List of regions of Africa

Africa is a very big continent with many different cultures, languages, and landscapes. It is often divided into five main areas or regions to help people understand its size and diversity better. Four of these regions are found in sub-Saharan Africa, which means the areas south of the Sahara Desert. These divisions help us learn about the many places and people who call Africa their home.

List of subregions in Africa

Africa is divided into five main areas, as recognized by the United Nations. These include Northern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Within Sub-Saharan Africa, there are four more parts: Eastern Africa, Middle Africa, Southern Africa, and Western Africa.

Directional approach

One way to think about Africa is by compass directions:

• North Africa is north of the Sahara and follows the Mediterranean coast.
• West Africa is west of 10° east longitude, and includes parts of the Sahara Desert.
• East Africa runs from the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa down to Mozambique, and also includes Madagascar.
• Central Africa is the middle part of Africa.
• Southern Africa is the area south of -10° latitude, including parts near the Congo rainforests.

This method is used by groups like the United Nations geoscheme for Africa and the regions of the African Union.

Physiographic approach

Africa can be divided into several regions based on its natural features and plants. Some of these regions include the Maghreb, which covers the coastlands and Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The Sahara Desert is a large, dry area in North Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa lies south of the Sahara and includes many different lands. The Sahel is a grassy belt just south of the Sahara, stretching from Senegal to Sudan. Other notable regions are the Horn of Africa, a peninsula in East Africa including countries like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti, and the Congo Basin, a rainforest area. The East African Rift includes parts of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, with mountains, valleys, and lakes.

Linguistic approach

Main article: Languages of Africa

By official language

• Anglophone Africa has five countries in West Africa (The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, and Nigeria), plus part of Cameroon. These countries are separated by Francophone countries, South Sudan, and a large area in Southern Africa and the African Great Lakes.
• Arabophone Africa has four big Arabic-speaking countries (Egypt, the Sudan, Morocco, Algeria) and also Tunisia, Mauritania and Chad. Most Arabic-speaking people live in these countries. French is still used in the Maghreb countries, but Arabization is growing.
• Francophone Africa is found in West Africa and Central Africa, plus Madagascar and Djibouti.
• Lusophone Africa has five countries: Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, and Mozambique.
• Equatorial Guinea is the only African country where Spanish language is official, but French is also official there.
• Swahili is commonly used in East Africa, especially in Tanzania for official and school purposes.
• Ethiopia and Somalia use Amharic and Somali as their official languages. Arabic is also used in Somalia. Eritrea and parts of Ethiopia use Tigrinya language, and Arabic language is used in Eritrea.

By indigenous language family

• Niger–Congo languages and Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken in most of Sub-Saharan Africa. Nilo-Saharan languages cover a smaller area but have many different forms, and might be related to Niger–Congo languages.
• Afro-Asiatic languages are spoken in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahel.
• Khoisan languages are spoken in Southern Africa's deserts, but were once spoken over a larger area. They may include two small languages (Hadza and Sandawe) in the African Great Lakes.
• Austronesian languages from Southeast Asia are spoken in Madagascar.

Investment approach

Africa can be divided into regions based on where people like to invest money. Each area has its own features and challenges for businesses.

This way of grouping was made by RisCura, a company that studies money and finance around the world. It splits Africa into several main areas:

• The Maghreb region, also called western Northern Africa, includes Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara. These countries work together.

• Egypt and the Sudan have strong ties and use the Nile River for trade. Egypt is often grouped with the Middle East.

• Francophone West Africa includes countries that speak French and share similar rules and governments from when they were French colonies. These are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, the Niger, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, and Togo.

• Nigeria is important because it is large, has many people, and a strong economy.

• East Africa combines the East African Community and the LAPSSET corridor, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Djibouti.

• Central Africa includes Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Congo, the DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon.

• Southern Africa excluding South Africa includes countries like Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

• South Africa has a big economy and the highest incomes in Africa. It includes Eswatini and Lesotho because they are very close.

• Other West Africa includes The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.