Southern Africa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the country in this region, see South Africa.
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories – including the Republic of South Africa, a successor country to the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic).
Contents |
[edit] Definitions and usage
In the UN scheme of geographic regions, five countries constitute Southern Africa:
The region is often reckoned to include other territories:
- Angola – also included in Central Africa
- Mozambique and Madagascar – also included in Eastern Africa
- Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – sometimes included in Southern Africa and formerly of the Central African Federation
- Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles, Mayotte, and Réunion – small island territories in the Indian Ocean east of the African mainland
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania, though more commonly reckoned in Central and Eastern Africa respectively, are occasionally included in Southern Africa. Apropos, the 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 Union (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" Bantustans that were re-incorporated into South Africa following the end of Apartheid in 1994.[citation needed]
Another geographic delineation for the region is the portion of Africa south of the Cunene and Zambezi rivers – that is, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and the southern half of Mozambique. This definition is most commonly used in South Africa.[citation needed]
[edit] 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 platinum and the platinum group elements, chromium, vanadium, and cobalt, as well as uranium, gold, titanium, iron and diamonds.
[edit] Economy
The region is distinct from the rest of Africa, with some of its main exports including platinum, diamonds, gold, and uranium, but it is similar in that it shares some of the problems of the rest of the continent. While colonialism has left its mark on the development over the course of history, today poverty, corruption, and HIV/AIDS are some of the biggest factors impeding economic growth. The pursuit of economic and political stability is an important part of the region's goals, as demonstrated by the SADC.
[edit] Environmental factors
The region has a broad diversity of ecoregions including grassland, bushveld, karoo, savanna and riparian zones. Even though considerable disturbance has occurred in some regions from habitat loss due to human overpopulation, there remain significant numbers of various wildlife species, including White Rhino, lion, leopard, impala, kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Vervet monkey and elephant.
[edit] Culture and peoples
Southern Africa is home to many cultures and peoples. African peoples of the area include the Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Tswana, Pedi, Venda, Sotho, San, Tsonga, Afrikaners, and Shona people (though this list is far from exhaustive). The process of colonization and settling resulted in a significant population of European and Indian descent in many southern African countries.
| Regions of the world | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| See also Continents of the world | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
frp:Africa ôstrâla zh-min-nan:Lâm Hui-chiu be-x-old:Паўднёвая Афрыка bg:Южна Африка ca:Àfrica Austral cs:Jižní Afrika cy:De Affrica (rhanbarth) da:Sydlige Afrika de:Südliches Afrika es:África austral eo:Suda Afriko fa:جنوب آفریقا fr:Afrique australe ko:남아프리카 hr:Južna Afrika (regija) is:Sunnanverð Afríka it:Africa del Sud sw:Afrika ya Kusini ht:Afrik disid (zòn) hu:Dél-Afrika (régió) mk:Јужна Африка ms:Selatan Afrika nl:Zuidelijk Afrika ja:南部アフリカ no:Sørlige Afrika pl:Afryka Południowa pt:África Austral ru:Южная Африка sq:Afrika jugore sk:Južná Afrika (časť) sr:Јужна Африка (регија) sh:Južna Afrika (regija) fi:Etelä-Afrikka (alue) sv:Södra Afrika tl:Katimogang Aprika th:แอฟริกาใต้ (ภูมิภาค) tr:Güney Afrika vi:Nam Phi (khu vực) uk:Південна Африка vec:Africa del Sud wo:Bëj-saalumu Afrik zh:南部非洲
