Southern Africa: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

All Topics

Southern Africa

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

	Southern Africa
	Home Discussion
	Topics Southern Africa Topic Home Southern Africa is the southSouth South is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.... ernmost regionRegion Region can be used to mean:# Any considerable and connected part of a space or surface; specifically, a tract of land or se... of the AfricaAfrica Africa is one of the greatest sized continents of the Earth.... n continentContinent A continent is a large continuous landmass.... , variably defined by geographyGeography Geography is the study of the Earth's features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life and the e... or geopoliticsGeopolitics Geopolitics is the study which analyses geography, history and social science with reference to international politics.... . Within the region are numerous territories – including the Republic of South AfricaSouth Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the African continent.... , a successor countryCountry In political geography and international politics a country is a geographical territory.... to the Union of South AfricaUnion of South Africa The Union of South Africa came into being on 31 May 1910, resulting in the consolidation of the two Boer Republics with the ... . Definitions and usage In the UN scheme of geographic regionsSubregion A subregion is a conceptual unit which derives from a larger region or continent and is usually based on location.... , five countries constitute Southern Africa: BotswanaBotswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked nation in Southern Africa.... LesothoLesotho Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a land-locked country, entirely surrounded by the Republic of South A... NamibiaNamibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic coast.... South AfricaSouth Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the African continent.... SwazilandSwaziland The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small, landlocked country in Southern Africa , situated on the eastern slope of the Drakensber... The region is often reckoned to include other territories: AngolaAngola Angola is a country in south-west Africa bordering Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia, and with a wes... – also included in Central AfricaCentral Africa Central Africa is a core region of the African continent often considered to include:... MozambiqueMozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordering to the Indian Ocean ... and MadagascarMadagascar Madagascar, , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, off the eastern coast of Africa, close to Mozambique.... – also included in Eastern AfricaEast Africa East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geo... MalawiMalawi The Republic of Malawi is a democratic, densely populated country located in southeastern Africa.... , ZambiaZambia Overview Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in southern Africa.... , and ZimbabweZimbabwe Zimbabwe , officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, and formerly known as the Republic of Rhodesia, is a landlocked ... – sometimes included in Southern Africa and formerly of the Central African FederationFederation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland'... ComorosComoros Summary The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros , is a country in the Indian Ocean, situated at the northern end of ... , MauritiusMauritius Mauritius... , SeychellesSeychelles Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an archipelago nation of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some ... , Mayotte, and RéunionReunion A reunion is the coming together of people who have been separated, who have a common bond, tie or shared experience with on... – small island territories in the Indian OceanIndian Ocean Overview The Indian Ocean is the third largest body of water in the world, covering about 20% of the Earth's water surface.... and near East AfricaEast Africa East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geo... mainland. The Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also often referred to as DRC, RDC, DR Congo, Congo or Cong... and TanzaniaTanzania Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country on the east coast of Africa.... , though more commonly reckoned in Central and Eastern Africa respectively, are occasionally included in Southern Africa. Apropos, the Southern African Development CommunitySouthern African Development Community Southern African Development Community... (SADC) was established in 1980 to facilitate co-operation in the region, which includes all of the above except Comoros (totalling 15 members). The Southern African Customs UnionSouthern African Customs Union Summary The Southern African Customs Union is a customs union among the countries of Southern Africa. ... (SACU), created in 1969, comprises the five countries in the UN subregion of Southern Africa. The term Southern Africa was also used to refer to South Africa and the "independent" BantustanBantustan Bantustan is the word that describes every one of the twenty territories that served as tribal reserves for the non-white in... s that were re-incorporated into South Africa following the end of Apartheid in 1994. Another geographic delineation for the region is the portion of Africa south of the CuneneCunene River The Cunene River is a river in Southwest Africa.... and ZambeziZambezi The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean.... rivers – that is, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and the southern half of Mozambique. This definition is most commonly used in South Africa. Geography The terrain of Southern Africa is varied, ranging from forest and grasslands to deserts. The region has both low-lying coastal areas, and mountains. In terms of natural resources, the region has the world's largest resources of platinumPlatinum Platinum is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Pt and atomic number 78.... and the platinum group elements, chromiumChromium