Sub-Saharan Africa#Hstory

File:Meyers-L2.jpg

Geographers historically divided the region into several distinct ethnographic sections based on each area's respective inhabitants.{{cite book |last=Raunig |first=Walter |title=Afrikas Horn: Akten der Ersten Internationalen Littmann-Konferenz 2. bis 5. Mai 2002 in München |year=2005 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=3-447-05175-2 |page=130 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JpNY7VPn1WUC&pg=PA130 |quote=ancient Arabic geography had quite a fixed pattern in listing the countries from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean: These are al-Misr (Egypt) – al-Muqurra (or other designations for Nubian kingdoms) – al-Habasha (Abyssinia) – Barbara (Berber, i.e. the Somali coast) – Zanj (Azania, i.e. the country of the "blacks"). Correspondingly almost all these terms (or as I believe: all of them!) also appear in ancient and medieval Chinese geography |access-date=9 June 2016 }} The concept of "sub-Saharan Africa" has been criticised as a racist construction intended to separate North Africa or "European/White Africa" and "Black Africa" or "Africa noire".{{cite journal |last1=Mohamed |first1=Mohamed Hassan |year=2010 |title=Africanists and Africans of the Maghrib: casualties of Analogy |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13629387.2010.486573 |journal=The Journal of North African Studies |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=349–374 |doi=10.1080/13629387.2010.486573 |s2cid=145782335}} Critics from various countries have provided arguments supporting the interconnectedness of continental Africa, pointing to historical and cultural connections, as well as trade between North, West, and East Africa.{{cite web |last1=Merolla |first1=Daniela |title=Beyond 'two Africas' in African and Berber literary studies |url=https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2722003/view |website=Scholarly Publications Leiden University |publisher=African Studies Centre Leiden}}

Commentators in Arabic in the medieval period used the general term bilâd as-sûdân ("Land of the Blacks") for the vast Sudan region (an expression denoting Central and West Africa),{{citation |author=International Association for the History of Religions |title=Numen |publisher=EJ Brill |place=Leiden |year=1959 |page=131 |quote=West Africa may be taken as the country stretching from Senegal in the west, to the Cameroons in the east; sometimes it has been called the central and western Sudan, the Bilad as-Sūdan, 'Land of the Blacks', of the Arabs }} or sometimes extending from the coast of West Africa to Western Sudan.Nehemia Levtzion, Randall Lee Pouwels, The History of Islam in Africa, (Ohio University Press, 2000), p. 255. Its equivalent in Southeast Africa was Zanj ("Country of the Blacks"), which referred primarily to the Swahili coast.{{Cite book |last=Ray |first=Daren |title=The Swahili World |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |chapter=Defining the Swahili |pages=67–80 |doi=10.4324/9781315691459-5 |isbn=978-1-315-69145-9 |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315691459-5/defining-swahili-daren-ray}}

The geographers drew an explicit ethnographic distinction between the Sudan region and its analogue Zanj, from the area to their extreme east on the Red Sea coast in the Horn of Africa. In modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea was Al-Habash or Abyssinia,Sven Rubenson, The survival of Ethiopian independence, (Tsehai, 2003), p. 30. which was inhabited by the Habash or Abyssinians, who were the forebears of the Habesha.Jonah Blank, Mullahs on the mainframe: Islam and modernity among the Daudi Bohras, (University of Chicago Press, 2001), p. 163. In northern Somalia was Barbara or the Bilad al-Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"), which was inhabited by the Eastern Baribah or Barbaroi, as the ancestors of the Somalis were referred to by medieval Arab and ancient Greek geographers, respectively.F.R.C. Bagley et al., The Last Great Muslim Empires, (Brill: 1997), p. 174Bethwell A. Ogot, Zamani: A Survey of East African History, (East African Publishing House: 1974), p. 104James Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Part 12: V. 12, (Kessinger Publishing, LLC: 2003), p. 490

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the populations south of the Sahara were divided into three broad racial groups by Europeans: Hamites and Semites in the Horn of Africa and Sahel related to those in North Africa, who spoke languages belonging to the Afroasiatic family; Negroes in most of the rest of the subcontinent (hence, the toponym Black Africa for Africa south of the Sahara),{{cite web |title=black Africa |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/black-africa |website=Cambridge Dictionary |publisher=Cambridge University |access-date=13 March 2021 |archive-date=20 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120120618/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/black-africa |url-status=live }} who spoke languages belonging to the Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan families; and Khoisan in Southern Africa, who spoke languages belonging to the Khoisan family.

{{Further|Afrotropical realm|Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands|List of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions}}

File:Sub Saharan Africa Climate Map.pngs of Africa, showing the ecological break between the hot desert climate of North Africa and the Horn of Africa (red), the hot semi-arid climate of the Sahel and areas surrounding semi-deserts (orange) and the tropical climate of Central and West Africa (blue). Southern Africa has a transition to subtropical or temperate climates (green and yellow), and more desert or semi-desert regions, centered on Namibia and Botswana.]]

Sub-Saharan Africa has a wide variety of climate zones or biomes. South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in particular are considered megadiverse countries. It has a dry winter season and a wet summer season.

• The Sahel extends across all of Africa at a latitude of about 10° to 15° N. Countries that include parts of the Sahara Desert proper in their northern territories and parts of the Sahel in their southern region include Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan. The Sahel has a hot semi-arid climate.
• South of the Sahel, a belt of savanna (the West and East Sudanian savannas) stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ethiopian Highlands. The more humid Guinean and Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic lie between the savannas and the equatorial forests.
• The Horn of Africa includes hot desert climate along the coast but a hot semi-arid climate can be found much more in the interior, contrasting with savanna and moist broadleaf forests in the Ethiopian Highlands.
• Tropical Africa encompasses tropical rainforest stretching along the southern coast of West Africa and across most of Central Africa (the Congo) west of the African Great Lakes.
• In East Africa, woodlands, savannas, and grasslands are found in the equatorial zone, including the Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania and Kenya.
• Distinctive Afromontane forests, grasslands, and shrublands are found in the high mountains and mountain ranges of eastern Africa, from the Ethiopian Highlands to South Africa.
• South of the equatorial forests, the Western and Southern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic are transition zones between the tropical forests and the miombo woodland belt that spans the continent from Angola to Mozambique and Tanzania.
• The Namib and Kalahari Deserts lie in Southern Africa, and are surrounded by semi-deserts including the Karoo region of South Africa. The Bushveld grasslands lie to the east of the deserts.
• The Cape Floristic Region is at Africa's southern tip, and is home to diverse subtropical and temperate forests, woodlands, grasslands, and shrublands.

{{Main|History of Africa|History of West Africa|History of Central Africa|History of East Africa|History of Southern Africa}}

{{Further|African empires|List of kingdoms in pre-colonial Africa#List of African kingdoms|African archaeology}}

{{Further|History of Africa#Prehistory|Prehistoric West Africa|Prehistoric Central Africa|Prehistoric East Africa|Horn of Africa#Prehistory|Prehistoric Southern Africa|African archaeology}}

File:Olduvai stone chopping tool.jpg]]

According to paleontology, early hominid skull anatomy was similar to that of their close cousins, the great African forest apes, gorilla and chimpanzee. However, they had adopted a bipedal locomotion and freed hands, giving them a crucial advantage enabling them to live in both forested areas and on the open savanna at a time when Africa was drying up, with savanna encroaching on forested areas. This occurred 10 million to 5 million years ago.Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 2, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.

By 3 million years ago several australopithecine hominid species had developed throughout Southern, East, and Central Africa. They were tool users rather than tool manufacturers. The next major evolutionary step occurred around 2.3 million BCE, when primitive stone tools were used to scavenge the carcasses of animals killed by other predators, both for their meat and their marrow. In hunting, H. habilis was most likely not capable of competing with large predators and was more prey than hunter, although H. habilis likely did steal eggs from nests and may have been able to catch small game and weakened larger prey such as cubs and older animals. The tools were classed as Oldowan.Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 2–3, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.

Roughly 1.8 million years ago, Homo ergaster first appeared in the fossil record in Africa. From Homo ergaster, Homo erectus (upright man) evolved 1.5 million years ago. Some of the earlier representatives of this species were small-brained and used primitive stone tools, much like H. habilis. The brain later grew in size, and H. erectus eventually developed a more complex stone tool technology called the Acheulean. Potentially the first hominid to engage in hunting, H. erectus mastered the art of making fire. They were the first hominids to leave Africa, going on to colonise the entire Old World, and perhaps later on giving rise to Homo floresiensis. Although some recent writers suggest that H. georgicus, a H. habilis descendant, was the first and most primitive hominid to ever live outside Africa, many scientists consider H. georgicus to be an early and primitive member of the H. erectus species.Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 3, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.

The fossil and genetic evidence shows Homo sapiens developed in East and Southern Africa by around 350,000 to 260,000 years ago{{cite journal |last=Schlebusch |display-authors=etal |title=Southern African ancient genomes estimate modern human divergence to 350,000 to 260,000 years ago |journal=Science |volume=358 |issue=6363 |date=3 November 2017 |pages=652–655 |doi=10.1126/science.aao6266 |pmid=28971970 |bibcode=2017Sci...358..652S |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Mounier |first1=Aurélien |last2=Lahr |first2=Marta |title=Deciphering African late middle Pleistocene hominin diversity and the origin of our species |journal=Nature Communications |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=3406 |doi=10.1038/s41467-019-11213-w |pmid=31506422 |pmc=6736881 |year=2019 |bibcode=2019NatCo..10.3406M }}{{Cite journal |last1=Scerri |first1=Eleanor M. L. |last2=Thomas |first2=Mark G. |last3=Manica |first3=Andrea |last4=Gunz |first4=Philipp |last5=Stock |first5=Jay T. |last6=Stringer |first6=Chris |last7=Grove |first7=Matt |last8=Groucutt |first8=Huw S. |last9=Timmermann |first9=Axel |author-link9=Axel Timmermann|last10=Rightmire|first10=G. Philip |last11=d’Errico |first11=Francesco |date=1 August 2018 |title=Did Our Species Evolve in Subdivided Populations across Africa, and Why Does It Matter? |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=33 |issue=8 |pages=582–594 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2018.05.005 |issn=0169-5347 |pmid=30007846 |pmc=6092560 |bibcode=2018TEcoE..33..582S }} and gradually migrated across the continent in waves. Between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago, their expansion out of Africa launched the colonisation of the planet by modern humans. By 10,000 BCE, Homo sapiens had spread to all corners of the world. This dispersal of the human species is suggested by linguistic, cultural and genetic evidence.{{cite journal |vauthors=Tishkoff SA, Reed FA, Friedlaender FR, etal |title=The genetic structure and history of Africans and African Americans |journal=Science |volume=324 |issue=5930 |pages=1035–44 |date=May 2009 |pmid=19407144 |pmc=2947357 |doi=10.1126/science.1172257 |bibcode=2009Sci...324.1035T }}

During the 11th millennium BP, pottery was independently invented in West Africa, with the earliest pottery there dating to about 9,400 BC from central Mali.{{Cite web |last1=Bradley |first1=Simon |title=Swiss archaeologist digs up West Africa's past |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-archaeologist-digs-up-west-africa-s-past/5675736 |date=18 January 2007 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch |publisher=Swiss Broadcasting Corporation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306002155/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Archive/Swiss_archaeologist_digs_up_West_Africas_past.html?cid=5675736 |archive-date=6 March 2012 |language=en }} It spread throughout the Sahel and southern Sahara.{{cite journal |last1=Jesse |first1=Friederike |title=Early Pottery in Northern Africa - An Overview |issue=2 |pages=219–238 |journal=Journal of African Archaeology |volume=8 |jstor=43135518 |year=2010 |doi=10.3213/1612-1651-10171 }}

After the Sahara became a desert, it did not present a totally impenetrable barrier for travelers between north and south because of the application of animal husbandry towards carrying water, food, and supplies across the desert. Prior to the introduction of the camel,Stearns, Peter N. (2001) The Encyclopedia of World History, Houghton Mifflin Books. p. 16. {{ISBN|0-395-65237-5}}. the use of oxen, mule, and horses for desert crossing was common, and trade routes followed chains of oases that were strung across the desert. The trans-saharan trade was in full motion by 500 BCE with Carthage being a major economic force for its establishment.Collins, Robert O. and Burns, James. M(2007). A History of Sub-saharan Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 62, {{ISBN|978-0-521-86746-7 }}Davidson, Basil. Africa History, Themes and Outlines, revised and expanded edition. New York: Simon & Schuster, p. 54, {{ISBN|0-684-82667-4}}.Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 47, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}. It is thought that the camel was first brought to Egypt after the Persian Empire conquered Egypt in 525 BCE, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa for camels to be the pack animal of choice for the trans-saharan trade.McEvedy, Colin (1980) Atlas of African History, p. 44. {{ISBN|0-87196-480-5}}.

{{Main|History of West Africa}}

{{Further|Ghana Empire|Mali Empire|Songhay Empire|Kingdom of Benin|Kingdom of Nri}}

File:Nok sculpture Louvre 70-1998-11-1.jpg sculpture, terracotta, Louvre]]

The Bantu expansion is a major migration movement that originated in West Central Africa (possibly around Cameroon) around 2500 BCE, reaching East and Central Africa by 1000 BCE and Southern Africa by the early centuries CE.

The Djenné-Djenno city-state flourished from 250 BCE to 900 CE and was influential to the development of the Ghana Empire. The Nok culture of Nigeria (lasting from 1,500 BCE to 200 CE) is known from a type of terracotta figure.Breunig, Peter. 2014. Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context: p. 21. There were a number of medieval empires of the southern Sahara and the Sahel, based on trans-Saharan trade, including the Ghana Empire and the Mali Empire, Songhai Empire, the Kanem Empire and the subsequent Bornu Empire.Davidson, Basil. Africa History, Themes and Outlines, revised and expanded edition. New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 87–107, {{ISBN|0-684-82667-4}}. They built stone structures like in Tichit, but mainly constructed in adobe. The Great Mosque of Djenne is most reflective of Sahelian architecture and is the largest adobe building in the world.

In the forest zone, several states and empires such as Bono State, Akwamu and others emerged. The Ashanti Empire arose in the 18th century in modern-day Ghana.{{Cite book |last=Meyerowitz |first=Eva L. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F3lyAAAAMAAJ |title=The Early History of the Akan States of Ghana |date=1975 |publisher=Red Candle Press |isbn=9780608390352 |language=en }} The Kingdom of Nri, was established by the Igbo in the 11th century. Nri was famous for having a priest-king who wielded no military power. Nri was a rare African state which was a haven for freed slaves and outcasts who sought refuge in their territory. Other major states included the kingdoms of Ifẹ and Oyo in the western block of Nigeria which became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively, and center of Yoruba culture. The Yoruba built massive mud walls around their cities, the most famous being Sungbo's Eredo. Another prominent kingdom in southwestern Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin, whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. Their dominance reached as far as the well-known city of Eko which was named Lagos by the Portuguese traders and other early European settlers. The Edo-speaking people of Benin are known for their famous bronze casting and rich coral, wealth, ancient science and technology and the Walls of Benin, one of the longest man-made structures on the world.

In the 18th century, the Oyo and the Aro Confederacy were responsible for most of the slaves exported from modern-day Nigeria, selling them to European slave traders.{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/7.htm |title=The Slave Trade |publisher=Countrystudies.us |access-date=9 June 2008 |archive-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623172414/http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/7.htm |url-status=live }} Following the Napoleonic Wars, the British expanded their influence into the Nigerian interior. In 1885, British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition, and in the following year the Royal Niger Company was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Goldie. In 1900, the company's territory came under the control of the British government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On 1 January 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate as part of the British Empire, the foremost world power at the time. Nigeria was granted its independence in 1960 during the period of decoloniszation.

{{Main|History of Central Africa}}

File:Ann Zingha.jpg, queen of the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms]]

Archeological finds in Central Africa provide evidence of human settlement that may date back over 10,000 years.{{cite book |author=Philippe Lavachery |title=Komé-Kribi: Rescue Archaeology Along the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=3937248285 |display-authors=etal }} According to Zangato and Holl, there is evidence of iron-smelting in the Central African Republic and Cameroon that may date back to 3,000 to 2,500 BCE.{{cite journal |author1=É. Zangato |author2=A.F.C. Holl |title=On the Iron Front: New Evidence from North-Central Africa |journal=Journal of African Archaeology |volume=8 |issue=1 |date=2010 |pages=7–23 |doi=10.3213/1612-1651-10153 |url=http://www.african-archaeology.de/index.php?page_id=154&journal_id=24&pdf_id=172 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226002521/http://www.african-archaeology.de/index.php?page_id=154&journal_id=24&pdf_id=172 |archive-date=26 December 2013 }} Extensive walled sites and settlements have recently been found in Zilum, Chad. The area is located approximately {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}} southwest of Lake Chad, and has been radiocarbon dated to the first millennium BCE.{{cite book |author=J. Cameron Monroe |title=Akinwumi Ogundiran, Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives |page=316 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1107009391}}, citing Magnavita 2004; Magnavita et al. 2004, 2006; Magnavita and Schleifer 2004.Peter Mitchell et al., The Oxford Handbook of African Archeology (2013), p. 855: "The relatively recent discovery of extensive walled settlements at the transition from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age in the Chad Basin (Magnavita et al., 2006) indicates what enormous sites and processes may still await recognition."

