Southern Africa

Southern Africais the southernmost region ofAfrica. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include theUnited Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmentalSouthern African Development Community, and thephysical geography definitionbased on the physical characteristics of the land. The most restrictive definition considers the region of Southern Africa to consist ofBotswana,Eswatini,Lesotho,NamibiaandSouth Africa,while other definitions also include several other countries from the area.
Defined byphysical geography, Southern Africa is home to a number of river systems; theZambezi Riveris the most prominent. The Zambezi flows from the northwest corner ofZambiaand westernAngolato theIndian Oceanon the coast ofMozambique. Along the way, it flows overVictoria Fallson the border betweenZambiaandZimbabwe. Victoria Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world and a major tourist attraction for the region.
Southern Africa includes bothsubtropicalandtemperateclimates, with theTropic of Capricornrunning through the middle of the region, dividing it into its subtropical and temperate halves. Countries commonly included in Southern Africa includeAngola,Botswana, theComoros,Eswatini,Lesotho,Madagascar,Malawi,Mauritius,Mozambique,Namibia,South Africa,Zambia, andZimbabwe. Incultural geography, the island country ofMadagascaris often not included due to its distinct language and cultural heritage.
Southern Africa has a more developed economy and infrastructure compared to the otherregions of Sub-Saharan Africa, having a robust mining sector, comparatively developed secondary and tertiary sectors, and a strong manufacturing sector. Nevertheless, the region continues to struggle with inequality, crime, poverty, and with the epidemic ofHIV/AIDS in Africa, with Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa and Namibia having the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the world.
Inphysical geography, the geographical delineation for the subregion is the portion of Africa south of theCuneneand Zambezi Rivers: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the part of Mozambique that lies south of the Zambezi River. That definition is most often used in South Africa for natural sciences and particularly in guidebooks such asRoberts' Birds of Southern Africa, theSouthern African Bird Atlas Project, andMammals of the Southern African Subregion. It is not used in political, economic, or human geography contexts because the definition cuts Mozambique in two.
In the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, five states constitute Southern Africa:
This definitionexcludes other countries in the region, and instead includes the Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Réunion, the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean (as a part of theFrench Southern Territories), Zambia, and Zimbabwe inEastern Africa, Angola inMiddle Africa(or Central Africa), and Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha (under the name Saint Helena) inWestern Africa, instead. Some atlases include Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in Central Africa instead of Southern or Eastern Africa.
TheSouthern African Customs Union, created in 1969, also comprises the five states in theUN subregionof Southern Africa.
TheSouthern African Development Community(SADC) was established in 1980 to facilitate co-operation in the region. It includes:
Other than the UN subregion, these countries and territories are often included in Southern Africa:
TheDemocratic Republic of the Congois generally included in Central Africa, whileSeychellesandTanzaniaare more commonly associated with Eastern Africa, but these three countries have occasionally been included in Southern Africa, as they are the SADC members.
The terrain of Southern Africa is varied, ranging fromforestandgrasslandstodeserts.  The region has both low-lying coastal areas, and mountains.
In terms of natural resources, the region has the world's largest resources ofplatinumand the platinum group elements,chromium,vanadium, andcobalt, as well asuranium,gold,copper,titanium,iron,manganese,silver,beryllium, anddiamonds.
Southern Africa is set apart from otherSub-Saharan Africanregions because of its mineral resources, including copper, diamonds, gold, zinc, chromium, platinum, manganese, iron ore, and coal. Countries in Southern Africa are larger in geographic area, except three smaller landlocked states: Lesotho, Swaziland, and Malawi. The larger states- South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, and Angola—all have extensive mineral deposits.
These widespread mineral resources make this one of the wealthiest regions of Africa with the greatest potential foreconomic growth. A chain of mineral resources in Southern Africa stretches from the rich oil fields in northwest  Angola, east through the central diamond-mining region inHuambo Province, and into theCopper Beltregion of Zambia and Congo. A region of rich mineral deposits continues to the south called theGreat Dykein central Zimbabwe, through theBushveldbasin into South Africa. This extends southwest through theWitwatersrandandNorthern Capeof South Africa toward the southern coast. Mining activity exists across the eastern region. Diamond mining is found in parts of Botswana and along the Namibian coast. Coal can also be found in central Mozambique, Zimbabwe and northeast South Africa.
