This is one of today's articles for improvement, and you can help edit it! You can discuss how to improve it on its talk page and ask questions at the help desk or Teahouse. See the cheatsheet, tutorial, editing help and FAQ for additional information. Editors are encouraged to create a Wikipedia account and watchlist this article.

  Southern Africa (UN subregion)

  geographic, including above

  Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.^[1]

Definitions and usage [edit]

UN scheme of geographic regions and SACU [edit]

In the UN scheme of geographic regions, five countries constitute Southern Africa:^[2]

•  Botswana
•  Lesotho
•  Namibia
•  South Africa
•  Swaziland

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU), created in 1969, also comprises the five countries in the UN subregion of Southern Africa.^[3]

SADC membership [edit]

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) was established in 1980 to facilitate co-operation in the region. It includes:^[4]

•  Angola
•  Botswana
•  Democratic Republic of the Congo
•  Lesotho
•  Madagascar
•  Malawi
•  Mauritius
•  Mozambique
•  Namibia
•  Seychelles
•  South Africa
•  Swaziland
•  Tanzania
•  Zambia
•  Zimbabwe

General usage [edit]

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

The region is sometimes reckoned to include other territories:

•  Angola – part of Central Africa in the UN scheme.
•  Comoros,  Madagascar,  Malawi,  Mayotte,  Mauritius,  Mozambique,  Réunion,  Seychelles,  Zambia,  Zimbabwe – part of Eastern Africa in the UN scheme.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania, though more commonly reckoned in Central and Eastern Africa respectively, are occasionally included in Southern Africa.

Another geographic delineation for the region is the portion of Africa south of the Cunene and Zambezi Rivers – that is: South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and the part of Mozambique which lies south of the Zambezi River. This definition is most often used in South Africa for natural sciences and particularly in guide books such as Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa, the Southern African Bird Atlas Project and Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. It is not used in political, economic or human geography contexts because this definition cuts Mozambique in two.

Geography [edit]

A composite satellite image of South Africa, a country in the southern African region.

The terrain of Southern Africa is varied, ranging from forest^[5] and grasslands to deserts. The region has both low-lying coastal areas, and mountains.

In terms of natural resources, the region has the world's largest resources of platinum and the platinum group elements, chromium, vanadium, and cobalt, as well as uranium, gold, titanium, iron and diamonds.^{[citation needed]}

Economy [edit]

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

The region is distinct from the rest of Africa, with some of its main exports including platinum, diamonds, gold, and uranium, but it is similar in that it shares some of the problems of the rest of the continent. While colonialism has left its mark on the development over the course of history,^{[citation needed]} today poverty, corruption, and HIV/AIDS are some of the biggest factors impeding economic growth. The pursuit of economic and political stability is an important part of the region's goals, as demonstrated by the SADC. South Africa is the dominant economic "superpower" of the region. South Africa's GDP alone is many times greater than the GDPs of all other countries in the region.

Environment [edit]

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

Southern Africa has a wide diversity of ecoregions including grassland, bushveld, karoo, savannah and riparian zones. Even though considerable disturbance has occurred in some regions from habitat loss due to human overpopulation or export-focused development, there remain significant numbers of various wildlife species, including White Rhino, lion, leopard, impala, kudu, blue Wildebeest, Vervet monkey and elephant. It has complex Plateaus that create massive mountain structures along the South African border.

Culture and people [edit]

Southern Africa is home to many cultures and people. It was once populated by San, Namaqua (Nama people)^[6] and Pygmies in widely-dispersed concentrations. Due to the Bantu expansion which edged the previous peoples to the more remote areas of the region, the majority of ethnic groups in this region, including the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Northern Ndebele, Southern Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho, and Shona people, BaLunda, Mbundu, Ovimbundu, Chaga and Sukuma, speak languages which share common Bantu language traits. The process of colonization and settling resulted in a significant population of European (Afrikaners, Anglo-Africans, Portuguese Africans, etc.) and Asian descent (Cape Malays, Indian South Africans, etc.) in many southern African countries.

See also [edit]

• History of Southern Africa
• Sub-Saharan Africa

Portals Access related topics

Africa portal Geography portal

References [edit]

Further reading [edit]

• "Southern Africa". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2013-05-20.  (subscription required)

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Southern Africa

Look up Southern Africa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

v t e Regions of the world Africa Northern Sub-Saharan Central Eastern (Horn) Southern Western Greater Middle East Oceania Australasia Australia Zealandia Pacific Islands Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia North America Northern Caribbean Central Middle Anglo Latin Hispanic South America Southern Northern Guianan states Western Latin Hispanic Polar regions Antarctic Arctic Asia Central Far East Eastern Southeastern Mainland Maritime Northeastern Northern Southern Indian subcontinent Western Caucasus Middle East Near East Asia-Pacific Oceans World Arctic Atlantic Indian Pacific Southern Europe Central Eastern Northern Southeastern Balkans Caucasus Middle East Southern Western Seas List of seas Continents of the world List of seas Physical Earth