Trade and improved agricultural techniques supported more sophisticated societies, leading to the early civilisations of Sao, Kanem, Bornu, Shilluk, Baguirmi, and Wadai.{{cite book|last1=Appiah|first1=Kwame Anthony|last2=Gates|first2=Henry Louis Jr.|title=Encyclopaedia of Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0XNvklcqbwC&pg=PA254|access-date=2013-05-06|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-533770-9|page=254}}

Following the Bantu Migration into Central Africa, during the 14th century, the Luba Kingdom in southeast Congo came about under a king whose political authority derived from religious, spiritual legitimacy. The kingdom controlled agriculture and regional trade of salt and iron from the north and copper from the Zambian/Congo copper belt.Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 138–39, 142, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.

Rival kingship factions which split from the Luba Kingdom later moved among the Lunda people, marrying into its elite and laying the foundation of the Lunda Empire in the 16th century. The ruling dynasty centralised authority among the Lunda under the Mwata Yamyo or Mwaant Yaav. The Mwata Yamyo's legitimacy, like that of the Luba king, came from being viewed as a spiritual religious guardian. This imperial cult or system of divine kings was spread to most of central Africa by rivals in kingship migrating and forming new states. Many new states received legitimacy by claiming descent from the Lunda dynasties.

The Kingdom of Kongo existed from the Atlantic west to the Kwango river to the east. During the 15th century, the Bakongo farming community was united with its capital at M'banza-Kongo, under the king title, Manikongo. Other significant states and peoples included the Kuba Kingdom, producers of the famous raffia cloth, the Eastern Lunda, Bemba, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Kingdom of Ndongo.

{{Main|History of East Africa}}

{{Further|History of Sudan}}

File:SphinxOfTaharqa.jpg of the Nubian Emperor Taharqa]]

Nubia, covered by present-day northern Sudan and southern Egypt, was referred to as "Aethiopia" ("land of the burnt face") by the Greeks.{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Lloyd A. |title=Romans and blacks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7MQOAAAAQAAJ&q=%22Sub-Saharan+Africa%22+Ethiopia+Aethiopia&pg=PA57 |page=57 |year=1989 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=0-415-03185-0 |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032003/https://books.google.com/books?id=7MQOAAAAQAAJ&q=%22Sub-Saharan+Africa%22+Ethiopia+Aethiopia&pg=PA57 |url-status=live }} Nubia in her greatest phase is considered sub-Saharan Africa's oldest urban civilisation. Nubia was a major source of gold for the ancient world. Nubians built famous structures and numerous pyramids. Sudan, the site of ancient Nubia, has more pyramids than anywhere else in the world.Mokhtar (editor), AnciGent Civilizations of Africa Vo. II, General History of Africa, UNESCO, 1990{{Better source needed|date=November 2020}}

{{Main|Horn of Africa#History}}

{{Further|History of Ethiopia|History of Somalia|History of Eritrea|History of Djibouti|Ethiopian historiography}}

File:Gondereshe2008.jpg of Gondershe, Somalia]]

The Axumite Empire spanned the southern Sahara, south Arabia and the Sahel along the western shore of the Red Sea. Located in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, Aksum was deeply involved in the trade network between India and the Mediterranean. Growing from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period ({{circa}} 4th century BCE), it rose to prominence by the 1st century CE. The Aksumites constructed monolithic stelae to cover the graves of their kings, such as King Ezana's Stele. The later Zagwe dynasty, established in the 12th century, built churches out of solid rock. These rock-hewn structures include the Church of St. George at Lalibela.

File:ET Gondar asv2018-02 img03 Fasil Ghebbi.jpg, Ethiopia ]]

In ancient Somalia, city-states flourished such as Opone, Mosyllon and Malao that competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and Axumites for the wealthy Indo–Greco–Roman trade.Oman in history By Peter Vine Page 324

In the Middle Ages several powerful Somali empires dominated the region's trade, including the Ajuran Sultanate, which excelled in hydraulic engineering and fortress building,Shaping of Somali society Lee Cassanelli pg.92 the Sultanate of Adal, whose General Ahmed Gurey was the first African commander in history to use cannon warfare on the continent during Adal's conquest of the Ethiopian Empire,Futuh Al Habash Shibab ad Din and the Geledi Sultanate, whose military dominance forced governors of the Omani empire north of the city of Lamu to pay tribute to the Somali Sultan Ahmed Yusuf.Sudan Notes and Records – 147Somali Sultanate: The Geledi City-state Over 150 Years - Virginia Luling (2002) Page 229{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPwOsOcNy5YC |title=Historical Dictionary of Somalia |page=xxix |date=25 February 2003 |isbn=9780810866041 |access-date=15 February 2014 |last1=Mukhtar |first1=Mohamed Haji |publisher=Scarecrow Press |archive-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216062140/https://books.google.com/books?id=DPwOsOcNy5YC |url-status=live }}

{{Further|Southeast Africa#History|History of Africa#Southeast Africa}}

According to the theory of recent African origin of modern humans, the mainstream position held within the scientific community, all humans originate from either Southeast Africa or the Horn of Africa.{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/505436 |pmid=16826514 |pmc=1559480 |title=A Geographically Explicit Genetic Model of Worldwide Human-Settlement History |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=79 |issue=2 |pages=230–237 |year=2006 |last1=Liu |first1=Hua |last2=Prugnolle |first2=Franck |last3=Manica |first3=Andrea |author-link4=Francois Balloux |last4=Balloux |first4=François }} During the first millennium CE, Nilotic and Bantu-speaking peoples moved into the region, and the latter now account for three-quarters of Kenya's population.

File:Tongoni Ruins.jpg south of Tanga in Tanzania]]

On the coastal section of Southeast Africa, a mixed Bantu community developed through contact with Muslim Arab and Persian traders, leading to the development of the mixed Arab, Persian and African Swahili City States.{{cite book |author=James De Vere Allen |title=Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya Phenomenon |year=1993 |url=https://archive.org/details/swahilioriginssw0000alle |url-access=registration }} The Swahili culture that emerged from these exchanges evinces many Arab and Islamic influences not seen in traditional Bantu culture, as do the many Afro-Arab members of the Bantu Swahili people. With its original speech community centered on the coastal parts of Tanzania (particularly Zanzibar) and Kenya{{snd}} a seaboard referred to as the Swahili Coast{{snd}} the Bantu Swahili language contains many Arabic loan-words as a consequence of these interactions.Daniel Don Nanjira, African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy: From Antiquity to the 21st Century, ABC-CLIO, 2010, p. 114

The earliest Bantu inhabitants of the Southeast coast of Kenya and Tanzania encountered by these later Arab and Persian settlers have been variously identified with the trading settlements of Rhapta, Azania and Menouthias{{cite book |author=Jens Finke |title=The Rough Guide to Tanzania |year=2010 |publisher=Rough Guides Limited |isbn=9781848360754 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781848360754 |url-access=registration }} referenced in early Greek and Chinese writings from 50 CE to 500 CE.Casson, Lionel (1989). The Periplus Maris Erythraei. Lionel Casson. (Translation by H. Frisk, 1927, with updates and improvements and detailed notes). Princeton, Princeton University Press.Chami, F. A. (1999). "The Early Iron Age on Mafia island and its relationship with the mainland." Azania Vol. XXXIV 1999, pp. 1–10.Chami, Felix A. 2002. "The Egypto-Graeco-Romans and Paanchea/Azania: sailing in the Erythraean Sea." From: Red Sea Trade and Travel. The British Museum. Sunday 6 October 2002. Organised by The Society for Arabian Studies{{cite web |url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |title=Weilue: The Peoples of the West |publisher=Depts.washington.edu |date=23 May 2004 |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=23 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223070446/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |url-status=live }}Miller, J. Innes. 1969. Chapter 8: "The Cinnamon Route". In: The Spice Trade of the Roman Empire. Oxford: University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-814264-1 }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua_tAAAAMAAJ |title=Perspectives on the African past |date=8 January 2010 |access-date=10 August 2018 |last1=Klein |first1=Martin A. |last2=Wesley Johnson |first2=G. |archive-date=27 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627010025/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua_tAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |translator1=Hill, John E. |date=September 2004 |url=http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |title=The Peoples of the West from the Weilue: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE |orig-date=429 CE |author1=Yu Huan |access-date=17 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050315032618/http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |archive-date=15 March 2005 |language=English |at=Section 15 and notes |via=Silk Road Seattle }}{{cite book |author1=Evelyne Jone Rich |author2=Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein |title=Africa: Tradition and Change |year=1971 |page=124 |publisher=Random House School Division |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqafAAAAMAAJ |isbn=9780394009384 |access-date=9 June 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510082208/https://books.google.com/books?id=pqafAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }} These early writings perhaps document the first wave of Bantu settlers to reach Southeast Africa during their migration.{{cite book |author=Rhonda M. Gonzales |title=Societies, religion, and history: central-east Tanzanians and the world they created, c. 200 BCE to 1800 CE |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6owAQAAIAAJ |date=30 August 2009 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-14242-7 |page=222 |access-date=9 June 2016 |archive-date=10 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610094154/https://books.google.com/books?id=o6owAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}

Between the 14th and 15th centuries, large medieval Southeast African kingdoms and states emerged, such as the Buganda,Roland Oliver, et al. "Africa South of the Equator," in Africa Since 1800. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 24–25. Bunyoro and Karagwe kingdoms of Uganda and Tanzania.

During the early 1960s, the Southeast African nations achieved independence from colonial rule.

{{Main|History of Southern Africa}}

{{Further|Kingdom of Mutapa}}

File:Great-Zimbabwe-2.jpg: Tower in the Great Enclosure]]

Settlements of Bantu-speaking peoples, who were iron-using agriculturists and herdsmen, were already present south of the Limpopo River by the 4th or 5th century displacing and absorbing the original Khoisan speakers. They slowly moved south, and the earliest ironworks in modern-day KwaZulu-Natal Province are believed to date from around 1050. The southernmost group was the Xhosa people, whose language incorporates certain linguistic traits from the earlier Khoisan inhabitants. They reached the Fish River in today's Eastern Cape Province. Monomotapa was a medieval kingdom (c. 1250–1629), which existed between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers of Southern Africa in the territory of modern-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Its old capital was located at Great Zimbabwe.

In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to reach the southernmost tip of Africa. In 1652, a victualling station was established at the Cape of Good Hope by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, the slowly expanding settlement was a Dutch possession. In 1795, the Dutch colony was captured by the British during the French Revolutionary Wars. The British intended to use Cape Town as a major port on the route to Australia and India. It was later returned to the Dutch in 1803, but soon afterward the Dutch East India Company declared bankruptcy, and the Dutch (now under French control) and the British found themselves at war again. The British captured the Dutch possession yet again at the Battle of Blaauwberg, commanded by Sir David Blair. The Zulu Kingdom was a Southern African tribal state in what is now KwaZulu-Natal in southeastern South Africa. The small kingdom gained world fame during and after their defeat in the Anglo-Zulu War. During the 1950s and early 1960s, most sub-Saharan African nations achieved independence from colonial rule.M. Martin, Phyllis and O'Meara, Patrick (1995). Africa. 3rd edition, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, p. 156, {{ISBN|0-253-32916-7}}.

{{Main|Demographics of Africa}}

{{Further|List of African countries by population}}

File:Africa population density.PNG in Africa, 2006]]

File:Fertility Rates and Life Expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa.png

According to {{UN_Population|source}}, the population of sub-Saharan Africa was 1.1 billion in 2019. The current growth rate is 2.3%. The UN predicts for the region a population between 2 and 2.5 billion by 2050{{cite web |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/DataQuery/ |title=World Population Prospects 2019 – Population Division |publisher=Esa.un.org |date=28 August 2019 |access-date=22 December 2019 |archive-date=15 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615001511/https://population.un.org/wpp/DataQuery/ |url-status=live }} with a population density of 80 per km² compared to 170 for Western Europe, 140 for Asia and 30 for the Americas.

Sub-Saharan African countries top the list of countries and territories by fertility rate with 40 of the highest 50, all with TFR greater than 4 in 2008. All are above the world average except South Africa and Seychelles.{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?order=wbapi_data_value_2014+wbapi_data_value+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=asc |title=Fertility rate, total (births per woman) {{!}} Data |website=data.worldbank.org |access-date=21 July 2016 |archive-date=8 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708214110/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?order=wbapi_data_value_2014+wbapi_data_value+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=asc |url-status=live }} More than 40% of the population in sub-Saharan countries is younger than 15 years old, as well as in Sudan, with the exception of South Africa.According to the [http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2008/index.html CIA Factbook] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120805191139/http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2008/index.html |date=5 August 2012 }}: Angola, Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia

GDP per Capita (PPP) (2016, 2017 (PPP, US$)), Life (Exp.) (Life Expectancy 2006), Literacy (Male/Female 2006), Trans (Transparency 2009), HDI (Human Development Index), EODBR (Ease of Doing Business Rank June 2008 through May 2009), SAB (Starting a Business June 2008 through May 2009), PFI (Press Freedom Index 2009)

{{Further|Languages of Africa|Writing systems of Africa#Indigenous writing systems|List of African ethnic groups|African diaspora|Black people}}

File:Languages of Africa map.svg

File:Kwarastatedrummers.jpg drummers (Niger-Congo)]]

File:San tribesman.jpg man (Khoisan)]]

File:Maasai women and children.jpg women and children (Nilo-Saharan)]]

File:Eritrean Women.jpeg women (Afroasiatic)]]

File:Boerfamily1886.jpg European African family (Indo-European)]]

Sub-Saharan Africa contains over 1,500 languages.

With the exception of the extinct Sumerian (a language isolate) of Mesopotamia, Afroasiatic has the oldest documented history of any language family in the world. Egyptian was recorded as early as 3200 BCE. The Semitic branch was recorded as early as 2900 BCE in the form of the Akkadian language of Mesopotamia (Assyria and Babylonia) and circa 2500 BCE in the form of the Eblaite language of northeastern Syria.Brown, Keith and Ogilvie, Sarah(2008). Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world Concise Encyclopedias of Language and Linguistics Series. Elsevier, p. 12, {{ISBN|978-0-08-087774-7}}.

The distribution of the Afroasiatic languages within Africa is principally concentrated in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. Languages belonging to the family's Berber branch are mainly spoken in the north, with its speech area extending into the Sahel (northern Mauritania, northern Mali, northern Niger).{{cite web |url=http://www.hcp.ma/Recensement-general-de-la-population-et-de-l-habitat-2004_a633.html |title=Recensement général de la population et de l'habitat 2004 |first=Youssef |last=Maaroufi |access-date=26 July 2017 |archive-date=6 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906063343/http://www.hcp.ma/Recensement-general-de-la-population-et-de-l-habitat-2004_a633.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last1=Lafkioui |first1=Mena B. |title=Berber Languages and Linguistics |url=https://hal.science/hal-01914346/file/Lafkioui%20Mena%20B_Berber_languages_and_linguistics_-_linguistics_-_oxford_bibliographies_2018.pdf |publisher=Oxford Bibliographies |access-date=25 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203010052/https://hal.science/hal-01914346/file/Lafkioui%20Mena%20B_Berber_languages_and_linguistics_-_linguistics_-_oxford_bibliographies_2018.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2023 |doi=10.1093/OBO/9780199772810-0219 |date=24 May 2018 }} The Cushitic branch of Afroasiatic is centered in the Horn, and is also spoken in the Nile Valley and parts of the African Great Lakes region. Additionally, the Semitic branch of the family, in the form of Arabic, is widely spoken in the parts of Africa that are within the Arab world. South Semitic languages are also spoken in parts of the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea). The Chadic branch is distributed in Central and West Africa.Peek, Philip M. and Yankah, Kwesi (2004). African folklore: an encyclopedia. London: (Routledge) Taylor & Francis, p. 205, {{ISBN|0-415-93933-X}}, 9780415939331 Hausa, its most widely spoken language, serves as a lingua franca in West Africa (Niger, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, and Chad).Schneider, Edgar Werner and Kortmann, Bernd(2004). A handbook of varieties of English: a multimedia reference tool, Volume 1. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 867–68, {{ISBN|978-3-11-017532-5}}.

The several families lumped under the term Khoi-San include languages indigenous to Southern Africa and Tanzania, though some, such as the Khoi languages, appear to have moved to their current locations not long before the Bantu expansion.Güldemann, Tom and Edward D. Elderkin (forthcoming) [http://email.eva.mpg.de/~gueldema/pdf/Gueldemann_Elderkin.pdf "On external genealogical relationships of the Khoe family".] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325021922/http://email.eva.mpg.de/~gueldema/pdf/Gueldemann_Elderkin.pdf |date=25 March 2009}} In Brenzinger, Matthias and Christa König (eds.), Khoisan languages and linguistics: the Riezlern symposium 2003. Quellen zur Khoisan-Forschung 17. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. In Southern Africa, their speakers are the Khoikhoi and San (Bushmen), in Southeast Africa, the Sandawe and Hadza.