The climate of the region is broadly divided into subtropical in the north and temperate in the south, but also includeshumid-subtropical,Mediterranean-climate,highland-subtropical, oceanic, desert, andsemi-aridregions. Except for lower parts of Zambia and interior areas of Namibia and Botswana, the region rarely suffers from extreme heat. In addition, the winter presents mostly as mild and dry, except in the southwest. Cool southeasterly winds and high humidity bring cool conditions in the winter. TheNamib Desertis the driest area in the region.
Altitudeplays an outsize role in moderating the temperatures of the South AfricanHighveld,Lesotho, and much of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Theprairieregion of central and northeast South Africa, the country of Zimbabwe, and parts of Zambia are known as theveldt, divided into theBushveldandHighveld. There are high temperatures and low rainfall within the Zambezi and Limpopo river valleys, probably due to the lower altitude.
TheWestern Capehas aMediterranean vegetationand climate, including the uniquefynbos, grading eastward into an oceanic climate along theGarden RoutetoGqeberhaandEast London.The Namib andKalaharideserts form arid lands in the centre-west, separating the highlands, woodlands, croplands, and pastures of the wetter and higher East from theAtlantic Ocean. In addition, theDrakensbergandEastern Highlandsseparate the highland areas and coastal plains centred onMozambiquein the north andKwaZulu-Natalin the south, the latter of which are often prone to flooding every few years. In the east, the river systems of theZambeziandLimpopobasin form natural barriers and sea lanes between Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Across most of southern Africa, apart from the Western Cape in South Africa, the major rainfall season is during the southern-hemisphere summer, from December to February. In theWestern Cape, the rainfall maximum occurs from June through August.
There are a number of important rainfall-producing weather systems in southern Africa. These include tropical-extra-tropical cloud bands, tropical lows, andtropical cyclones,cut-off lows, andmesoscale convective systems. Winter midlatitude storms account for the June–August rainfall maximum in the western cape.
Year-to-year variability in rainfall, including drought, is associated with changes in global and regionalsea surface temperatures. These include theEl Nino Southern Oscillation, theSubtropical Indian Ocean Dipole, and  changes in theBenguela Currentregion in the southeast Atlantic.
Future climate projections suggest that much of southern Africa will get hotter and drier in response to global climate change.
East and southern Africa are among the earliest regions where modern humans (Homo sapiens) and their predecessors are believed to have lived. In September 2019, scientists reported the computerized determination, based on 260CT scans, of a virtualskull shapeof the last common human ancestor tomodern humans, representative of the earliest modern humans, and suggested that modern humans arose between 350,000 and 260,000 years ago through a merging of populations inEastandSouth Africa.Homo naledilikely coexisted with modern humans in Africa about 300,000 years ago.
TheKingdom of Mapungubwe(c. 1075–c. 1220) was one of the earliest state in the South African region. It was located at between theShasheandLimpopoRivers. The name is derived from eitherTjiKalangaandTshivenda. The kingdom is thought to have existed as the first class-based social system within the region. Society was mainly centered around family and farming. The kingdom would culminate to theKingdom of Zimbabwein the 13th century. And at its height the capital's population was about 5000 people.There are no written records from the kingdom and what historians and archeologists know of the state is from the remains of buildings.
TheKingdom of Zimbabwe(c. 1220–1450) was a Shona (Karanga) kingdom in what is todayZimbabwe. The capital, which sits near present-dayMasvingo, is located atGreat Zimbabwe, which are the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa. This kingdom came after the collapse of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe. During the decline of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, two powers emerged, one in the north (Kingdom of Mutapafrom 1430–1760) which had improved on Zimbabwe's administrative structure; and the other in the south (Kingdom of Butuafrom 1450–1683) which was a smaller entity than the former two, the kingdom was governed by theTorwa dynastyand its capital was situated atKhami. Both states would eventually be absorbed by the powerful Shona state, theRozwi Empireby 1683. The economy was based on cattle herding, farming, and gold mining. The empire lasted until 1866, which came after droughts and instability.
