tanzania

The word Africa is not taken to mean what is supposed to mean! It is mostly associated with Blackness and backwardness. No one under the sun can accept to be identified with something bad unless there is no choice in totality. Some Arabs have started to refuse being called Arabs because of the growing misconception about Islam. I have two friends; one from Egypt and one from Lebanon, but they refuse to be called Arabs just because they are Christians. What one identifies with the most, if one has a choice, is what makes one respected. North Africans will accept to be called Africans when Africa becomes what they want it to be.
Kuirthiy, Southern Sudanese (Canada)

I personally didn’t think that North Africa was a separate Africa until I moved to the US. I have heard some Africans from the north telling American or whites that they are French with African background, even though I know they were not born or have lived in France. Some of our northern brothers do not want to associate themselves with black Africa when they are with someone else. Let’s not forget the dreams of Garvey, Nkrumah etc about one Africa.
S.K, Semackor, Ghanaian in the USA

As a North African, I feel I belong to so many groups. I am African, my land is Africa, I am Arab and Muslim. I have so many identities. That is what makes me a proud North African. I don’t think there is any dividing factor, differences yes, but this is something that can be seen even in countries which have defined boundaries; let alone a continent. Unfortunately we have not learnt to know about one another very well, we should expand our cultural, economical cooperation and use our resources to be able to face the challenges of this new era.
Bouthayna, Morocco

Africa has been and will remain Africa despite the vast land mass. The separation of the north from the South is what has brought division and hostility among the people of the same family. According to history, if we can go by it, all migration have their arrows from the north to the south, meaning that we are but one people.
Rev. Fr. Katete Jackson Jones, Zambia

When we say “of African descent”, we attach to it the word black (black African). I think this is the way it works in Europe and America. I have yet to see an Arab calling himself African-American.
Aman, Ethiopia

The question insinuates that one must be black in order to be an African; however, there are a good number of black people who would resent the idea of being labelled African on the basis of their appearance. One would have to have been born and raised in Africa, in order to truly comprehend what it means to be African. An African understands the essence of being of African, regardless of region of Africa from which he originates.
Muggaro, Malawi

When I think of Africa, I think of “Black Africa” and make no apologies for it. From a historical, cultural, anthropological, racial (if that’s still legal to think of)and even geographic point of view, North Africa is a separate entity from the Africa of the black people. I for one am NOT offended at free online dating profile who deny their Africanness. When one looks at history one sees that north-Africa’s relationship with black africa has been mostly one of predation and destruction (trans-Saharan slave trade, destruction of the empires of Ghana and Songhai). Some people say that acknowledging this deep difference is promoting division among Africans. No it is not since north-Africans and black Africans were never united in the first place. Geographic continuity is meaningless really. That fact is, north Africa as it stands today is much better described as the southern shore of the Mediterranean.
Ogunsiron, Canada

I am sorry. I do not consider those from the northern part of Africa to be Africans. Let us be honest with ourselves, if someone tells you an African is walking in through the door, the image you expect to see is that of someone with a black skin. Even anthropological studies of those who existed on the continent have always described their skin colour to be what we consider a black skin. The Arabs who live on African soil, though they may assign the phrase Northern Africans to themselves, adopt a cultural identity which is in huge contrast to the cultural worldview of those black skinned people on the continent. Even the ‘North Africans’ themselves align themselves more with their original roots in the Middle Eastern part of the world than they do with the rest of the African continent. Deep down inside I am certain they identify themselves primarily as Arabs.
Mohammed Anjorin, Nigeria/America

Why bother about who is and who is not African, when we are not yet at peace as Angolans, Sudanese, Ethiopians, or Ivorians
Yusuf Mohamed, USA

How can any one claim that a country like Egypt is not African? Egypt is the Nile and the Nile defines Africa. A Lighter skin does not disqualify Egyptians or other Mediterranean nation of being African. By the same token a South African of a Dutch descent is equally qualified. People are what they identify themselves to be.
Reda, USA