The Niger–Congo family is the largest in the world in terms of the number of languages (1,436) it contains.Bellwood, Peter S.(2005). First farmers: the origins of agricultural societies. Wiley-Blackwell, p. 218, {{ISBN|978-0-631-20566-1}}. The vast majority of languages of this family are tonal, such as Yoruba and Igbo. However, others such as Fulani, Wolof and Kiswahili are not. A major branch of the Niger–Congo languages is Bantu, which covers a greater geographic area than the rest of the family. Bantu speakers represent the majority of inhabitants in southern, central and southeastern Africa, though San, Pygmy, and Nilotic groups, respectively, can also be found in those regions. Bantu-speakers can also be found in parts of Central Africa such as Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and southern Cameroon. Swahili, a Bantu language with many Arabic, Persian, and other Middle Eastern and South Asian loan words, developed as a lingua franca for trade between the different peoples in southeastern Africa. In the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "Hottentots") have long been present. The San evince unique physical traits, and are the indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of Central Africa.

The Nilo-Saharan languages are concentrated in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers of Central Africa and Southeast Africa. They are principally spoken by Nilotic peoples and are also spoken in Sudan among the Fur, Masalit, Nubian, and Zaghawa peoples and in West and Central Africa among the Songhai, Zarma, and Kanuri. The Old Nubian language is also a member of this family.

Major languages of Africa by region, family and number of primary language speakers in millions:

{{Clear}}

{{Main|Genetic history of Africa|Genetic history of the African diaspora}}

File:Lagos Island.jpg]]

File:Vue Kinshasa.jpg

{{Further|Urbanization in Africa}}

Sub-Saharan Africa has several large cities. Lagos is a city in the Nigerian state of Lagos. The city, with its adjoining conurbation, is the most populous in Nigeria, and the second-most populous in Africa after Cairo, Egypt. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tk5TP7bsXnkC&pg=PA202 |title=African Cities Driving the NEPAD Initiative |publisher=UN-HABITAT |year=2006 |isbn=9789211318159 |page=202 |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032031/https://books.google.com/books?id=tk5TP7bsXnkC&pg=PA202 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sMnj88kYVmcC&pg=PT60 |title=Key Concepts in Creative Industries |page=47 |author1=John Hartley |author2=Jason Potts |author3=Terry Flew |author4=Stuart Cunningham |author5=Michael Keane |author6=John Banks |publisher=SAGE |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-446-2028-90 |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032029/https://books.google.com/books?id=sMnj88kYVmcC&pg=PT60 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQJb1QpZz_4C&pg=PA118 |title=Cultures and Globalization: Cities, Cultural Policy and Governance |page=118 |author1=Helmut K Anheier |author2=Yudhishthir Raj Isar |publisher=SAGE |year=2012 |isbn=9781446258507 |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=14 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214094159/https://books.google.com/books?id=wQJb1QpZz_4C&pg=PA118 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oy-de29AtvYC&pg=PA163 |title=Hidden Innovation: Policy, Industry and the Creative Sector |series=Creative Economy and Innovation Culture |author=Stuart Cunningham |publisher=University of Queensland Press |page=163 |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-702-2509-89 |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=8 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108191709/https://books.google.com/books?id=oy-de29AtvYC&pg=PA163 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rQ_ZLuqZT54C&pg=PA71 |title=Cities and Nature |page=71 |publisher=Routledge Critical Introductions to Urbanism and the City |author1=Lisa Benton-Short |author-link2=John Rennie Short |author2=John Rennie Short |year=2013 |isbn=9781134252749 |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032013/https://books.google.com/books?id=rQ_ZLuqZT54C&pg=PA71 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9lcn62brtGQC&pg=PA18 |title=Afropolis: City Media Art |author1=Kerstin Pinther |author2=Larissa Förster |author3=Christian Hanussek |publisher=Jacana Media |year=2012 |page=18 |isbn=978-1-431-4032-57 |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032004/https://books.google.com/books?id=9lcn62brtGQC&pg=PA18 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8JPIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 |title=The Land/Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone of West and Central Africa Estuaries of the World |author1=Salif Diop |author2=Jean-Paul Barusseau |page=66 |author3=Cyr Descamps |publisher=Springer |year=2014 |isbn=978-3-319-0638-81 |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032031/https://books.google.com/books?id=8JPIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 |url-status=live }} and also one of the most populous urban agglomerations.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/opinion/what-makes-lagos-a-model-city.html?_r=0 |title=What Makes Lagos a Model City |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 January 2014 |access-date=16 March 2015 |archive-date=19 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519051414/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/opinion/what-makes-lagos-a-model-city.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/this-is-africas-new-biggest-city-lagos-nigeria-population-25-million/259611/ |title=This Is Africa's New Biggest City: Lagos, Nigeria, Population 21 Million |author=John Campbell |date=10 July 2012 |work=The Atlantic |location=Washington D.C. |access-date=23 September 2012 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032031/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/this-is-africas-new-biggest-city-lagos-nigeria-population-21-million/259611/ |url-status=live }} Lagos is a major financial centre in Africa; this megacity has the highest GDP,{{cite web |url=https://ng.boell.org/2015/07/02/lagos-and-its-potentials-economic-growth |title=Lagos and Its Potentials for Economic Growth |date=2 July 2015 |access-date=26 October 2015 |archive-date=9 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009143404/http://ng.boell.org/2015/07/02/lagos-and-its-potentials-economic-growth |url-status=live }} and also houses Apapa, one of the largest and busiest ports on the continent.{{cite web |url=http://businesstech.co.za/news/general/81995/africas-biggest-shipping-ports/ |title=Africa's biggest shipping ports |publisher=Businesstech |date=8 March 2015 |access-date=26 October 2015 |archive-date=5 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151105121001/http://businesstech.co.za/news/general/81995/africas-biggest-shipping-ports/ |url-status=live }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E-VwMKQlGjIC |title=Africa, Volume 1 of Cities of the world: a compilation of current information on cultural, geographical, and political conditions in the countries and cities of six continents, based on the Department of State's "post reports" |author1=Brian Rajewski |publisher=Gale Research International, Limited |year=1998 |isbn=9780810376922 }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lzt7BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA315 |page=315 |title=Global Gentrifications: Uneven Development and Displacement |author1=Loretta Lees |author2=Hyun Bang Shin |author3=Ernesto López Morales |publisher=Policy Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-447-3134-89 |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032031/https://books.google.com/books?id=Lzt7BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA315 |url-status=live }}

Dar es Salaam is the former capital of, as well as the most populous city in, Tanzania; it is a regionally important economic centre.{{cite web |title=Major urban areas - population |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2219.html |website=cia.gov |access-date=18 November 2014 |ref=dar es salaam population |archive-date=4 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504222851/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2219.html |url-status=dead }} It is located on the Swahili coast.

Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa. It is the provincial capital and largest city in Gauteng, which is the wealthiest province in South Africa.{{cite web |url=http://www.fasken.com/johannesburg/ |title=Johannesburg |access-date=25 May 2015 |archive-date=26 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426213642/http://www.fasken.com/johannesburg/ |url-status=live }} While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities, it is the seat of the Constitutional Court. The city is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills, and is the centre of a large-scale gold and diamond trade.

Nairobi is the capital and the largest city of Kenya. The name comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyrobi, which translates to "cool water", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city is popularly referred to as the Green City in the Sun.{{cite web |last=Pulse Africa |title=Not to be Missed: Nairobi 'Green City in the Sun' |publisher=pulseafrica.com |url=http://www.pulseafrica.com/Highlights_1110000000_1_Nairobi+Green+City+In+The+Sun.htm |access-date=14 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428205948/http://www.pulseafrica.com/Highlights_1110000000_1_Nairobi%2BGreen%2BCity%2BIn%2BThe%2BSun.htm |archive-date=28 April 2007 }}

Other major cities in sub-Saharan Africa include Abidjan, Cape Town, Kinshasa, Luanda, Mogadishu and Addis Ababa.

{{Largest cities|city_1=Lagos|city_2=Kinshasa|city_3=Johannesburg|city_4=Luanda|city_5=Dar es Salaam|city_6=Khartoum|city_7=Abidjan|city_8=Addis Ababa|city_9=Nairobi|city_10=Cape Town|city_12=Kano (city){{!}}Kano|city_13=Douala|city_14=Ibadan|city_15=Antananarivo|city_16=Abuja|city_17=Kampala|city_18=Kumasi|city_19=Dakar|city_20=Port Harcourt|city_11=Yaounde|pop_1=21,320,000|pop_11=4,336,670|pop_2=17,071,000|pop_12=4,219,209|pop_3=11,061,878|pop_13=3,926,645|pop_4=8,952,496|pop_14=3,756,445|pop_5=7,404,689|pop_15=3,669,900|pop_6=6,160,327|pop_16=3,652,029|pop_7=5,515,794|pop_17=3,651,919|pop_8=5,227,794|pop_18=3,630,326|pop_9=5,118,844|pop_19=3,326,001|pop_10=4,800,954|pop_20=3,324,694|country=Sub Saharan Africa|stat_ref=worldpopulationreview.com 2022 City Population estimates.}}

{{Update|section|date=April 2021|reason=The most recent data in this section seems to be from 2015}}

{{Main|Economy of Africa}}

In the mid-2010s, private capital flew to sub-Saharan Africa{{snd}} primarily from members of BRICS, private-sector investment portfolios, and remittances{{snd}} began to exceed official development assistance.{{cite web |last=Pugliese |first=Jessica |date=2 January 2014 |title=Rethinking Financing for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa |url=http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2014/01/02-financing-development-africa-sy |publisher=Brookings Institution |access-date=5 January 2014 |archive-date=6 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106032119/http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2014/01/02-financing-development-africa-sy |url-status=live }}

File:Johannesburg CBD.jpg]]

As of 2011, Africa is one of the fastest developing regions in the world. Six of the world's ten fastest-growing economies over the previous decade were situated below the Sahara, with the remaining four in East and Central Asia. According to the World Bank, the economic growth rate in the region had risen to 4.7% in 2013. This continued rise was attributed to increasing investment in infrastructure and resources as well as steady expenditure per household.{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/04/07/africas-growth-set-to-reach-52-percent-in-2014-with-strong-investment-growth-and-household-spending |title=Africa's impressive growth |publisher=World Bank |date=29 August 2014 |access-date=29 August 2014 |archive-date=1 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901030052/http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/04/07/africas-growth-set-to-reach-52-percent-in-2014-with-strong-investment-growth-and-household-spending |url-status=live }}

In 2019, 424 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were reportedly living in severe poverty. In 2022, 460 million people—an increase of 36 million in only three years—were anticipated to be living in extreme poverty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite book |last=Bank |first=European Investment |url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/finance-in-africa-navigating-the-financial-landscape-in-turbulent-times |title=Finance in Africa - Navigating the financial landscape in turbulent times |date=19 October 2022 |publisher=European Investment Bank |isbn=978-92-861-5382-2 |language=EN }}{{Cite web |title=Africa might have dodged a bullet, but systemic warnings abound for poverty reduction efforts on the continent |url=https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/africa-might-have-dodged-bullet-systemic-warnings-abound-poverty-reduction-efforts |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=blogs.worldbank.org |date=28 September 2022 |language=en }}{{Cite web |title=Extreme poverty rises in West Africa due to COVID-19 pandemic {{!}} World Food Programme |url=https://www.wfp.org/news/extreme-poverty-rises-west-africa-due-covid-19-pandemic |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=www.wfp.org |date=20 January 2022 |language=en }} Sub-Saharan Africa's government debt rose from 28% of gross domestic product in 2012 to 50% of gross domestic product in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic caused it to rise to 57% of gross domestic product in 2021.{{Cite web |title=COVID-19 and Africa: Socio-economic implications and policy responses |url=https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/covid-19-and-africa-socio-economic-implications-and-policy-responses-96e1b282/ |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=OECD |language=en }}{{Cite web |title=For Sub-Saharan Africa, Coronavirus Crisis Calls for Policies for Greater Resilience |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/publication/for-sub-saharan-africa-coronavirus-crisis-calls-for-policies-for-greater-resilience |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=World Bank |language=en }}{{Cite news |last=Mukhopadhyay |first=Abhijit |title=The Search for Sustainable Solutions to Debt Accumulation in Sub-Saharan Africa |url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-search-for-sustainable-solutions-to-debt-accumulation-in-sub-saharan-africa/ |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=ORF |language=en-US }}

Sub-Saharan Africa was severely harmed when government revenue declined from 22% of GDP in 2011 to 17% in 2021. 15 African nations were (or are) at significant risk of debt, and 7 were (2021) in financial crisis according to the IMF.{{Cite web |title=Africa's Rapid Economic Growth Hasn't Fully Closed Income Gaps |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2022/09/20/africas-rapid-economic-growth-hasnt-fully-closed-income-gaps |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=IMF |date=21 September 2022 |language=en }}{{Cite web |title=Sub-Saharan Africa: Living on The Edge |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2022/10/13/pr22349-sub-saharan-africa-living-on-the-edge |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=IMF |language=en }}{{Cite web |title=Growing Together The IMF and African Low-Income Countries |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2021/12/Africa-Low-Income-Countries |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=IMF |language=en }}

The region went on to receive IMF Special Drawing Rights of $23 billion in 2021 to assist critical public spending.{{Cite web |title=Sub-Saharan Africa: A New Shock and Little Room to Maneuver |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2022/04/28/pr22133-sub-saharan-africa-a-new-shock-and-little-room-to-maneuver |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=IMF |language=en }}

{{Main|Mineral industry of Africa}}

File:Sub-Saharan Africa electricity generation mix (2005-2015) (30010633237).png

{{As of|2009}}, 50% of Africa was rural with no access to electricity. In 2021, Africa generated 889 TWh of electricity, amounting to 3.13% of the global market share.{{Cite web |title=Electricity Production Data {{!}} World Electricity Statistics {{!}} Enerdata |url=https://yearbook.enerdata.net/electricity/world-electricity-production-statistics.html |access-date=19 February 2023 |website=yearbook.enerdata.net |language=en }} Many countries were (as of 2009) affected by power shortages.{{cite news |author1=Creamer Media Reporter |title=Africa's energy problems threatens growth, says Nepad CEO |url=http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/africas-energy-problems-threatens-growth-says-nepad-ceo-2009-11-12 |website=www.engineeringnews.co.za |publisher=Engineering News |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604035047/http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/africas-energy-problems-threatens-growth-says-nepad-ceo-2009-11-12 |archive-date=4 June 2013 |date=12 November 2009 }}

The percentage of residences with access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest in the world. In some remote regions, fewer than one in every 20 households has electricity.{{Cite web |title=Access to energy is Africa development key |url=https://www.eib.org/en/stories/africa-energy-access |access-date=7 June 2021 |website=European Investment Bank |language=en }}{{Cite web |title=Access to electricity – SDG7: Data and Projections – Analysis |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/sdg7-data-and-projections/access-to-electricity |access-date=7 June 2021 |website=IEA |language=en-GB }}{{Cite news |date=13 November 2019 |title=More than half of sub-Saharan Africans lack access to electricity |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/11/13/more-than-half-of-sub-saharan-africans-lack-access-to-electricity |access-date=7 June 2021 |issn=0013-0613 }}File:Greater Cape Town 12.02.2007 16-41-31.2007 16-41-33.JPG in Cape Town, South Africa ]]

Because of rising prices in commodities such as coal and oil, thermal sources of energy are proving to be too expensive for power generation. Sub-Saharan Africa has the potential to generate 1,750 TWh of energy, of which only 7% has been explored. The failure to exploit its full energy potential is largely due to significant underinvestment, as at least four times as much (approximately $23 billion a year) and what is currently spent is invested in operating high cost power systems and not on expanding the infrastructure.Christian K.M. Kingombe 2011. [http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5666&title=latin-america-medellin-colombia-microfinance-post-washington-consensus-microcredit-microenterprise-local-development Mapping the new infrastructure financing landscape] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918135821/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5666&title=latin-america-medellin-colombia-microfinance-post-washington-consensus-microcredit-microenterprise-local-development|date=18 September 2012}}. London: Overseas Development Institute

African governments are taking advantage of the readily available water resources to broaden their energy mix. Hydro Turbine Markets in sub-Saharan Africa generated revenues of $120.0 million in 2007 and was estimated to reach $425.0 million.{{when|date=February 2013}}

Asian countries, notably China, India, and Japan, are playing an active role in power projects across the African continent. The majority of these power projects are hydro-based because of China's vast experience in the construction of hydro-power projects and part of the Energy & Power Growth Partnership Services programme.{{cite web |url=http://us-cdn.creamermedia.co.za/assets/articles/attachments/19642_frost.pdf |title=Creamer Media |publisher=Us-cdn.creamermedia.co.za |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807155204/http://us-cdn.creamermedia.co.za/assets/articles/attachments/19642_frost.pdf |url-status=live }}

With electrification numbers, sub-Saharan Africa with access to the Sahara and being in the tropical zones has massive potential for solar photovoltaic electrical potential.{{Cite web |date=24 March 2006 |title=Nuclear Vs Solar Energy, Which? |url=https://www.redorbit.com/news/science/441990/nuclear_vs_solar_energy_which/ |access-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520151340/http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/441990/nuclear_vs_solar_energy_which |archive-date=20 May 2013 |url-status=live |website=Redorbit |language=en-US }} Six hundred million people could be served with electricity based on its photovoltaic potential.{{Cite web |last=Zych |first=Ariel |title=Blog: Battle of the Bots |url=https://www.sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/blog-battle-of-the-bots/ |access-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728170705/https://www.sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/blog-battle-of-the-bots/?%2Farchives%2F306-Could-Africa-Leapfrog-The-U_S_-In-Solar-Power_html |archive-date=28 July 2020 |url-status=live |website=Science Friday |language=en-US }}{{failed verification|date=May 2023}}

In 2003, China promised to train 10,000 technicians from Africa and other developing countries in the use of solar energy technologies over the next five years. Training African technicians to use solar power is part of the China-Africa science and technology cooperation agreement signed by Chinese science minister Xu Guanhua and African counterparts during premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Ethiopia in December 2003.{{cite web |author=Hepeng, Jia |url=http://www.scidev.net/en/news/china-to-train-developing-nations-in-solar-technol.html |title=China to train developing nations in solar technologies |website=scidev.net |date=20 August 2004 |access-date=14 November 2009 |archive-date=3 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103125239/http://www.scidev.net/en/news/china-to-train-developing-nations-in-solar-technol.html |url-status=live }}

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is developing an integrated, continent-wide energy strategy. This has been funded by, amongst others, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund. These projects must be sustainable, involve a cross-border dimension and/or have a regional impact, involve public and private capital, contribute to poverty alleviation and economic development, and involve at least one country in sub-Saharan Africa.