TheMthethwa Paramountcywas an African state that emerged in the late 18th-century in the region of present-dayKwaZulu-Natal. The state was consolidated and extended under the rule ofDingiswayowho produced a disciplined and highly organised army for the first time in the region.
TheZulu Kingdomrose under the leadership ofShakaand covered most of present-day KwaZulu-Natal in the 19th century. Internal conflict arose in the 1820s between Shaka's half-brothersDinganeand Mhlangana due to a succession dispute.Boersettlers began arriving northwards of theOrange Riverin the 1830s,which led to conflicts between the two peoples and resulted in theBattle of Blood Riverin 1838. The kingdom fell during theAnglo-Zulu Warof the late 19th-century.
In the aftermath ofWorld War II, the colonial powers came under international pressure to decolonize. The transfer to an African majority, however, was complicated by the settlement ofwhite peoples. After an initial phase from 1945 to 1958, as a consolidation of white power, decolonization succeeded in its achievement when High Commission territories and overseas departments such asZambia,Malawi,Botswana,Lesotho,Mauritius,Swaziland,Madagascarand theComorosbecame independent states from British and French rule. The brutalstruggle for independencein thecolonial territoriesled to the independence of new states ofAngolaandMozambiqueas well asSouthern Rhodesia, which declared independence asZimbabwein 1980. The denouement ofSouth West Africaachieved independence asNamibiain 1990 and theblack majority in South Africatook power after thedemocratic elections in 1994, therefore ending theApartheidregime. From the end of the period of colonial rule, imperial interests controlled the economies of the region andSouth Africabecame 
the dominanteconomic powerin the late 20th century. The 21st century has seen attempts to create unity among nations in Southern Africa. In spite of democracy,violence,inequalityandpovertystill persist throughout the region.
The region is distinct from the rest of Africa, with a robust mining sector and comparatively developed secondary andtertiary sectors. Additionally many countries (with the exception of Mozambique and Malawi in particular) have relatively well developed infrastructure. Some of its mainexportsincludingplatinum,diamonds,gold,copper,cobalt,chromiumanduranium, Southern Africa  still faces some of the problems that the rest of the continent does. Despite this, diamond production has fueled the economies of Botswana and Namibia, for example.
Over the 20th century, the region developed a robust manufacturing sector, focused on South Africa and Zimbabwe, which allowed greater prosperity and investments into infrastructure, education and healthcare that elevated both nations intomiddle incomeeconomies and captured  growing markets across Africa.However, since the 1990s these industries have struggled in the face ofglobalizationand cheaper imports fromChina, leading to job losses particularly inheavy industry, gold mining andtextiles. Zimbabwe in particular has seen significantdeindustrializationas a result of factors both domestic and foreign.Whilecolonialismhas left its mark on the development over the course of history,todaypoverty,corruption, andHIV/AIDSare some of the biggest factors impeding economic growth. In addition, South Africa and Zimbabwe in particular, face high emigration among theirskilled workersleading to a significantbrain drainto western economies and billions lost inhuman capital flight. The pursuit ofeconomicandpoliticalstability is an important part of the region's goals, as demonstrated by the SADC, however complete regional integration remains an elusive target.
In terms of economic strength, South Africa is the dominant economy of the region. Generally, mining, agriculture, thepublic sectorand tourism dominate the economies of Southern African countries, apart from South Africa which has mature and flourishing financial, retail, and construction sectors. Zimbabwe maintains a smaller banking and real estate sector along with what remains of its manufacturing industry, despite a protractedeconomic crisis. Most global banks have their regional offices for Southern Africa based inJohannesburg. Over the years, some the other Southern African nations have invested in economic diversification, and invested public funds into rail, road and air transportation as part of a concerted effort through SADC to boost regional trade and improve communication and transportation. The countries in this region also belong to the Southern Africa Power Pool, which facilitates the development of a competitive electricity market within the SADC region and ensuressustainable energydevelopments through sound economic, environmental and social practices. The main objective of the power pool is to develop a world class, robust and safe interconnected electrical system across the Southern African Region. According to a report by Southern Africa Power Pool, the three largest producers of electricity in Southern Africa as at 2017, includeEskominSouth Africawith an estimated 46,963MW,Zescoin Zambia with 2,877MW andSNLof Angola with 2,442MW. Whilst moderately successful by African standards, the region largely lags behind their Asian counterparts in innovation, foreign direct investment,STEMsciences andresearch and development.