Chromium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. ... , vanadiumVanadium Vanadium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol V and atomic number 23.... , and cobaltCobalt Overview Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal, a chemical element.... , as well as uraniumUranium Uranium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol U and atomic number 92.... , goldGold Gold is a highly sought-after precious metal that for many centuries has been used as money, a store of value and in jewelry... , titaniumTitanium Overview Titanium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Ti and atomic number 22.... , ironIron Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26.... and diamonds. Economy The region is distinct from the rest of Africa, with some of its main exportExport In economics, an *export* is any good or commodity, transported out of a country, province or town to another part of the ... s including platinum, diamonds, gold, and uranium, but it is similar in that it shares some of the problems of the rest of the continent. While colonialismColonialism See colony and colonisation for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism.... has left its mark on the development over the course of history, today povertyPoverty Poverty is understood in many senses.... , corruptionPolitical corruption In broad terms, political corruption is the misuse by government officials of their governmental powers for illegitimate, us... , and HIVHIV Human immunodeficiency virus or HIV is a retrovirus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome , a condition i... /AIDSAIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is a collection of symptoms and infections i... are some of the biggest factors impeding economic growth. The pursuit of economicEconomics In the social sciences, economics is the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services..... and politicalPolitics Politics is the process by which groups make decisions.... stability is an important part of the region's goals, as demonstrated by the SADC. Environmental factors The region has a wide diversity of ecoregions including grasslandGrassland A grassland is a generally open and continuous, fairly flat area of grass.... , bushveldBushveld The Bushveld is a tropical savanna ecoregion of Southern Africa that encompasses most of Limpopo Province and part of the No... , karooFacts About Karoo The Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa.... , savannaSavanna A savanna or savannah is a grassland with widely spaced trees, and occurs in several types of biomes.... and riparian zoneRiparian zone Riparian zone is the interface between land and a flowing surface water body.... s. Even though considerable disturbance has occurred in some regions from habitat loss due to human overpopulationOverpopulation Overpopulation is the condition of any organism's numbers exceeding the carrying capacity of its ecological niche.... , and there remain significant numbers of various wildlifeWildlife The term wildlife refers to living organisms that are not in any way artificial or domesticated and which exist in natural h... species, including White Rhino, lionLion The lion is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the genus Panthera.... , leopardLeopard Summary The leopard is one of the four 'big cats' of the genus Panthera.... , impalaImpala An impala is a medium-sized African antelope.... , kuduKudu The Kudu are two species of antelope:... , blue WildebeestBlue Wildebeest The Blue Wildebeest is a large ungulate mammal of the genus Connochaetes which grows to 1.4 meters shoulder height and a... , Vervet monkeyVervet Monkey The Vervet Monkey, or just simply Vervet, is an African Old World monkey species that is classified into the family Ce... and elephantElephant Elephantidae is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea in the class Mammalia.... . Culture and peoples Southern Africa is home to many cultures and peoples. It was once populated by SanBushmen The Bushmen are an indigenous population of the Kalahari Desert, which spans South Africa and neighbouring Botswana and Nami... , NamaquaFacts About Namaqua Nama are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.... and Pygmies in widely-dispersed concentrations. Due to the Bantu expansionBantu expansion The Bantu expansion was a millennia-long series of migrations of the original proto-Bantu language group.... which edged the previous peoples to the more remote areas of the region, the majority of ethnic groups in this region, including the ZuluZulu The Zulu are an African ethnic group of about 11 million people who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Afr... , XhosaFacts About Xhosa The Xhosa people are a group of peoples of Bantu origins living in south-east South Africa, and in the last two centuries t... , SwaziSwazi The Swazi are a Bantu-speaking people in southeastern Africa, chiefly in Swaziland and South Africa, who speak the siSwati l... , NdebeleNdebele Ndebele may mean:The Ndebele people of Zimbabwe, also known as the Matabele... , TswanaFacts About Tswana Tswana* is the name of a Southern African people.... , Sotho, and Shona peopleShona people Shona is the name collectively given to several groups of people in Zimbabwe and western Mozambique.... , BaLundaBaLunda The BaLunda arose in what is now DR Congo along the Kalanyi River and formed the Lunda Kingdom in the 17th century under th... , MbunduMbundu The Mbundu people are the second largest people group in Angola.... , KikuyuKikuyu The Kikuyu tribe is Kenya's most populous ethnic group.... and LuoLuo "Luo" is a Chinese Family name as written in Chinese as ?.... , speak languages which share common Bantu languageBantu languages Bantu is a major language family of Africa, belonging to the Niger-Congo group.... traits. The process of colonization and settling resulted in a significant population of European and Indian descent in many southern African countries. See also History of Southern Africa Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa [Image:Sub-Saharan-Africa.png\|thumb\|249px\|A polical map showing national divisions in relation to the ecological break]]Sub-Sah... an>