Renewable Energy Performance Platform was established by the European Investment Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme with a five-year goal of improving energy access for at least two million people in sub-Saharan Africa. It has so far invested around $45 million to renewable energy projects in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Solar power and hydropower are among the energy methods used in the projects.{{Cite web |title=About {{!}} Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) |url=https://repp.energy/about-repp/ |access-date=7 June 2021 |website=REPP |language=en }}

In 2007, Radio was the major source of information in sub-Saharan Africa.{{Cite web |last=English |first=Cynthia |date=23 June 2008 |title=Radio the Chief Medium for News in Sub-Saharan Africa |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/108235/Radio-Chief-Medium-News-SubSaharan-Africa.aspx |access-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091117032536/http://www.gallup.com/poll/108235/Radio-Chief-Medium-News-SubSaharan-Africa.aspx |archive-date=17 November 2009 |url-status=live |website=Gallup.com |language=en }} Average coverage stands at more than a third of the population. Countries such as Gabon, Seychelles, and South Africa boast almost 100% penetration. Only five countries—Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia—still have a penetration of less than 10%. Broadband penetration outside of South Africa has been limited where it is exorbitantly expensive.{{Cite web |date=23 October 2009 |title=Africa calling: Cellphone usage sees record rise |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2009-10-23-africa-calling-cellphone-usage-sees-record-rise/ |access-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025130318/http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-10-23-africa-calling-cellphone-usage-sees-record-rise |archive-date=25 October 2009 |url-status=live |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA }}Aker, Jenny C.(2008). [http://www.cgdev.org/files/894409_file_Aker_Cell_Phone_Niger.pdf "Can You Hear Me Now?"How Cell Phones are Transforming Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030321/http://www.cgdev.org/files/894409_file_Aker_Cell_Phone_Niger.pdf |date=4 March 2016}}, Center for Global Development. Access to the internet via cell phones is on the rise.{{cite web |url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-12-23-africa-sees-massive-growth-in-mobile-web-usage |title=MG.co.za |publisher=MG.co.za |date=23 December 2009 |access-date=27 December 2009 |archive-date=26 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226035646/http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-12-23-africa-sees-massive-growth-in-mobile-web-usage |url-status=live }}

Television is the second major source of information. Because of power shortages, the spread of television viewing has been limited. Eight per cent have television, a total of 62 million. Those in the television industry view the region as an untapped green market. Digital television and pay for service are on the rise.{{Cite news |last=Pfanner |first=Eric |date=6 August 2007 |title=Competition increases for pay TV in sub-Saharan Africa |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/technology/06iht-web-africa.6996947.html |access-date=12 February 2023 |issn=0362-4331 }}

File:Phenakite-262068.jpg from the Jos Plateau, Plateau State, Nigeria ]]

The region is a major exporter to the world of gold, uranium, chromium, vanadium, antimony, coltan, bauxite, iron ore, copper, and manganese. South Africa, along with Gabon and Ghana, collectively supplies over 60% of global manganese, and is also a major exporter of chromium.{{cite web |url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/manganese/mcs-2009-manga.pdf |title=Manganese |author=Lisa A. Corathers |publisher=Minerals.usgs.gov |access-date=19 October 2015 |date=January 2009 |quote=Land-based manganese resources are large but irregularly distributed; those of the United States are very low grade and have potentially high extraction costs. South Africa accounts for about 80% of the world's identified manganese resources, and Ukraine accounts for 10%. |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000853/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/manganese/mcs-2009-manga.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Wenjie |last2=Laws |first2=Athene |last3=Valckx |first3=Nico |title=Harnessing Sub-Saharan Africa's Critical Mineral Wealth |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/04/29/cf-harnessing-sub-saharan-africas-critical-mineral-wealth |access-date=13 May 2024 |website=IMF |language=en }} A 2001 estimate is that 42% of the world's reserves of chromium may be found in South Africa.{{cite web |url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/chromium/chromyb01.pdf |title=Chromium |author=John F. Papp |work=U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook |publisher=Minerals.usgs.gov |access-date=19 October 2015 |date=2001 |quote=About 42% of world reserves and about 75% of the world reserve base are located in South Africa. |archive-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910071339/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/chromium/chromyb01.pdf |url-status=live }} South Africa is the largest producer of platinum, with 80% of the total world's annual mine production and 88% of the world's platinum reserve.{{cite web |url=http://www.gold-eagle.com/analysis/platinum.html |title=Platinum: The Rich Man's Gold |author=Vronsky |publisher=Gold-Eagle.com |date=1 May 1997 |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312083344/http://www.gold-eagle.com/analysis/platinum.html |url-status=live }} Sub-Saharan Africa produces 33% of the world's bauxite, with Guinea as the major supplier.{{cite web |url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/bauxite/mcs-2009-bauxi.pdf |title=Bauxite and Alumina |author=E. Lee Bray |work=U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries |publisher=Minerals.usgs.gov |access-date=29 September 2015 |date=January 2009 |archive-date=24 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124162211/https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/bauxite/mcs-2009-bauxi.pdf |url-status=live }} Zambia is a major producer of copper.{{cite web |url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/copper/mcs-2009-coppe.pdf |title=Copper |author=Daniel L. Edelstein |work=U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries |publisher=Minerals.usgs.gov |access-date=19 October 2015 |date=January 2009 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195020/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/copper/mcs-2009-coppe.pdf |url-status=live }} The Democratic Republic of Congo is a major source of coltan. Production from DR Congo is very small, but the country has 80% of the proven reserves in Africa, which are 80% of those worldwide.{{cite web |url=http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=maheta_molango |title=From the SelectedWorks of Maheta Matteo: From "Blood Diamond" to "Blood Coltan": Should International Corporations Pay the Price for the Rape of the DR Congo? |publisher=Works.bepress.com |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=30 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930161435/http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=maheta_molango |url-status=dead }} Sub-Saharan Africa is a major producer of gold, producing up to 30% of global production. Major suppliers are South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Guinea, and Mali. South Africa had been first in the world in terms of gold production since 1905, but in 2007 it moved to second place, according to GFMS, the precious metals consultancy.{{cite web |url=http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/gold/af/p0005.htm |title=MBendi.com |publisher=MBendi.com |access-date=20 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510010411/http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/gold/af/p0005.htm |archive-date=10 May 2006 |url-status=dead }} Uranium is major commodity from the region. Significant suppliers are Niger, Namibia, and South Africa. Namibia was the number one supplier from sub-Saharan Africa in 2008.{{cite web |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf23.html |title=World-Nuclear.org |publisher=World-Nuclear.org |access-date=20 December 2009 |archive-date=26 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626071100/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf23.html |url-status=live }} The region produces 49% of the world's diamonds.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been the focus of an intense race for oil by the West, China, India, and other emerging economies, even though it holds only 10% of proven oil reserves, less than the Middle East. This race has been referred to as the second Scramble for Africa. All reasons for this global scramble come from the reserves' economic benefits. Transportation cost is low and no pipelines have to be laid as in Central Asia. Almost all reserves are offshore, so political turmoil within the host country will not directly interfere with operations. Sub-Saharan oil is viscous, with a very low sulfur content. This quickens the refining process and effectively reduces costs. New sources of oil are being located in sub-Saharan Africa more frequently than anywhere else. Of all new sources of oil, {{frac|1|3}} are in sub-Saharan Africa.Ghazvinian, John (2008). Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, pp. 1–16, {{ISBN|978-0-15-603372-5}}.

Sub-Saharan Africa is a key player in the global minerals market, producing over 70%of the world's cobalt and hosting about 50%of its reserves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The region also harbors significant lithium deposits in Zimbabwe, the DRC, and Mali.

File:Rwanda GV5 lo (4108942310).jpg's Eastern Province ]]

Sub-Saharan Africa has more variety of grains than anywhere in the world. Between 13,000 and 11,000 BCE wild grains began to be collected as a source of food in the cataract region of the Nile, south of Egypt. The collecting of wild grains as source of food spread to Syria, parts of Turkey, and Iran by the eleventh millennium BCE. By the tenth and ninth millennia southwest Asians domesticated their wild grains, wheat, and barley after the notion of collecting wild grains spread from the Nile.Christopher Ehret, (2002). The Civilization of Africa. University of Virginia Press: Charlottesville, p. 98, {{ISBN|0-8139-2085-X}}.

Numerous crops have been domesticated in the region and spread to other parts of the world. These crops included sorghum, castor beans, coffee, cotton,Vandaveer, Chelsie(2006). [http://www.killerplants.com/plants-that-changed-history/20020226.asp What was the cotton of Kush?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114155727/http://www.killerplants.com/plants-that-changed-history/20020226.asp |date=14 January 2010 }} KillerPlants.com, Plants That Change History Archive. okra, black-eyed peas, watermelon, gourd, and pearl millet. Other domesticated crops included teff, enset, African rice, yams, kola nuts, oil palm, and raffia palm.National Research Council (U.S.). Board on Science and Technology for International Development (1996). Lost Crops of Africa: Grains. National Academy Press, {{ISBN|978-0-309-04990-0}}.

Domesticated animals include the guinea fowl and the donkey.

File:2011-02-07 IMG 08.JPG outside of Keetmanshoop, Namibia ]]

Agriculture represents 20% to 30% of GDP and 50% of exports. In some cases, 60% to 90% of the labor force are employed in agriculture.{{cite web |url=http://worlddefensereview.com/pham110309.shtml |title=WorldDefenseReview.com |publisher=WorldDefenseReview.com |access-date=13 November 2009 |archive-date=7 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091107215711/http://worlddefensereview.com/pham110309.shtml |url-status=live }} Most agricultural activity is subsistence farming. This has made agricultural activity vulnerable to climate change and global warming. As of right now Sub-Saharan Africa has degraded land covering one million square kilometres.{{Cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344142265 |title=Large scale land investments, household displacement and the effect on land degradation in semiarid agro-pastoral areas of Ethiopia }} Biotechnology has been advocated to create high yield, pest and environmentally resistant crops in the hands of small farmers. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a strong advocate and donor to this cause. Biotechnology and GM crops have met resistance both by natives and environmental groups.

Cash crops include cotton, coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, and tobacco.Bowden, Rob (2007). Africa South of the Sahara. Coughlan Publishing: p. 37, {{ISBN|1-4034-9910-1}}.

The OECD says Africa has the potential to become an agricultural superbloc if it can unlock the wealth of the savannahs by allowing farmers to use their land as collateral for credit.{{cite web |last=Evans |first=Ambrose |url=http://tradeafrica.blogspot.com/2009/10/middle-east-and-africa-bear-untold.html |title=Blogspot.com |publisher=Tradeafrica.blogspot.com |date=12 October 2009 |access-date=15 November 2009 |archive-date=25 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525214300/http://tradeafrica.blogspot.com/2009/10/middle-east-and-africa-bear-untold.html |url-status=live }} There is such international interest in sub-Saharan agriculture, that the World Bank increased its financing of African agricultural programs to $1.3 billion in the 2011 fiscal year.{{cite web |title=Africa Regional Brief |work=World Bank |url=http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/polsc325-4.1-Africa-Regional-Brief.pdf |access-date=7 May 2012 |archive-date=25 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525233137/http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/polsc325-4.1-Africa-Regional-Brief.pdf |url-status=live }} Recently, there has been a trend to purchase large tracts of land in sub-Sahara for agricultural use by developing countries.{{Cite journal |last1=Saul |first1=John J. |last2=Leys |first2=Colin |date=1 July 1999 |title=Sub-Saharan Africa in Global Capitalism |url=https://monthlyreview.org/1999/07/01/sub-saharan-africa-in-global-capitalism/ |journal=Monthly Review |language=en-US |volume=51 |issue=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531194911/http://monthlyreview.org/2013/11/01/twenty-first-century-land-grabs |archive-date=31 May 2014 |access-date=12 February 2023 }}{{Cite journal |last=Magdoff |first=Fred |date=1 November 2013 |title=Twenty-First-Century Land Grabs: Accumulation by Agricultural Dispossession |url=https://monthlyreview.org/2013/11/01/twenty-first-century-land-grabs/ |journal=Monthly Review |language=en-US |volume=65 |issue=6 |doi=10.14452/MR-065-06-2013-10_1 |s2cid=144627886 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531194911/http://monthlyreview.org/2013/11/01/twenty-first-century-land-grabs |archive-date=31 May 2014 |access-date=12 February 2023 }}

Early in 2009, George Soros highlighted a new farmland buying frenzy caused by growing population, scarce water supplies and climate change. Chinese interests bought up large swathes of Senegal to supply it with sesame. Aggressive moves by China, South Korea, and Gulf states to buy vast tracts of agricultural land in sub-Saharan Africa could soon be limited by a new global international protocol.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/nov/02/global-protocol-subsahara-land-grab |work=The Guardian |location=London |title=Global protocol could limit Sub-Saharan land grab |first=Nick |last=Mathiason |date=2 November 2009 |access-date=9 April 2010 |archive-date=8 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908055736/http://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/nov/02/global-protocol-subsahara-land-grab |url-status=live }}

Compared to South America and Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced persistently low crop yield productivity for more than 50 years.{{cite journal |title=Recent patterns of crop yield growth and stagnation |journal=Nature Communications |date=2012 |volume=3 |page=1293|doi=10.1038/ncomms2296 |pmid=23250423 |last1=Ray |first1=Deepak K. |last2=Ramankutty |first2=Navin |last3=Mueller |first3=Nathaniel D. |last4=West |first4=Paul C. |last5=Foley |first5=Jonathan A. |bibcode=2012NatCo...3.1293R }} As mentioned above, one factor influencing low productivity might be low access to credit studies. Many studies have focused on factors such as access to credit,{{cite journal |title=Time versus state in insurance: Experimental evidence from contract farming in Kenya. |journal=American Economic Review |date=2018 |volume=108 |issue=12 |pages=3778–3813|doi=10.1257/aer.20171526 |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/159985/1/Time_versus_State_Casaburi.pdf |last1=Casaburi |first1=Lorenzo |last2=Willis |first2=Jack }} and time preferences{{cite journal |title=Nudging farmers to use fertilizer: Theory and experimental evidence from Kenya. |journal=American Economic Review |date=2011 |volume=101 |issue=6 |pages=2350–2390|doi=10.1257/aer.101.6.2350 |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w15131.pdf |last1=Duflo |first1=Esther |last2=Kremer |first2=Michael |last3=Robinson |first3=Jonathan }} as key explanations for low productivity of small farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, recent studies have explored an alternative mechanism: quality of agricultural inputs.{{cite journal |title=re Ugandan farmers using the right quality inorganic fertilizers? |journal=Policy Brief: AGRA and the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture. |date=2015 |url=https://elibrary.acbfpact.org/acbf/collect/acbf/index/assoc/HASH0151/7bc5e90f/6ea93be2/0406.dir/Uganda%20Farmers.pdf}} Indeed, usage of high-quality inputs, such as seeds and fertiliser, would substantially increase productivity of subsistance farmers.{{cite journal |title=Ten striking facts about agricultural input use in Sub- Saharan Africa. |journal=Food Policy |date=2017 |volume=67 |pages=12–25|doi=10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.09.010 |pmid=28413243 |pmc=5384438 |last1=Sheahan |first1=Megan |last2=Barrett |first2=Christopher B. }} However, there is a small take up rate of this product by farmers, despite acknowledging their benefits.

