Published as the journal of the International African Institute, editorial policy encourages an interdisciplinary approach, involving the social sciences, history, the environment and life sciences. Africa aims to give increased attention to historical trends, issues of development and links between local and national levels of society. At the same time, it maintains its commitment to the theoretically informed analysis of the realities of Africa's own cultural categories. Africa appears quarterly. Each issue contains four or five major articles, arranged thematically, extensive review essays and substantial book reviews.
Special issues are frequent.
A full subscription to Africa also provides an annual listing of published work in African studies from the previous year. Included with every fourth issue of Africa, the bibliography is now recognised as the authoritative guide to available literature. Covering the whole of Africa, and not confined to work in English, the work contains over five thousand items categorised by region, country and subject, with full indexes.