The problem is not culture and language; it is to do with history. Black African history is associated with slavery, years of exploitation of human and natural resources. This has led to continuous instability, killings, diseases, poverty, struggle for survival at all costs etc… For that reason, to associate with sub-Saharan Africans to our Northern African brothers is like associating with slaves and savages. There can never be a short-term solution to this problem. It is up to us in sub-Saharan Africa to emerge from that image.
Teddy Albert Bandima, Saskatoon, Canada

Asking this question pre-supposes a stereotype that Africa is mainly undeveloped and black. That does nothing to justify the many different and diverse cultures, languages, and aspects of life from this overlooked and stereotyped continent.
Catherine, Finland/USA

Let’s just forget all this and be simply Africans. As an actor at the African film festival in Ouagadougou my fellow African directors and producers said I was not African enough to be cast in an African film! What and Who does an African look like?
Thy-will Koku Amenya, Ghanaian in USA

If “Asia” can go from India to Japan, And “Europe” can stretch from Edinburgh to Istanbul, surely Africa can include Dakar, Cape Town, Tangiers, and everything in between.
Neil Uhl, USA

Africa like all other continents is a conglomeration of peoples and cultures. Let the Africans define themselves. Let the North African join the Arab League if they feel Arab, let the Ethiopian Jews go back to Israel if they feel Jewish. It is however a big shame that Africans are not proud of their identities.
Sandy Kamanda, Sierra Leone/USA

North Africans do not appreciate people calling them Africans. They want to be identified by the country they come from and not by the continent. I remember once in the early 1980s when I was travelling from Paris to London by train at night. In the car with me were some people of North African descent. At first they were uncomfortable being in the same vehicle with me. When I asked where they came from, they said that they were Egyptians, when I asked where Egypt was, they replied we are Arabs!
Dr. Fidelis Overo, USA

North Africa is kind of different, owing to its location, close to Europe, and oil. However, the region’s success story does not separate it from the rest of Africa. The region has been with the rest of the continent in hard and good times. The economic, cultural and historical factors have not created differences serious to break the unity of Africans. The diversity in Africa is good, and should inform us. If the north is rich and the central poor, that cannot make our brothers in north Africa un-African. No continent can be uniform.
Elias Mutungi, Uganda/USA

How British is Northern Ireland or Scotland? BBC you need to realize that the tactics of ‘divide and rule’ are so 20th century hence out of date.
Obi Ugochukwu, US

This is the very reason that outsiders were able to divide and rule African. We are all Africans despite the colour of our skin or what part of the continent we come from. Why don’t we open up an argument that involves wondering whether Eastern Europeans are as “European” as their Western counterparts. Why does it always have to be about Africa?
Sheshe, Uganda

If you go to Somalia and Ethiopia you will find it very different than southern African countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe etc. Africa is a continent with many different cultures, no part is less or more African than the other. Look at Asia: Japan and Korea are very different, in terms of the appearance of the people and culture than India and Bangladesh, yet India, Japan, Korea etc.. are all Asian countries.

Karim, London

How African is North Africa? What a question!! We are all humans, we are looking for happiness and better lives, and we are all Africans. Furthermore, many people living in Africa have been living there since 5000 BC. Berbers, who live in North Africa, are African and proud to be African. Africa is linked. Berbers may live in the north while their cousins the Touareg live in the desert of Mali. Berbers and Touareg share the same language and the same alphabet, Tifinagh.
Az, Morocco

Who cares if North Africans identify more with the Middle East than sub-Saharan Africa? They are certainly closer to the Middle East in terms of culture than to black Africa. Besides identifying with us does not solve any of our myriad of problems. It is time for sub-Saharan countries to abandon this pan-African nonsense and face the task of building their respective countries.
Julius Monkam, USA/Cameroon

As far as I know Germany, France, England, Spain and Ireland all have their own culture, language and to some extend hair colour, yet you don’t ask, are these countries Europeans??? There is no language in Africa that refers to any part of the continent “sub”-Sahara Africa, and for that matter “black Africa” you coined the word to divide us.
Opoku, USA (GHANA)

Why can’t Africa be home to more than one culture? Asia, for example is a very diverse continent, and so are the Americas. I guess Europeans are used to being homogeneous (all whites).