First, it is important to explain the structure of the agricultural input market in countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of seeds and fertilizers are traded informally, often of uncertain quality, either exchanged between farmers or reused from previous harvests, in the case of seeds.{{cite journal |title=Lemon technologies and adoption: Measurement, theory, and evidence from agricultural markets in Uganda. |journal=Quarterly Journal of Economics |date=2017 |volume=132|issue=3 |pages=1055–1100 |doi=10.1093/qje/qjx009 |last1=Bold |first1=Tessa |last2=Kaizzi |first2=Kayuki C. |last3=Svensson |first3=Jakob |last4=Yanagizawa-Drott |first4=David }} Only a small number of farmers purchase inputs from the formal market, which is generally considered to offer higher-quality products. We can illustrate this with the example of the Nigerian stem market. Indeed, only 1% of the stems sold in the Nigerian market are certified, while the remaining 99% are traded informally—either as recycled stems from local varieties or as uncertified stems derived from previously improved varieties.{{cite journal |title=Estimating seed demand in the presence of market frictions: Evidence from an auction experiment in Nigeria. |journal=Journal of Development Economics |date=2024 |volume=167 |page=103242|doi=10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103242 |pmid=38434593 |last1=Wossen |first1=T. |last2=Spielman |first2=D. J. |last3=Alene |first3=A. D. |last4=Abdoulaye |first4=T. |pmc=10831485 }}

Recent studies explain that farmers mistrust the quality of fertilisers and seeds sold in the formal market. The study realized in Uganda infers quality across fertilizer and hybrid seeds varies significantly due to adulteration: sellers tend to mix the fertilizer with poor soil. However, one study realized in Tanzania{{cite journal |title=Misperceived quality: Fertilizer in Tanzania. |journal=Journal of Development Economics |date=2021 |volume=148|doi=10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102579 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/23478044 |last1=Michelson |first1=Hope |last2=Fairbairn |first2=Anna |last3=Ellison |first3=Brenna |last4=Maertens |first4=Annemie |last5=Manyong |first5=Victor }} finds no adulteration in agricultural inputs, but do find that visual appearance of input sold in the formal market is degraded. Whether one study or the other is correct, both papers highlight uncertainty about fertilizer's quality, thus generating mistrust among farmers and consequently generates a low take-up rate.

Another factor highlighting uncertainty about quality is the presence of relatively homogenous pricing among different quality of the same inputs.{{cite journal |title=Misperceived quality: Fertilizer in Tanzania. |journal=Journal of Development Economics |date=2021 |volume=148|doi=10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102579 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/23478044 |last1=Michelson |first1=Hope |last2=Fairbairn |first2=Anna |last3=Ellison |first3=Brenna |last4=Maertens |first4=Annemie |last5=Manyong |first5=Victor }} While in most markets price is a good indicator of quality.{{cite journal |title=Price as an indicator of quality: Report on an enquiry |journal=Economica |series=New Series |date=1966 |volume=33 |issue=129 |jstor=2552272 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2552272 |last1=Gabor |first1=André |last2=Granger |first2=C. W. J. |pages=43–70 |doi=10.2307/2552272 }} the higher the quality, the higher the price- , in this case, uniform pricing prevents farmers from using price as a signal of input quality. Consequently, the inability of farmers to infer the quality, either through physical appearance or price, creates asymmetric information in the market, leading an inefficient market.

Some papers have tried to understand why sellers do not simply charge higher prices when they offer high-quality seeds and fertilizers, using a Bayesian learning model.{{cite journal |last1=Jovanovic |first1=B. |last2=Nyarko |first2=Y. |title=A Bayesian learning model fitted to a variety of empirical learning curves |journal=Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Microeconomics |date=1995 |pages=247–305 |doi=10.2307/2534775 |jstor=2534775|url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/1995/01/1995_bpeamicro_jovanovic.pdf }} It is challenging for a company to sell high-quality inputs at a premium price and build a reputation in the long term, meaning that farmers will trust the seller regarding the quality of its products. Indeed, as farmers are highly suspicious -due to fear of being scammed- their willingness to pay for high-quality products is very low. So even if the firm sells high-quality products, it will take too long for farmers to start trusting the firm, and for the seller to become profitable.{{cite journal |title=Estimating seed demand in the presence of market frictions: Evidence from an auction experiment in Nigeria. |journal=Journal of Development Economics |date=2024 |volume=167 |page=103242|doi=10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103242 |last1=Wossen |first1=Tesfamicheal |last2=Spielman |first2=David J. |last3=Alene |first3=Arega D. |last4=Abdoulaye |first4=Tahirou |pmid=38434593 |pmc=10831485 }}

The literature advises to actually improve farmers perception of true quality itself, and not to improve the quality of the products which already meet the standards. This can be done by providing more information about inputs quality, how they should look like, where they come from, making firms more reliable. That would allow more companies to enter the market and sell formally higher inputs, instead of farmers using their own seed or using seed of unknown quality bought in informal markets.

{{See also|Water supply and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa}}

File:Front de mer.jpg, Gabon]]

According to researchers at the Overseas Development Institute, the lack of infrastructure in many developing countries represents one of the most significant limitations to economic growth and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Infrastructure investments and maintenance can be very expensive, especially in such as areas as landlocked, rural and sparsely populated countries in Africa.

Infrastructure investments contributed to Africa's growth, and increased investment is necessary to maintain growth and tackle poverty. The returns to investment in infrastructure are very significant, with on average 30–40% returns for telecommunications (ICT) investments, over 40% for electricity generation and 80% for roads.

In Africa, it is argued that in order to meet the MDGs, infrastructure investments would need to reach about 15% of GDP (around $93 billion a year). Currently, the source of financing varies significantly across sectors. Some sectors are dominated by state spending, others by overseas development aid (ODA) and yet others by private investors. In sub-Saharan Africa, the state spends around $9.4 billion out of a total of $24.9 billion. In irrigation, SSA states represent almost all spending; in transport and energy a majority of investment is state spending; in ICT and water supply and sanitation, the private sector represents the majority of capital expenditure. Overall, aid, the private sector and non-OECD financiers between them exceed state spending. The private sector spending alone equals state capital expenditure, though the majority is focused on ICT infrastructure investments. External financing increased from $7 billion (2002) to $27 billion (2009). China, in particular, has emerged as an important investor.

{{Category see also|Transport in Africa}}File:Roads-Rwanda-1.jpgLess than 40% of rural Africans live within two kilometers of an all-season road, the lowest level of rural accessibility in the developing world. Spending on roads averages just below 2% of GDP with varying degree among countries. This compares with 1% of GDP that is typical in industrialised countries, and 2–3% of GDP found in fast-growing emerging economies. Although the level of expenditure is high relative to the size of Africa's economies, it remains small in absolute terms, with low-income countries spending an average of about US$7 per capita per year.Ken Gwilliam, Vivien Foster, Rodrigo Archondo-Callao, Cecilia Briceño-Garmendia, Alberto Nogales, and Kavita Sethi(2008). [http://www.eu-africa-infrastructure-tf.net/attachments/library/aicd-background-paper-14-roads-sect-summary-en.pdf Africa infrastructure country diagnostic, Roads in Sub-Saharan Africa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718071708/http://www.eu-africa-infrastructure-tf.net/attachments/library/aicd-background-paper-14-roads-sect-summary-en.pdf|date=18 July 2011}}. World Bank and the SSATP: p. 4

{{main|Education in Africa}}

{{Further|History of education#Africa}}

File:University of Botswana Earth Science.JPG's Earth Science building in Gaborone, Botswana ]]

Forty per cent of African scientists live in OECD countries, predominantly in Europe, the United States and Canada.{{cite news |last1=Gabara |first1=Nthambeleni |title=Developed nations should invest in African universities |url=http://www.buanews.gov.za/news/09/09111213051001 |website=buanews.gov.za |publisher=BuaNews Online |access-date=16 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223004951/http://www.buanews.gov.za/news/09/09111213051001 |archive-date=23 February 2012 |date=12 November 2009 }} This has been described as an African brain drain.{{cite web |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2016/01/18/how-severe-is-africas-brain-drain/ |title=How severe is Africa's Brain Drain? |last=Firsing |first=Scott |date=18 January 2016 |website=London School of Economics Blogs |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112025134/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2016/01/18/how-severe-is-africas-brain-drain/ |archive-date=12 November 2020 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://en.unesco.org/courier/january-march-2018/african-brain-drain-there-alternative |title=African brain drain: is there an alternative? |last=Ngwé |first=Luc |date=24 January 2018 |website=UNESCO |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511134037/https://en.unesco.org/courier/january-march-2018/african-brain-drain-there-alternative |archive-date=11 May 2020 |url-status=live }} According to Naledi Pandor, the South African Minister of Science and Technology, even with the drain enrollments in sub-Saharan African universities tripled between 1991 and 2005, expanding at an annual rate of 8.7%, which is one of the highest regional growth rates in the world.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} In the last 10 to 15 years interest in pursuing university-level degrees abroad has increased.

According to the CIA, low global literacy rates are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia and South Asia. However, literacy rates in sub-Saharan Africa vary significantly between countries. The highest registered literacy rate in the region is in Zimbabwe (90.7%; 2003 est.), while the lowest literacy rate is in South Sudan (27%).{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html#xx |title=World |work=CIA Factbook |access-date=29 August 2014 |archive-date=24 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124171442/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html#xx |url-status=dead }}

Research on human capital formation was able to determine, that the numeracy levels of sub-Saharan Africa and Africa, in general, were higher than numeracy levels in South Asia. In the 1940s more than 75% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa was numerate. The numeracy of the West African countries, Benin and Ghana, was even higher with more than 80% of the population being numerate. In contrast, numeracy in South Asia was only around 50%.{{Cite book |last=Baten |first=Jörg |title=A history of the global economy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-107-10470-9 |pages=328–329 }}

Higher diversity in Sub-Saharan African countries has been found to lead to a poorer economy. Researchers have argued that this is because of ethnic favouritism in their politics. Sub-Saharan leaders are more likely to provide better resources to their coethnic groups when in power. A study found that, on average, children of the favoured ethnic group are 2.25% more likely to attend primary school and 1.80% more likely to complete primary school. A 1% increase in GDP is associated with a 1.5% increase in the ethnic favouritism effect on primary school attendance.{{cite journal |last1=Franck |first1=Raphaël |last2=Rainer |first2=Ilia |title=Does the Leader's Ethnicity Matter? Ethnic Favoritism, Education, and Health in Sub-Saharan Africa |journal=American Political Science Review |date=May 2012 |volume=106 |issue=2 |pages=294–325 |doi=10.1017/S0003055412000172 |hdl=10419/96093 |s2cid=15227415 |url=https://econ.biu.ac.il/sites/econ/files/working-papers/2012-06.pdf }}

Sub-Saharan African countries spent an average of 0.3% of their GDP on science and technology in 2007. This represents an increase from US$1.8 billion in 2002 to US$2.8 billion in 2007, a 50% increase in spending.{{cite web |last=Nordling |first=Linda |url=http://www.scidev.net/en/opinions/africa-analysis-progress-on-science-spending-.html |title=Africa Analysis: Progress on science spending? |publisher=scidev.net |date=29 October 2009 |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-date=14 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614081257/http://www.scidev.net/en/opinions/africa-analysis-progress-on-science-spending-.html |url-status=live }}{{cite press release |url=http://www.dst.gov.za/media-room/press-releases/south-africa2019s-investment-in-research-and-development-on-the-rise |title=South Africa's Investment in Research and Development on the Rise |publisher=Department of Science and Technology |date=22 June 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727182253/http://www.dst.gov.za/media-room/press-releases/south-africa2019s-investment-in-research-and-development-on-the-rise |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}

File:University of Antananarivo Madagascar.JPG in Antananarivo, Madagascar ]]

At the World Conference held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990, delegates from 155 countries and representatives of some 150 organisations gathered with the goal to promote universal primary education and the radical reduction of illiteracy before the end of the decade. The World Education Forum, held ten years later in Dakar, Senegal, provided the opportunity to reiterate and reinforce these goals. This initiative contributed to having education made a priority of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, with the aim of achieving universal schooling (MDG2) and eliminating gender disparities, especially in primary and secondary education (MDG3).[http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002318/231867e.pdf Agence Française de Développement, Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, Orange, & UNESCO. (2015). Digital Services for Education in Africa. Savoirs communs, 17.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013151759/https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000231867_eng/ |date=13 October 2020 }} Since the World Education Forum in Dakar, considerable efforts have been made to respond to these demographic challenges in terms of education. The amount of funds raised has been decisive. Between 1999 and 2010, public spending on education as a percentage of gross national product (GNP) increased by 5% per year in sub-Saharan Africa, with major variations between countries, with percentages varying from 1.8% in Cameroon to over 6% in Burundi.{{cite book |title=Youth and skills: putting education to work |date=2012 |publisher=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |location=Paris |isbn=978-92-3-104240-9 |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000218003_eng |access-date=22 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722043322/https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000218003 |archive-date=22 July 2023 |language=en, ar, zh, fr, es }} As of 2015, governments in sub-Saharan Africa spend on average 18% of their total budget on education, against 15% in the rest of the world.

In the years immediately after the Dakar Forum, the efforts made by the African States towards achieving EFA produced multiple results in sub-Saharan Africa. The greatest advance was in access to primary education, which governments had made their absolute priority. The number of children in a primary school in sub-Saharan Africa thus rose from 82 million in 1999 to 136.4 million in 2011. In Niger, for example, the number of children entering school increased by more than three-and-a-half times between 1999 and 2011. In Ethiopia, over the same period, over 8.5 million more children were admitted to primary school. The net rate of first-year access in sub-Saharan Africa has thus risen by 19 points in 12 years, from 58% in 1999 to 77% in 2011. Despite the considerable efforts, the latest available data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimates that, for 2012, there were still 57.8 million children who were not in school. Of these, 29.6 million were in sub-Saharan Africa alone, a figure which has not changed for several years. Many sub-Saharan countries have notably included the first year of secondary school in basic education. In Rwanda, the first year of secondary school was attached to primary education in 2009, which significantly increased the number of pupils enrolled at this level of education. In 2012, the primary completion rate (PCR) – which measures the proportion of children reaching the final year of primary school – was 70%, meaning that more than three out of ten children entering primary school do not reach the final primary year.

Literacy rates have gone up in sub-Saharan Africa, and internet access has improved considerably. At least 39 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have some large-scale school feeding programs, which can improve access to education. In aggregate, 16% of school-age children (and 25% of primary school-age children) in the region benefit from school meal programs, and about 82% of the funding for these programs is provided by governments.{{Cite report |date=2022 |title=School Meal Programs Around the World: Results from the 2021 Global Survey of School Meal Programs |url=https://gcnf.org/global-reports/ |access-date=12 February 2023 |publisher=Global Child Nutrition Foundation |language=en-US }} Nonetheless, a lot must yet happen for this region to catch up. The statistics show that the literacy rate for sub-Saharan Africa was 65% in 2017. In other words, one-third of the people aged 15 and above were unable to read and write. The comparative figure for 1984 was an illiteracy rate of 49%. In 2017, only about 22% of Africans were internet users at all, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).{{cite news |title=More must happen |url=https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/literacy-rates-have-risen-sub-saharan-africa-reality-probably-worse-official-numbers-suggest |author=Alphonce Shiundu |work=D+C, development and cooperation |date=2 September 2018 |access-date=3 February 2019 |archive-date=1 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201014717/https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/literacy-rates-have-risen-sub-saharan-africa-reality-probably-worse-official-numbers-suggest |url-status=live }}

{{Further|History of science and technology in Africa|Internet in Africa|Mobile technology in Africa|Educational technology in sub-Saharan Africa}}

{{Further|HIV/AIDS in Africa|Demographics of Africa|Syphilis in sub-Saharan Africa}}

File:Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana.jpg, Ghana ]]

Health challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa include HIV/AIDS in Africa, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis, onchocerciasis, maternal mortality and infant mortality.{{Cite web |title=Fact sheet about malaria |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria |access-date=22 May 2024 |website=www.who.int |language=en }}{{Cite journal |title=Neglected Tropical Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa: Review of Their Prevalence, Distribution, and Disease Burden |first1=Peter J. |last1=Hotez |first2=Aruna |last2=Kamath |date=25 August 2009 |journal=PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |volume=3 |issue=8 |pages=e412 |doi=10.1371/journal.pntd.0000412 |doi-access=free |pmid=19707588 |pmc=2727001 }}{{Cite web |date=21 May 2024 |title=Tuberculosis (TB) |url=https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/tuberculosis-tb |access-date=22 May 2024 |website=WHO {{!}} Regional Office for Africa |language=en }}{{Cite web |title=Onchocerciasis (river blindness) |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/onchocerciasis |access-date=22 May 2024 |website=www.who.int |language=en }}{{Cite journal |title=Maternal Mortality in Africa: Regional Trends (2000–2017) |first1=Luc |last1=Onambele |first2=Wilfrido |last2=Ortega-Leon |first3=Sara |last3=Guillen-Aguinaga |first4=Maria João |last4=Forjaz |first5=Amanuel |last5=Yoseph |first6=Laura |last6=Guillen-Aguinaga |first7=Rosa |last7=Alas-Brun |first8=Alberto |last8=Arnedo-Pena |first9=Ines |last9=Aguinaga-Ontoso|first10=Francisco|last10=Guillen-Grima |date=12 October 2022 |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |volume=19 |issue=20 |pages=13146 |doi=10.3390/ijerph192013146 |doi-access=free |pmid=36293727 |pmc=9602585 }}

In 1987, the Bamako Initiative conference organized by the World Health Organization was held in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and helped reshape the health policy of sub-Saharan Africa.{{cite web |url=http://www.eldis.org/healthsystems/userfees/background.htm |title=User fees for health: a background |access-date=28 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128203803/http://www.eldis.org/healthsystems/userfees/background.htm |archive-date=28 November 2006 }} The new strategy dramatically increased accessibility through community-based healthcare reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services.{{Cite book |title=Africa (a-z). |last=Godfrey. |first=Mugoti |date=2009 |publisher=Lulu Com |isbn=978-1435728905 |location=[Place of publication not identified] |oclc=946180025}}{{self-published source|date=February 2020 }}{{self-published inline|date=February 2020}} A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.{{cite journal |vauthors=Knippenberg R, Alihonou E, Soucat A, etal |title=Implementation of the Bamako Initiative: strategies in Benin and Guinea |journal=The International Journal of Health Planning and Management |volume=12 |issue=Suppl 1 |pages=S29–47 |date=June 1997 |pmid=10173105 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1099-1751(199706)12:1+3.0.CO;2-U }}{{cite web |url=http://www.medicusmundi.ch/mms/services/bulletin/bulletin200201/kap01/07kuechler.html |title=Manageable Bamako Initiative schemes |access-date=28 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008211344/http://www.medicusmundi.ch/mms/services/bulletin/bulletin200201/kap01/07kuechler.html |archive-date=8 October 2007 }}

File:HIV_prevalence_2022.png.]]