Several countries in the region, especially South Africa and Leshoto, struggle with very high crime rates. South Africa's homicide rate has consistently ranked among the highest in the world during the past decades.South Africa has four cities (Nelson Mandela Bay,Durban,Cape TownandJohannesburg) included in the top 50 most dangerous cities (defined as cities with a population over 300,000 with the highest homicide rates, as reported by The Citizen Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, a Mexican advocacy group, in its 2023/2024 ranking).High homicide rates are also present in Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia and Botswana.
Southern Africa has a wide diversity of ecoregions includinggrassland,bushveld,karoo,savannahandriparian zones. Even though considerable disturbance has occurred in some regions from habitat loss due to human population density or export-focused development, there remain significant numbers of variouswildlifespecies, includingwhite rhino,lion,African leopard,impala,kudu,blue wildebeest,vervet monkeyandelephant. It has complex Plateaus that create massive mountain structures along the South African border.
There are numerousenvironmental issues in Southern Africa, including air pollution anddesertification.
Southern Africa is home to many people. It was initially populated bySan,HottentotsandPygmiesin widely dispersed concentrations. Due to theBantu expansion, the majority of African ethnic groups in this region, including theXhosa,Zulu,Tsonga,Swazi,Northern Ndebele,Southern Ndebele,Tswana,Sotho,Pedi,Mbundu,Ovimbundu,Shona,ChagaandSukuma, speakBantu languages. The process of colonization and settling resulted in a small population of European (Afrikaner,British,Portuguese Africans, etc.) and Asian descent (Cape Malays,Indian South Africans, etc.) people in many southern African countries.
Christianityis by far the most common religion in the region, being the religion of the majority of the population in all countries of Southern Africa (seeChristianity in Africa). There are also sizeableMuslimcommunities inMozambiqueandMalawi, and smaller communities in the other countries of the region. There is also a smallHindu community in South Africa. In addition,traditional African religionsare also practiced.
Further information in the sections ofArchitecture of Africa:
Further information in the sections ofHistory of science and technology in Africa:
Some key factors affecting thefood securitywithin the regions including political instability, poor governance, droughts, population growth, urbanisation, poverty, low economic growth, inadequate agricultural policies, trade terms and regimes, resource degradation and therecent increase in HIV/AIDS.
These factors vary from country to country. For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has favourable climatic and physical conditions, but performs far below its capacity in food provision due to political instability and poor governance. In contrast, semi-arid countries such as Botswana and Namibia, produce insufficient food, but successfully achieve food security through food imports due to economic growth, political stability and good governance. The Republic of South Africa is a major food producer and exporter in the region.
Data on agricultural production trends and food insecurity especially in term of food availability for Southern Africa is readily available through the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) - Food, Agriculture and Nature Resource Directorate (FARN). However, this data might not fully capture the reality of a region with large urban populations and where food insecurity goes beyond per-capita availability to issues of access and dietary adequacy.
Urban food security has been noted as an emerging area of concern in the region, with recent data showing high levels of food insecurity amongst low-income households. In a study of eleven cities in nine countries:Blantyre,Cape Town,Gaborone,Harare,Johannesburg,Lusaka,Maputo,Manzini,Maseru,Durban, andWindhoek, only 17% of households were categorized as 'food-secure' while more than half (57%) of all households surveyed were found to be 'severely food-insecure'.
Some factors affecting urban food insecurity include climate change with potential impact on agricultural productivity, the expansion of supermarkets in the region, which is changing the way people obtain food in the city, rural-to-urban migration, unemployment, and poverty.The issue of food insecurity in general and urban food insecurity in particular in the region is also characterized by an increased consumption of caloricjunk foodand processed foods leading to potential increase in the co-existence of undernutrition and dietary-related chronic diseases such as obesity and hypertension.In South Africa for example, while over 50% experience hunger, 61% are overweight or morbidly obese.There is only limited data on the other Southern African countries.
From 2018 to 2021, parts of the region suffered from aperiod of drought.