In 2011, sub-Saharan Africa was home to 69% of all people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.{{cite web |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_FactSheet_Global_en.pdf |title=World Aids Day 2012 |publisher=Unaids.org |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327233932/http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_factsheet_global_en.pdf |url-status=live }} In response, a number of initiatives have been launched to educate the public on HIV/AIDS. Among these are combination prevention programmes, considered to be the most effective initiative, the abstinence, be faithful, use a condom campaign, and the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation's outreach programs.{{cite web |title=Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation: What we do |url=http://www.desmondtutuhivcentre.org.za/page/work |publisher=Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation |access-date=27 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116014630/https://www.desmondtutuhivcentre.org.za/page/work/ |archive-date=16 January 2013 }} According to a 2013 special report issued by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the number of HIV positive people in Africa receiving anti-retro viral treatment in 2012 was over seven times the number receiving treatment in 2005, with an almost 1 million added in the last year alone.{{cite web |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2013/may/20130521prupdateafrica |title=UNAIDS reports more than 7 million people now on HIV treatment across Africa—with nearly 1 million added in the last year—while new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS continue to fall |publisher=Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS |date=21 May 2013 |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=7 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207073259/http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2013/may/20130521prupdateafrica |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/document/2013/05/20130521_Update_Africa.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010214522/http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/document/2013/05/20130521_Update_Africa.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 October 2017 |title=Special Report: How Africa Turned AIDS Around |publisher=Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS |date=2013 |access-date=29 September 2015 }}{{rp|15}} The number of AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 was 33 per cent less than the number in 2005.{{cite web |title=UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2012 |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_UNAIDS_Global_Report_2012_with_annexes_en.pdf |access-date=13 May 2013 |archive-date=5 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005111142/http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012/20121120_UNAIDS_Global_Report_2012_with_annexes_en.pdf |url-status=live }} The number of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 was 25 per cent less than the number in 2001.

Life expectancy at birth in sub-Saharan Africa increased from 40 years in 1960 to 61 years in 2017.{{Cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=ZG |title=Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - Sub-Saharan Africa {{!}} Data |website=data.worldbank.org |language=en-us |access-date=30 October 2019 |archive-date=30 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030175623/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN%3Flocations%3DZG |url-status=live }}

Malaria is an endemic illness in sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of malaria cases and deaths worldwide occur.{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/ |title=WHO | Malaria |publisher=Who.int |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=3 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903002027/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/ |url-status=live }} Routine immunisation has been introduced in order to prevent measles.{{cite journal |vauthors=Verguet S, Jassat W, Hedberg C, Tollman S, Jamison DT, Hofman KJ |title=Measles control in Sub-Saharan Africa: South Africa as a case study |journal=Vaccine |volume=30 |issue=9 |pages=1594–600 |date=February 2012 |pmid=22230581 |doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.12.123 }} Onchocerciasis ("river blindness"), a common cause of blindness, is also endemic to parts of the region. More than 99% of people affected by the illness worldwide live in 31 countries therein.{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs374/en/ |title=WHO | Onchocerciasis |publisher=Who.int |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=16 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316195959/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs374/en/ |url-status=live }} In response, the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) was launched in 1995 with the aim of controlling the disease. Maternal mortality is another challenge, with more than half of maternal deaths in the world occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs348/en/ |title=WHO | Maternal mortality |publisher=Who.int |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=30 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930184330/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs348/en/ |url-status=live }} However, there has generally been progress here as well, as a number of countries in the region have halved their levels of maternal mortality since 1990. Additionally, the African Union in July 2003 ratified the Maputo Protocol, which pledges to prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM).{{Cite news |last=Bonino |first=Emma |date=15 September 2004 |title=Opinion | A brutal custom : Join forces to banish the mutilation of women |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/15/opinion/a-brutal-custom-join-forces-to-banish-the-mutilation-of-women.html |access-date=12 February 2023 |issn=0362-4331 }}{{cite web |last=Feldman-Jacobs |first=Charlotte |date=February 2009 |title=Commemorating International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation |publisher=Population Reference Bureau |url=http://www.prb.org/Articles/2009/fgmc.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213125942/http://www.prb.org/Articles/2009/fgmc.aspx |archive-date=13 February 2010 |url-status=dead }} Somalia, Guinea, Djibouti, Sierra Leone and Mali have the highest prevalence of FGM in the world.{{cite web |url=https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/press-releases/glo-media-FGMC_2016_brochure_final_UNICEF_SPREAD.pdf |title=Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Global Concern |website=UNICEF |access-date=30 July 2024 }} Infibulation, the most extreme form of FGM, is concentrated primarily in Northeast Africa.{{cite web |url=https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/WP39/WP39.pdf |title=Numbers of women circumcised in Africa: The Production of a Total |website=DHS Program |publisher=United States Agency for International Development |access-date=30 July 2024 }}

National health systems vary between countries. In Ghana, most health care is provided by the government and largely administered by the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Services. The healthcare system has five levels of providers: health posts which are first-level primary care for rural areas, health centers and clinics, district hospitals, regional hospitals, and tertiary hospitals. These programs are funded by the government of Ghana, financial credits, Internally Generated Fund (IGF), and Donors-pooled Health Fund.{{cite book |title=Public Health and Education Spending in Ghana in 1992-98 |date=April 2001 |publisher=World Bank Publication |first1=Sudharshan |last1=Canagarajah |first2=Xiao |last2=Ye |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2001/05/08/000094946_01042509523051/additional/109509322_20041117140518.pdf |page=21 |access-date=29 August 2014 |archive-date=6 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306151327/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2001/05/08/000094946_01042509523051/additional/109509322_20041117140518.pdf |url-status=live }}

Ebola virus disease, which was first identified in 1976, occasionally occurs in outbreaks in tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa.{{Cite web |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ebola-virus-disease |title=Ebola virus disease |website=www.who.int }} The 2013–2016 Western African Ebola virus epidemic originated in Guinea, later spreading to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone.{{Cite journal |title=Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa — The First 9 Months of the Epidemic and Forward Projections |date=16 October 2014 |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=371 |issue=16 |pages=1481–1495 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa1411100 |pmid=25244186 |pmc=4235004 |author1=WHO Ebola Response Team |last2=Aylward |first2=B. |last3=Barboza |first3=P. |last4=Bawo |first4=L. |last5=Bertherat |first5=E. |last6=Bilivogui |first6=P. |last7=Blake |first7=I. |last8=Brennan |first8=R. |last9=Briand |first9=S. |last10=Chakauya |first10=J. M. |last11=Chitala |first11=K. |last12=Conteh |first12=R. M. |last13=Cori |first13=A. |last14=Croisier |first14=A. |last15=Dangou |first15=J. M. |last16=Diallo |first16=B. |last17=Donnelly |first17=C. A. |last18=Dye |first18=C. |last19=Eckmanns |first19=T. |last20=Ferguson |first20=N. M. |last21=Formenty |first21=P. |last22=Fuhrer |first22=C. |last23=Fukuda |first23=K. |last24=Garske |first24=T. |last25=Gasasira |first25=A. |last26=Gbanyan |first26=S. |last27=Graaff |first27=P. |last28=Heleze |first28=E. |last29=Jambai |first29=A. |last30=Jombart |first30=T. |display-authors=1 }}

{{Further|Religion in Africa|Christianity in Africa|Islam in Africa|Hinduism in Africa|African traditional religion}}

{{Pie chart

| thumb = right

| caption = Religion in Sub Saharan Africa

| label1 = Christianity

| value1 = 62

| color1 = Dodgerblue

| label2 = Islam

| value2 = 31

| color2 = green

| label3 = Traditional faiths

| value3 = 3

| color3 = maroon

| label4 = Others

| value4 = 4

| color4 = DarkOrange

}}

File:Africa_By_Muslim_Pop.png by country]]

The principal religions of Sub-Saharan Africa are Christianity, Islam and traditional African religions, with Christianity being the largest religion, and religious syncretism being also common. African countries below the Sahara are largely Christian, while those above the Sahara, in North Africa, are predominantly Islamic. There are also Muslim majorities in parts of the Horn of Africa (Djibouti and Somalia) and in the Sahel and Sudan regions (the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Chad), as well as significant Muslim communities in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and on the Swahili Coast (Tanzania, Mozambique and Kenya).Encyclopædia Britannica. Britannica Book of the Year 2003. Encyclopædia Britannica, (2003) {{ISBN|978-0-85229-956-2}} p. 306
However, Southern Africa is predominantly Christian. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, as of mid-2002, there were 376,453,000 Christians, 329,869,000 Muslims and 98,734,000 people who practiced traditional religions in Africa. [http://www.greenwoodsvillage.com/gor/islam.htm Ian S. Markham,(A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1996.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112064308/http://www.greenwoodsvillage.com/gor/islam.htm |date=12 November 2010 }} is cited by Morehouse University as giving the mid-1990s figure of 278,250,800 Muslims in Africa, but still as 40.8% of the total. These numbers are estimates and remain a matter of conjecture. See Amadu Jacky Kaba. The spread of Christianity and Islam in Africa: a survey and analysis of the numbers and percentages of Christians, Muslims and those who practice indigenous religions. The Western Journal of Black Studies, Vol 29, Number 2, June 2005. Discusses the estimations of various almanacs and encyclopedium, placing Britannica's estimate as the most agreed figure. Notes the figure presented at the [http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/Statistics.htm World Christian Encyclopedia, summarised here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305222924/http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/Statistics.htm |date=5 March 2016 }}, as being an outlier. On rates of growth, Islam and Pentecostal Christianity are highest, see: [https://foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835 The List: The World's Fastest-Growing Religions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125105653/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835 |date=25 January 2010 }}, Foreign Policy, May 2007.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=27 January 2011 |title=Region: Sub-Saharan Africa |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-sub-saharan-africa/ |website=Pew Research Center }} West Africa is the only subregion of sub-Saharan Africa which has a Muslim majority population, and Nigeria has the largest Muslim population in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mauritius is the only country in Africa to have a Hindu majority. In 2012, sub-Saharan Africa constituted in absolute terms the world's third largest Christian population, after Europe and Latin America respectively.{{cite web |url=https://www.pewforum.org/files/2014/01/global-religion-full.pdf |title=The Global Religious Landscape |publisher=Pewforum.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125173538/https://www.pewforum.org/files/2014/01/global-religion-full.pdf |access-date=7 May 2020 |archive-date=25 January 2017 }} In 2012, sub-Saharan Africa also constituted in absolute terms the world's third largest Muslim population, after Asia and the Middle East and North Africa respectively.{{cite report |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2011/01/FutureGlobalMuslimPopulation-WebPDF-Feb10.pdf |title=The Future of the Global Muslim Population |publisher=Pew Research Center |date=27 January 2011 }}

Traditional African religions are also commonly practiced across sub-Saharan Africa, with these religions being especially common in South Sudan,{{Cite web |url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/south-sudan#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2020®ion_name=All+Countries&restrictions_year=2016 |title=Religions in South Sudan | PEW-GRF |date=2 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202113435/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/south-sudan#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2020®ion_name=All+Countries&restrictions_year=2016 |archive-date=2 December 2018 }} Guinea Bissau,{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guinea-bissau/#people-and-society |title=Guinea-Bissau |date=12 June 2024 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |via=CIA.gov }} Mozambique,{{Cite web |url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=156c#IRFDEMOG |title=National Profiles | World Religion |website=www.thearda.com }} and Cameroon.{{Cite web |url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=40c |title=National Profiles | World Religion |website=www.thearda.com }} Traditional African religions can be broken down into linguistic cultural groups, with common themes. Among Niger–Congo-speakers is a belief in a creator god or higher deity, along with ancestor spirits, territorial spirits, evil caused by human ill will and neglecting ancestor spirits, and priests of territorial spirits.{{cite book |last=Ehret |first=Christopher |title=The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0K0p8wCNKTQC&q=Christopher+Ehret+Niger+Congo+religion |year=2002 |publisher=James Currey Publishers |isbn=978-0-85255-475-3 |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126131412/https://books.google.com/books?id=0K0p8wCNKTQC&q=Christopher+Ehret+Niger+Congo+religion |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last=Ehret |first=Christopher |date=November 2004 |title=A Conversation with Christopher Ehret |url=https://worldhistoryconnected.press.uillinois.edu/2.1/ehret.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424121335/http://worldhistoryconnected.press.uillinois.edu/2.1/ehret.html |archive-date=24 April 2018 |url-status=live |journal=World History Connected |volume=2 |issue=1 }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Okwu AS |title=Life, Death, Reincarnation, and Traditional Healing in Africa |journal=Issue: A Journal of Opinion |volume=9 |issue=3 |date=1979 |doi=10.2307/1166258 |pages=19–24 |jstor=1166258 }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GtCL2OYsH6wC&q=traditional+african+religions+polytheism&pg=RA1-PA185 |title=Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia |last=Stanton |first=Andrea L. |date=2012 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=9781412981767 |language=en |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=5 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205132320/https://books.google.com/books?id=GtCL2OYsH6wC&q=traditional+african+religions+polytheism&pg=RA1-PA185 |url-status=live }} New world religions such as Santería, Vodun, and Candomblé, would be derived from this world. Among Nilo-Saharan speakers is the belief in Divinity; evil is caused by divine judgement and retribution; prophets as middlemen between Divinity and man. Among Afro-Asiatic-speakers is henotheism, the belief in one's own gods but accepting the existence of other gods; evil here is caused by malevolent spirits. The Semitic Abrahamic religion of Judaism is comparable to the latter world view.{{Cite book |last=Baldick |first=Julian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JBzGsr1bw6cC&q=christianity+judaism+islam+afroasiatics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503012144/https://books.google.com/books?id=JBzGsr1bw6cC&printsec=frontcover&dq=christianity+judaism+islam+afroasiatics&source=bl&ots=w_AOA-fbkt&sig=Vee5ya1z2umJZ1iEi7TaqTDF1_E&hl=en&ei=-TzWS-3eCpKesgOG-fWlAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=3 May 2016 |url-status=live |title=Black God: The Afroasiatic Roots of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Religions |date=1998 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-0522-5 |language=en }}{{Cite journal |url=https://worldhistoryconnected.press.uillinois.edu/2.1/ehret.html |title=A Conversation with Christopher Ehret |first=Christopher |last=Ehret |date=5 November 2004 |journal=World History Connected |volume=2 |issue=1 |access-date=2 November 2019 |archive-date=21 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821144957/http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/2.1/ehret.html |url-status=dead }} San religion is non-theistic but a belief in a Spirit or Power of existence which can be tapped in a trance-dance; trance-healers.Christopher Ehret, (2002). The Civilizations of Africa. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, pp. 102–03, {{ISBN|0-8139-2085-X}}.

Generally, traditional African religions are united by an ancient complex animism and ancestor worship.{{citation |last=Vontress |first=Clemmont E. |title=Animism: Foundation of Traditional Healing in Sub-Saharan Africa |date=2005 |url=https://sk.sagepub.com/books/integrating-traditional-healing-practices-into-counseling-and-psychotherapy/n11.xml |work=Integrating Traditional Healing Practices into Counseling and Psychotherapy |pages=124–137 |publisher=SAGE Publications |access-date=2 November 2019 |doi=10.4135/9781452231648 |isbn=9780761930471 |archive-date=31 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031180939/http://sk.sagepub.com/books/integrating-traditional-healing-practices-into-counseling-and-psychotherapy/n11.xml |url-status=live }}

Traditional religions in sub-Saharan Africa often display complex ontology, cosmology and metaphysics. Mythologies, for example, demonstrated the difficulty fathers of creation had in bringing about order from chaos. Order is what is right and natural and any deviation is chaos. Cosmology and ontology is also neither simple or linear. It defines duality, the material and immaterial, male and female, heaven and earth. Common principles of being and becoming are widespread: Among the Dogon, the principle of Amma (being) and Nummo (becoming), and among the Bambara, Pemba (being) and Faro (becoming).Davidson, Basil (1969). The African Genius, An Introduction to African Social and Cultural History. Little, Brown and Company: Boston, pp. 168–80. {{LCCN|7080751}}.

File:Ifedivination.JPG divination and its four digit binary code]]

;West Africa

• Akan mythology
• Ashanti mythology (Ghana)
• Dahomey (Fon) mythology
• Efik mythology (Nigeria, Cameroon)
• Igbo mythology (Nigeria)
• Serer religion and Serer creation myth (Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania)
• Yoruba mythology (Nigeria, Benin)

;Central Africa

• Dinka mythology (South Sudan)
• Lotuko mythology (South Sudan)
• Bushongo mythology (Congo)
• Bambuti (Pygmy) mythology (Congo)
• Lugbara mythology (Congo)

;Southeast Africa

• Akamba mythology (eastern Kenya)
• Masai mythology (Kenya, Tanzania)

;Southern Africa

• Khoisan religion
• Lozi mythology (Zambia)
• Tumbuka mythology (Malawi)
• Zulu mythology (South Africa)

Sub-Saharan traditional divination systems display great sophistication. For example, the bamana sand divination uses well established symbolic codes that can be reproduced using four bits or marks. A binary system of one or two marks are combined. Random outcomes are generated using a fractal recursive process. It is analogous to a digital circuit but can be reproduced on any surface with one or two marks. This system is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa.Eglash, Ron: "African Fractals: Modern computing and indigenous design." Rutgers 1999 {{ISBN|0-8135-2613-2 }}{{page needed|date=August 2014}}

{{Further|Culture of Africa|West Africa#Culture|Central Africa#Culture|East Africa#Culture|Horn of Africa#Culture|Southern Africa#Culture|Southeast Africa#Culture}}

Sub-Saharan Africa is diverse, with many communities, villages, and cities, each with their own beliefs and traditions. Traditional African Societies are communal, they believe that the needs of the many far outweigh an individual's needs and achievements. Essentially, an individual's keep must be shared with other extended family members. Extended families are made up of various individuals and families who have shared responsibilities within the community. This extended family is one of the core aspects of every African community. "An African will refer to an older person as auntie or uncle. Siblings of parents will be called father or mother rather than uncle and aunt. Cousins will be called brother or sister". This system can be very difficult for outsiders to understand; however, it is no less important. "Also reflecting their communal ethic, Africans are reluctant to stand out in a crowd or to appear different from their neighbours or colleagues, a result of social pressure to avoid offense to group standards and traditions." Women also have a very important role in African culture because they take care of the house and children. Traditionally, in many cultures "men do the heavy work of clearing and ploughing the land, women sow the seeds, tend the fields, harvest the crops, haul the water, and bear the major burden for growing the family's food". Despite their work in the fields, women are expected to be subservient to men in some African cultures. "When young women migrate to cities, this imbalance between the sexes, as well as financial need, often causes young women of lower economic status, who lack education and job training, to have sexual relationships with older men who are established in their work or profession and can afford to support a girlfriend or two".{{cite book |last1=Richmond |first1=Yale |last2=Gestrin |first2=Phyllis |title=Into Africa: a guide to Sub-Saharan culture and diversity |date=2009 |publisher=Intercultural Press |location=Boston |isbn=978-1-931930-91-8 }}

{{Further|African art|Pottery#Africa|Ceramic art#Sub-Saharan Africa}}

File:Chiwara Chicago sculpture.jpg Chiwara {{circa}} late 19th / early 20th centuries. Female (left) and male Vertical styles.]]

The oldest abstract art in the world is a shell necklace, dated to 82,000 years, in the Cave of Pigeons in Taforalt, eastern Morocco.{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070618091210.htm |title=ScienceDaily.com |publisher=ScienceDaily.com |date=18 June 2007 |access-date=28 February 2018 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090204/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070618091210.htm |url-status=live }} The second-oldest abstract form of art, and the oldest rock art, is found in the Blombos Cave at the Cape in South Africa, dated 77,000 years.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1753326.stm |work=BBC News |title='Oldest' prehistoric art unearthed |date=10 January 2002 |access-date=9 April 2010 |archive-date=30 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130102308/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1753326.stm |url-status=live }} Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the oldest and most varied style of rock art in the world.{{cite web |url=http://www.africanrockart.org/rockafrica/main.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130191809/http://www.africanrockart.org/rockafrica/main.html |url-status=dead |title=>TARA – Trust for African Rock Art: Rock Art in Africa |date=6 January 2009 |archive-date=30 January 2010 |access-date=21 November 2009 }}

Although sub-Saharan African art is very diverse, there are some common themes. One is the use of the human figure. Second, there is a preference for sculpture. Sub-Saharan African art is meant to be experienced in three dimensions, not two. A house is meant to be experienced from all angles. Third, art is meant to be performed. Sub-Saharan Africans have a specific name for masks. The name incorporates the sculpture, the dance, and the spirit that incorporates the mask. The name denotes all three elements. Fourth, art that serves a practical function. The artist and craftsman are not separate. A sculpture shaped like a hand can be used as a stool. Fifth, the use of fractals or non-linear scaling. The shape of the whole is the shape of the parts at different scales. Before the discovery of fractal geometry, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Senegal's first president, referred to this as "dynamic symmetry". William Fagg, a British art historian, has compared it to the logarithmic mapping of natural growth by biologist D'Arcy Thompson. Lastly, sub-Saharan African art is visually abstract, instead of naturalistic. Sub-Saharan African art represents spiritual notions, social norms, ideas, values, etc. An artist might exaggerate the head of a sculpture in relation to the body not because he does not know anatomy but because he wants to illustrate that the head is the seat of knowledge and wisdom.

The visual abstraction of African art was very influential in the works of modernist artists like Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Jacques Lipchitz.{{cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aima/hd_aima.htm |title=African Influences in Modern Art | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art |publisher=Metmuseum.org |date=2 June 2014 |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618025538/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aima/hd_aima.htm |url-status=live }}Alexandre, Marc(1998). World Bank Publication: DC. {{ISBN|978-0-8213-4195-7 }}

{{Further|History of architecture#Africa|Megalith#African megaliths|Tumulus#Africa}}

{{Further|Music of Africa|African dance|African popular music|Sub-Saharan African music traditions|Rhythm in Sub-Saharan Africa|History of music#Africa|Dance#Africa}}

File:TrebleKalimba.jpg]]

Traditional sub-Saharan African music is as diverse as the region's various populations. The common perception of sub-Saharan African music is that it is rhythmic music centered around the drums. This is partially true. A large part of sub-Saharan music, mainly among speakers of Niger–Congo and Nilo-Saharan languages, is rhythmic and centered around the drum. Sub-Saharan music is polyrhythmic, usually consisting of multiple rhythms in one composition. Dance involves moving multiple body parts. These aspects of sub-Saharan music has been transferred to the new world by enslaved sub-Saharan Africans and can be seen in its influence on music forms as samba, jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, salsa, reggae and rap music.Bowden, Rob(2007). Africa South of the Sahara. Coughlan Publishing: p. 40, {{ISBN|1-4034-9910-1}}.

Some forms of sub-Saharan African music use strings, horns, and very little poly-rhythms. Music from the eastern Sahel and along the Nile, among the Nilo-Saharan, made extensive use of strings and horns in ancient times. Among the Afro-Asiatics of Northeast Africa, there is extensive use of string instruments and the pentatonic scale. Dancing involves swaying body movements and footwork. Among the San is extensive use of string instruments with emphasis on footwork.Christopher Ehret, (2002). The Civilizations of Africa. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, p. 103, {{ISBN|0-8139-2085-X}}.

Modern sub-Saharan African music has been influenced by music from the New World (Jazz, Salsa, Rhythm and Blues etc.) vice versa being influenced by enslaved sub-Saharan Africans. Popular styles are Mbalax in Senegal and Gambia, Highlife in Ghana, Zoblazo in Ivory Coast, Makossa in Cameroon, Soukous in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kizomba in Angola, and Mbaqanga in South Africa. New World styles like Salsa, R&B/Rap, Reggae, and Zouk also have widespread popularity.

{{Further|African cuisine|List of African cuisines|History of breakfast#Africa|History of the potato#Africa}}

File:Fufu.jpg accompanied with peanut soup]]

Sub-Saharan African cuisine is very diverse. A lot of regional overlapping occurs, but there are dominant elements region by region.{{cite book |last1=Njogu |first1=K. |last2=Ngeta |first2=K. |last3=Wanjau |first3=M. |title=Ethnic Diversity in Eastern Africa: Opportunities and Challenges |publisher=Twaweza Communications |year=2010 |isbn=978-9966-7244-8-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=15V7_OFkh6QC&pg=PA78 |access-date=30 November 2017 |pages=78–79 |archive-date=21 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221115317/https://books.google.com/books?id=15V7_OFkh6QC&pg=PA78 |url-status=live }}

West African cuisine can be described as starchy, flavorfully spicey. Dishes include fufu, kenkey, couscous, garri, foutou, and banku. Ingredients are of native starchy tubers, yams, cocoyams, and cassava. Grains include millet, sorghum, and rice, usually in the Sahel. Oils include palm oil and shea butter (Sahel). One finds recipes that mix fish and meat. Beverages are palm wine (sweet or sour) and millet beer. Roasting, baking, boiling, frying, mashing, and spicing are all cooking techniques.

File:Ugali and cabbage.jpg and cabbage]]

Southeast African cuisine, especially those of the Swahili people, reflects its Islamic, geographical Indian Ocean cultural links. Dishes include ugali, sukuma wiki, and halva. Spices such as curry, saffron, cloves, cinnamon, pomegranate juice, cardamon, ghee, and sage are used, especially among Muslims. Meat includes cattle, sheep, and goats, but is rarely eaten since meat is viewed as a luxury.

In the Horn of Africa, pork and non-fish seafood are avoided by Christians and Muslims. Dairy products and all meats are avoided during lent by Ethiopians. Maize (corn) is a major staple. Cornmeal is used to make ugali, a popular dish with different names. Teff is used to make injera or canjeero (Somali) bread. Other important foods include enset, noog, lentils, rice, banana, leafy greens, chili peppers, coconut milk, and tomatoes. Beverages are coffee (domesticated in Ethiopia), chai tea, fermented beer from banana or millet. Cooking techniques include roasting and marinating.

File:Alicha 1.jpg and several kinds of wat (stew), is typical of Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine.]]

Central African cuisine connects with all major regions of sub-Saharan Africa: Its cuisine reflects that. Ugali and fufu are eaten in the region. Central African cuisine is very starchy and spicy hot. Dominant crops include plantains, cassava, peanuts, chillis, and okra. Meats include beef, chicken, and sometimes exotic meats called bushmeat (antelope, warthog, crocodile). Widespread spicy hot fish cuisine is one of the differentiating aspects. Mushroom is sometimes used as a meat substitute.

Traditional Southern African cuisine surrounds meat. Traditional society typically focused on raising sheep, goats, and especially cattle. Dishes include braai (barbecue meat), sadza, bogobe, pap (fermented cornmeal), milk products (buttermilk, yoghurt). Crops utilised are sorghum, maize (corn), pumpkin beans, leafy greens, and cabbage. Beverages include ting (fermented sorghum or maize), milk, chibuku (milky beer). Influences from the Indian and Malay communities can be seen in its use of curries, sambals, pickled fish, fish stews, chutney, and samosa. European influences can be seen in cuisines like biltong (dried beef strips), potjies (stews of maize, onions, tomatoes), French wines, and crueler or koeksister (sugar syrup cookie).

{{Further|Clothing in Africa|Folk costume#Africa}}

File:Kent wove.jpg Kente cloth patterns|alt=]]

Like most of the world, sub-Saharan Africans have adopted Western-style clothing. In some countries like Zambia, used Western clothing has flooded markets, causing great angst in the retail community. Sub-Saharan Africa boasts its own traditional [http://www.hamillgallery.com/SITE/Textiles.html clothing style]. Cotton seems to be the dominant material.

In East Africa, one finds extensive use of cotton clothing. Shemma, shama, and kuta are types of Ethiopian clothing. Kanga are Swahili cloth that comes in rectangular shapes, made of pure cotton, and put together to make clothing. Kitenges are similar to kangas and kikoy, but are of a thicker cloth, and have an edging only on a long side. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Sudan are some of the African countries where kitenge is worn. In Malawi, Namibia and Zambia, kitenge is known as Chitenge. One of the unique materials, which is not a fiber and is used to make clothing is barkcloth,{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?cp=UG&topic=mp |title=Intangible Heritage Home –- intangible heritage – Culture Sector |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-date=12 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091112105439/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?cp=UG&topic=mp |url-status=live }} an innovation of the Baganda people of Uganda. It came from the Mutuba tree (Ficus natalensis).{{Cite web |title=Proclamation 2005: La fabrication des tissus d'écorce en Ouganda |trans-title=Proclamation 2005: Barcloth making in Uganda |language=fr |publisher=UNESCO |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?cp=UG&topic=mp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091112105439/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?cp=UG&topic=mp |archive-date=12 November 2009 |url-status=dead }} In Madagascar a type of draped cloth called lamba is worn.

File:Kangas drying in Zanzibar.jpg]]

In West Africa, again cotton is the material of choice. In the Sahel and other parts of West Africa the boubou and kaftan style of clothing are featured. Kente cloth is created by the Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast, from silk of the various moth species in West Africa. Kente comes from the Akan twi word kenten which means basket. It is sometimes used to make dashiki and kufi. Adire is a type of Yoruba cloth that is starch resistant. Raffia cloth{{Cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/11/sfc/ho_1999.522.15.htm |title=Prestige Panel [Democratic Republic of Congo; Kuba peoples] (1999.522.15) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | the Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217053531/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/11/sfc/ho_1999.522.15.htm |archive-date=17 February 2009 |url-status=dead }} and barkcloth are also utilised in the region.

In Central Africa, the Kuba people developed raffia cloth from the raffia plant fibers. It was widely used in the region. Barkcloth was also extensively used.

In Southern Africa one finds numerous uses of animal hide and skins for clothing. The Ndau in central Mozambique and the Shona mix hide with barkcloth and cotton cloth. Cotton cloth is referred to as machira. Xhosa, Tswana, Sotho, and Swazi also made extensive use of hides. Hides come from cattle, sheep, goat, and elephant. Leopard skins were coveted and were a symbol of kingship in Zulu society. Skins were tanned to form leather, dyed, and embedded with beads.

{{Further|History of theatre#African theatre}}

{{Further|Cinema of Africa|List of African films}}

{{Further|History of games#Africa}}

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan men are its main patrons. Major competitions include the African Champions League, a competition for the best clubs on the continent and the Confederation Cup, a competition primarily for the national cup winner of each African country. The Africa Cup of Nations is a competition of 16 national teams from various African countries held every two years. South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a first for a sub-Saharan country. In 2010, Cameroon played in the World Cup for the sixth time, which is the current record for a sub-Saharan team. In 1996 Nigeria won the Olympic gold for football. In 2000 Cameroon maintained the continent's supremacy by winning the title too. Momentous achievements for sub-Saharan African football. Famous sub-Saharan football stars include Abedi Pele, Emmanuel Adebayor, George Weah, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Roger Milla, Nwankwo Kanu, Jay-Jay Okocha, Bruce Grobbelaar, Samuel Eto'o, Kolo Touré, Yaya Touré, Sadio Mané and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The most talented sub-Saharan African football players find themselves courted and sought after by European leagues. There are currently more than 1000 Africans playing for European clubs. Sub-Saharan Africans have found themselves the target of racism by European fans. FIFA has been trying hard to crack down on racist outburst during games.{{cite web |url=http://goafrica.about.com/od/workinafrica/a/football.htm |title=About.com |work=About.com Travel |publisher=Goafrica.about.com |access-date=26 December 2009 |archive-date=20 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520165528/http://goafrica.about.com/od/workinafrica/a/football.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200911161557.html |title=AllAfrica.com |publisher=AllAfrica.com |date=16 November 2009 |access-date=26 December 2009 |archive-date=18 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091118154311/http://allafrica.com/stories/200911161557.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1798795,00.html |title=European Soccer's Racism Problem |date=2 December 2005 |journal=Deutsche Welle |access-date=26 December 2009 |archive-date=10 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410041000/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1798795,00.html |url-status=live }}

File:Namibia Rugby Team.jpg]]

Rugby is popular in sub-Saharan Africa. The Confederation of African Rugby governs rugby games in the region. South Africa is a major force in the game and won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, 2007 and 2019. Africa is also allotted one guaranteed qualifying place in the Rugby World Cup.

Boxing is a popular sport. Battling Siki is the first world champion to come out of sub-Saharan Africa. Countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa have produced numerous professional world champions such as Dick Tiger, Hogan Bassey, Gerrie Coetzee, Samuel Peter, Azumah Nelson and Jake Matlala.

Cricket has a following. The African Cricket Association is an international body which oversees cricket in African countries. South Africa and Zimbabwe have their own governing bodies. In 2003 the Cricket World Cup was held in South Africa, first time it was held in sub-Saharan Africa.

Over the years, Ethiopia and Kenya have produced many notable long-distance athletes. Each country has federations that identify and cultivate top talent. Athletes from Ethiopia and Kenya hold, save for two exceptions, all the men's outdoor records for Olympic distance events from 800m to the marathon.{{cite web |title=Men's outdoor world records |url=http://www.iaaf.org/records/by-category/world-records#results-tab-sub=0&results-tab-sub-men=0 |access-date=26 October 2013 |publisher=iaaf.org |archive-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808043103/http://www.iaaf.org/records/by-category/world-records#results-tab-sub=0&results-tab-sub-men=0 |url-status=live}}
As can be seen: 800m is Kenya; 5000m is Ethiopia; 10000m is Ethiopia; marathon is Kenya. The two exceptions are the 1500m and 3000m steeplechase records, though the latter is held by Stephen Cherono, who was born and raised in Kenya. Famous runners include Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Paul Tergat, and John Cheruiyot Korir.Tucker, Ross and Dugas, Jonathan. [http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/07/kenya-vs-ethiopia.html Sport's great rivalries: Kenya vs. Ethiopia, and a one-sided battle (at least on the track)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420161131/http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/07/kenya-vs-ethiopia.html |date=20 April 2010 }}, The Science of Sport, 14 July 2008.

{{Clear}}

The development of tourism in this region has been identified as having the ability to create jobs and improve the economy. South Africa, Namibia, Mauritius, Botswana, Ghana, Cape Verde, Tanzania and Kenya have been identified as having well developed tourism industries.{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Africa/Report/africa-tourism-report-2013-overview.pdf |title=Tourism in Africa : Harnessing Tourism for Growth and Improved Livelihoods |publisher=Worldbank.org |access-date=29 September 2015 }} Cape Town and the surrounding area is very popular with tourists.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/ms/southafrica/political/constitution/provincialgovt.shtml?flashplugin=false&flashdetect=true&area=09 |title=South Africa: Political Issues: Constitution: Provincial Government |publisher=BBC |date=29 October 2014 |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=18 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118115401/http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/ms/southafrica/political/constitution/provincialgovt.shtml?flashplugin=false&flashdetect=true&area=09 |url-status=live }}

Sub-Saharan Africa is composed of 49 countries. Only six African countries are not geopolitically a part of sub-Saharan Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Western Sahara (claimed by Morocco); they form the UN subregion of Northern Africa, which also makes up the largest bloc of the Arab World. Nevertheless, some international organisations include Sudan as part of North Africa. Although a long-standing member of the Arab League, Sudan has around 30% non-Arab populations in the west (Darfur, Masalit, Zaghawa), far north (Nubian) and south (Kordofan, Nuba),{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/nov/23/nubian-monkey-arab-racism |work=The Guardian |location=London |title='Nubian monkey' song and Arab racism |first=Nesrine |last=Malik |date=23 November 2009 |access-date=9 April 2010 |archive-date=8 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908061021/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/nov/23/nubian-monkey-arab-racism |url-status=live }}[http://pages.towson.edu/thompson/Courses/Regional/Reference/SSA.Physical.pdf Towson.edu] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003104/http://pages.towson.edu/thompson/Courses/Regional/Reference/SSA.Physical.pdf |date=3 December 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/EXTPUBREP/EXTSTATINAFR/0,,contentMDK:21106218~menuPK:824080~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:824043,00.html |title=Worldbank.org |publisher=Web.worldbank.org |date=27 October 2006 |access-date=15 November 2009 |archive-date=30 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330041501/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/EXTPUBREP/EXTSTATINAFR/0,,contentMDK:21106218~menuPK:824080~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:824043,00.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.cdcdevelopmentsolutions.org/africa |title=CDCdevelopmentSolutions.org |publisher=CDCdevelopmentSolutions.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620035055/http://cdcdevelopmentsolutions.org/africa |archive-date=20 June 2010 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/sudan/ |title=Where We Work |publisher=USAID |date=29 May 2012 |access-date=29 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017021206/http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/sudan/ |archive-date=17 October 2011 }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.transparency.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413084510/http://www.transparency.org/regional_pages/africa_middle_east/sub_saharan_africa |url-status=dead |title=Transparency International - The Global Anti-Corruption Coalition |archive-date=13 April 2012 |website=www.transparency.org }} and a largely Arabised native Nubian population that represents the majority at 70% hence its inclusion in North Africa, but geographically and culturally Sudan is part of Sub Saharan Africa. Mauritania and Niger only include a band of the Sahel along their southern borders. All other African countries have at least significant portions of their territory within sub-Saharan Africa.

[[File:LocationCentralMiddleAfrica.png|right|thumb|upright=0.9|

{{legend|#00a000|Central Africa}}

{{legend|#00d000|Middle Africa (UN subregion)}}

{{legend|#00ff00|Central African Federation (defunct)}}]]

• {{flagg|unc|South Sudan}}{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/12/24/US-Marines-poised-to-enter-South-Sudan/UPI-73481387863000/ |title=U.N. doubles force in turbulent South Sudan [UPDATE 2 |publisher=UPI.com |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=30 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930201711/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/12/24/US-Marines-poised-to-enter-South-Sudan/UPI-73481387863000/ |url-status=live }} cap. Juba cur. South Sudanese pound (£) lang. English

; ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States)

• {{flagg|unc|Angola}} (also in SADC) cap. Luanda cur. Angolan kwanza (Kz) lang. Portuguese
• {{flagg|unc|Burundi}} (also in EAC) cap. Gitega (former Bujumbura) cur. Burundian franc (FBu) lang. Kirundi, French, English
• {{flagg|unc|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} (also in SADC) cap. Kinshasa cur. Congolese franc (FC) lang. French
• {{flagg|unc|Rwanda}} (also in EAC) cap. Kigali cur. Rwandan franc (RF) lang. Kinyarwanda, French, English
• {{flagg|unc|São Tomé and Príncipe}} cap. São Tomé cur. São Tomé and Príncipe dobra (Db) lang. Portuguese

;CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa)

• {{flagg|unc|Cameroon}} cap. Yaoundé cur. Central African CFA franc (FCFA) lang. English, French
• {{flag|Central African Republic}} cap. Bangui cur. Central African CFA franc (FCFA) lang. Sango, French
• {{flag|Chad}} cap. N'Djamena cur. Central African CFA franc (FCFA) lang. French, Arabic
• {{flag|Republic of the Congo}} cap. Brazzaville cur. Central African CFA franc (FCFA) lang. French
• {{flag|Equatorial Guinea}} cap. Malabo cur. Central African CFA franc (FCFA) lang. Spanish, French
• {{flag|Gabon}} cap. Libreville cur. Central African CFA franc (FCFA) lang. French

[[File:LocationEasternAfrica.png|right|thumb|upright=0.9|

{{legend|#00a000|Eastern Africa (UN subregion)}}

{{legend|#177245|East African Community}}

{{legend|#ACE1AF|Central African Federation (defunct)}}

{{legend|#00f000|Geographic East Africa, including the UN subregion and East African Community}}]]

• {{flag|Sudan}} cap. Khartoum cur. Sudanese pound (£S.) lang. Arabic (Sudanese Arabic) and English
• {{flagg|unc|South Sudan}} cap. Juba cur. South Sudanese pound (£) lang. English and Arabic (Juba Arabic)
• {{flag|Somalia}} cap. Mogadishu cur. Somali shilling (So.Sh /-) lang. Somali, Arabic (official)
• {{flag|Kenya}} cap. Nairobi cur. Kenyan shilling (KSh /=) lang. Swahili, English
• {{flag|Uganda}} cap. Kampala cur. Ugandan shilling (USh /=) lang. Swahili, English
• {{flag|Rwanda}} (also in ECCAS) cap. Kigali cur. Rwandan franc (RF) lang. Kinyarwanda, French, English
• {{flag|Tanzania}} (also in SADC) cap. Dodoma cur. Tanzanian shilling (TSh /=) lang. Swahili, English
• {{flag|Burundi}} (also in ECCAS) cap. Gitega (former Bujumbura) cur. Burundian franc (FBu) lang. Kirundi, French
• {{flag|Eritrea}} cap. Asmara cur. Eritrean nakfa (Nfk) 'lang.' Tigrinya, Arabic, Italian, English (unofficial, lingua franca)
• {{flag|Djibouti}} cap. Djibouti cur. Djiboutian franc (Fdj) lang. Arabic, French (official)

• Horn of Africa
• {{flag|Djibouti}} cap. Djibouti cur. Djiboutian franc (Fdj) lang. Arabic, French (official)
• {{flag|Eritrea}} cap. Asmara cur. Eritrean nakfa (Nfk) 'lang.' Tigrinya, Arabic, Italian, English (unofficial, lingua franca)
• {{flag|Ethiopia}} cap. Addis Ababa cur. Ethiopian birr (Br) lang. Afar, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, and Tigrinya
• {{flag|Somalia}} cap. Mogadishu cur. Somali shilling (So.Sh) lang. Somali, Arabic (official)
• Sudan & South Sudan
• {{flag|Sudan}} cap. Khartoum cur. Sudanese pound (£Sd.) lang. Arabic (Sudanese Arabic) and English
• {{flagg|unc|South Sudan}} cap. Juba cur. South Sudanese pound (£) lang. English and Arabic (Juba Arabic)

;EAC

• {{flag|Burundi}} (also in ECCAS) cap. Gitega (former Bujumbura) cur. Burundian franc (FBu) lang. Kirundi, French
• {{flag|Kenya}} cap. Nairobi cur. Kenyan shilling (KSh /=) lang. Swahili, English
• {{flag|Rwanda}} (also in ECCAS) cap. Kigali cur. Rwandan franc (RF) lang. Kinyarwanda, French, English
• {{flag|Tanzania}} (also in SADC) cap. Dodoma cur. Tanzanian shilling (TSh. /=) lang. Swahili, English
• {{flag|Uganda}} cap. Kampala cur. Ugandan shilling (USh /=) lang. Swahili, English

[[File:LocationSouthernAfrica.png|right|thumb|upright=0.9|

{{legend|#00a000|Southern Africa (UN subregion)}}

{{legend|#00d000|geographic, including above}}

{{legend|#00ff00|Southern African Development Community (SADC)}}]]

;SADC (Southern African Development Community)

• {{flag|Angola}} (also in ECCAS) cap. Luanda cur. Angolan kwanza (Kz) lang. Portuguese
• {{flag|Botswana}} cap. Gaborone cur. Botswana pula (P) lang. Tswana, English
• {{flag|Comoros}} cap. Moroni cur. Comorian franc (FC) lang. Comorian, Arabic, French
• {{flag|Eswatini}} cap. Mbabane cur. Swazi lilangeni (L)(E) lang. SiSwati, English
• {{flag|Lesotho}} cap. Maseru cur. Lesotho loti (L)(M) lang. Sesotho, English
• {{flag|Madagascar}} cap. Antananarivo cur. Malagasy ariary (Ar.) lang. Malagasy, French
• {{flag|Malawi}} cap. Lilongwe cur. Malawian kwacha (MK) lang. English
• {{flag|Mauritius}} cap. Port Louis cur. Mauritian rupee (Re/Rs /-) lang. English
• {{flag|Mozambique}} cap. Maputo cur. Mozambican metical (MTn) lang. Portuguese
• {{flag|Namibia}} cap. Windhoek cur. Namibian dollar (N$) lang. English
• {{flag|Seychelles}} cap. Victoria cur. Seychellois rupee (Re/Rs /-) lang. Seychellois Creole, English, French
• {{flag|South Africa}} cap. Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Pretoria cur. South African rand (R) lang. 11 official languages
• {{flag|Zambia}} cap. Lusaka cur. Zambian kwacha (ZK) lang. English
• {{flag|Zimbabwe}} cap. Harare cur. Zimbabwean dollar ($) lang. English

Depending on classification Sudan is often not considered part of sub-Saharan Africa, as it is considered part of North Africa.

• {{flag|Sudan}} cap. Khartoum cur. Sudanese pound (SDG) lang. Arabic and English

[[File:LocationWesternAfrica.png|right|thumb|upright=0.9|

{{legend|#00a000|Western Africa (UN subregion)}}

{{legend|#00ff00|Maghreb}}]]

;ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States)

• {{flag|Ivory Coast}} cap. Yamoussoukro, Abidjan cur. West African CFA franc (CFA)
• {{flag|The Gambia}} cap. Banjul cur. Gambian dalasi (D)
• {{flag|Ghana}} cap. Accra cur. Ghanaian cedi (GH₵)
• {{flag|Guinea}} cap. Conakry cur. Guinean franc (FG)
• {{flag|Liberia}} cap. Monrovia cur. Liberian dollar (L$)
• {{flag|Mauritania}} cap. Nouakchott cur. Mauritanian ouguiya (UM) (sometimes, like Sudan, considered part of North Africa)
• {{flag|Nigeria}} cap. Abuja cur. Nigerian naira (₦)
• {{flag|Sierra Leone}} cap. Freetown cur. Sierra Leonean leone (Le)

;UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union)

• {{flag|Benin}} cap. Porto-Novo cur. West African CFA franc (CFA)
• {{flag|Burkina Faso}} cap. Ouagadougou cur. West African CFA franc (CFA)
• {{flag|Ivory Coast}} cap. Yamoussoukro, Abidjan cur. West African CFA franc (CFA)
• {{flag|Guinea-Bissau}} cap. Bissau cur. West African CFA franc (CFA)
• {{flag|Mali}} cap. Bamako cur. West African CFA franc (CFA)
• {{flag|Niger}} cap. Niamey cur. West African CFA franc (CFA)
• {{flag|Senegal}} cap. Dakar cur. West African CFA franc (CFA)
• {{flag|Togo}} cap. Lomé cur. West African CFA franc (CFA)

{{portal|Africa|Geography}}

• African diaspora
• Black people
• Geography of Africa
• History of Africa

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|refs=

• {{cite web |title=League of Arab States |url=http://www.lasportal.org/ar/aboutlas/Pages/CountryData.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728054544/http://www.lasportal.org/ar/aboutlas/Pages/CountryData.aspx |archive-date=28 July 2017 |url-status=live}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/worldwide/arab-states/ |title=Arab States |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=20 November 2016 |archive-date=19 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119105146/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/worldwide/arab-states/ |url-status=live}}
• {{cite web |author=Infosamak |url=http://www.infosamak.org/english/countries.cfm |title=Centre for Marketing, Information and Advisory Services for Fishery Products in the Arab Region |publisher=Infosamak |access-date=30 August 2009 |archive-date=8 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308230246/http://infosamak.org/english/countries.cfm |url-status=live}}
• {{cite book |last=Barakat |first=Halim |date=14 October 1993 |title=The Arab World: Society, Culture, and State |publisher=University of California Press |page=80 |url=https://archive.org/details/arabworldsociety00bara/mode/2up |isbn=978-0-520-0790-76}}
• {{cite book |last=Markakis |first=John |date=23 January 1998 |title=Resource Conflict in the Horn of Africa |publisher=SAGE Publishing |page=39 |isbn=978-0-803-9884-77}}
• {{cite book |last=Erlikh |first=Ḥagai |date=1983 |title=The Struggle Over Eritrea, 1962-1978: War and Revolution in the Horn of Africa |publisher=Hoover Institution Press |page=59 |isbn=978-0-817-9760-26}}
• {{cite encyclopedia |last=Fegley |first=Randall |encyclopedia=World Bibliographical Series |title=Eritrea |date=1995 |publisher=Clio Press |volume=181 |page=mxxxviii |isbn=978-1-851-0924-51}}
• {{cite book |last=Frishkopf |first=Michael A. |title=Music and Media in the Arab World |date=2010 |publisher=American University in Cairo Press |page=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KANOAYzkhA8C |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728170650/https://books.google.com/books?id=KANOAYzkhA8C |archive-date=28 July 2020 |isbn=978-9-774-1629-30}}

}}

• Taking Action to Reduce Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, World Bank Publications (1997), {{ISBN|0-8213-3698-3}}.

{{Free-content attribution |title=Digital Services for Education in Africa |author=Agence Française de Développement, Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, Orange & UNESCO |publisher=Agence Française de Développement & UNESCO |page numbers= |source= |documentURL=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002318/231867e.pdf |license statement URL=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/ |license=CC-BY-SA}}

• Chido, Diane E. "[https://permanent.fdlp.gov/gpo35755/pub1146%5b1%5d.pdf From Chaos to Cohesion: A Regional Approach to Security, Stability, and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa]". Carlisle, Pa.: Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press, 2013.

{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120715234704/http://www.africanpeople.info/ African People website] (archived)
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index.shtml The Story of Africa] – BBC World Service

{{Regions of Africa}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Articles related to Sub-Saharan Africa

|list =

{{Africa topic|History of}}

{{Africa topic|Geography of}}

{{Africa topic|Languages of|countries_only=yes}}

}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Geography of Africa

Category:Regions of Africa