<p>Sub-Saharan Africa is a study in diversity. Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, the region is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources. It&rsquo;s no surprise that it captured the imagination of Europe&rsquo;s earliest explorers &mdash; and that it continues to capture the imagination of current world powers eager to exploit it. And yet despite the region&rsquo;s diversity, Sub-Saharan African countries have common challenges &mdash; transnational terrorism, rapid population growth, endemic poverty and corruption &mdash; that prevent them from capitalizing on their economic potential. The coming years will be critical for the region, especially as its political institutions mature in a rapidly globalizing world.</p>

Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Sudan

Angola

Benin

Botswana

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon

Cabo Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Cote d'Ivoire

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Gabon

Gambia

Ghana

Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

Niger

Nigeria

Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

Sao Tome and Principe

Senegal

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Africa

Sudan

Eswatini

Tanzania

Togo

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

The Post-Apartheid Era Ends

The Politics of Pipelines

Old Leaders in a New Africa

Nigeria: Obstacles to Prosperity

Commodities: A Cautionary Tale

Crossing Borders

A Crude Recovery

Globalization

China in Transition

The Suitors of Sub-Saharan Africa

Assessments

United States

Israel

Palestinian Territories

China

Poland

Economics

Global Trade

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Military & Security

Politics

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: A U.S. Tariff Ruling, Israel's Opposition Seeks To Dissolve the Knesset

U.S.-China Relations

M23 fighters are seen at the main border crossing between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in Goma on March 1, 2025.

Mediation efforts from the Trump administration will likely see the two African countries ink a peace deal in the coming months, but implementation will prove challenging, sustaining the risk of a new military escalation in eastern Congo.

U.S. Mediation Brings Congo and Rwanda Closer to a Peace Deal

A worker inspects an oil drilling platform located roughly 35 kilometers away from Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta. 

Energy

The recent drop in global oil prices risks exacerbating Nigeria's already high inflation, which would ripen socioeconomic conditions for protests and threaten to fuel recruitment by jihadist and bandit groups.

Can Nigeria Navigate Lower Oil Prices? 

Taiwan

United Kingdom

Portugal

Romania

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 21 during an official trip to the United States.

The Weekly Rundown: South Africa's U.S. Reset, Three European Elections

Columns

On Geopolitics

Algeria

Morocco

France

A Gabonese brigade participates in a training exercise as part of a military program linked to the Franco-Gabonese partnership at the French military base Camp de Gaulle in Libreville on March 19, 2025. 

France's reduced influence in Africa will create space for local and foreign actors to take on greater leadership roles, but their inability to fill the security vacuum left by France's withdrawal would threaten to destabilize the region.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 2: The Age of Multi-Alignment 

A picture released on July 12, 1963, of then-French President Gen. Charles de Gaulle (2L) and Jacques Foccart (L) greeting African, Malagasy and French overseas territories veterans arriving in Paris for French Bastille Day celebrations.

After decades of cultivating tight-knit relationships with francophone African countries, France has effectively ended its forward military presence in West and Central Africa amid shifting political dynamics in both regions, which will weaken its influence on the continent but enable Paris to reallocate resources towards Europe's security.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 1: A New Balance of Power 

Snapshots

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen holds a press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Jan. 28, 2025.

Rising tensions between the ruling ANC and its key coalition partner over the 2025 budget are raising the risk of a coalition breakdown, which would threaten policy paralysis and a marked depreciation of the rand.

What the Democratic Alliance's Exit From Government Would Mean for South Africa

Germany

Ukraine

A list of countries facing reciprocal tariffs on display April 2 at the White House.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: The Escalating Global Trade War, South Africa's Coalition Government on the Brink

U.S.-Iran Relations

A photo of Khartoum, Sudan, with columns of smoke rising in the background.

The SAF's military victory in Khartoum marks a turning point in the country's civil war, but a firm resolution remains out of reach as the RSF fights to consolidate control in the west.

What Next for Sudan After the Army Retakes Khartoum?

Media

Podcasts

Who are the main actors involved, and what are the primary goals influencing the conflict?

Essential Geopolitics: South Sudan's Evolving Political and Security Outlook

Libya

Clashes broke out near the Sudan-Libya border between the Libyan National Army -- reportedly linked to Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter -- and the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, which is loyal to Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, The Sudan Times reported on June 9. 

Sudan, Libya: Libyan National Army and Sudanese Armed Forces Clash at Border

Russia

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was looking to expand cooperation with African countries, including in the economic and security domains, Reuters reported on June 9.

Africa: Russia Vows To Step Up Economic and Security Cooperation With African Countries

The Malian army withdrew from the strategic Boulkessi military camp near the Mali-Burkina Faso border in what officials described as a "strategic redeployment" to enhance operational mobility, Radio France Internationale reported on June 8.

Mali: Army Withdraws From Key Military Base Following Jihadist Attacks

Russia's paramilitary Wagner Group announced on its Telegram channel that it was exiting Mali, claiming that it had "completed its main mission" in the country, Reuters reported on June 6.

Mali: Russia's Wagner Group Announces Exit, But Africa Corps To Maintain Presence

Malian authorities imposed a curfew in the central city of Segou on June 4 for 30 days, Radio France Internationale reported on June 6.

Mali: Bout of JNIM Attacks Prompts Junta To Impose Curfew in Central Malian City 

Cuba

Haiti

Venezuela

Iran

Yemen

Laos

Myanmar

Turkmenistan

Afghanistan

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a ban barring citizens from 12 countries from traveling to the United States, with the order set to take effect on June 9, The New York Times reported on June 4.

U.S.: Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban

Leading Ivorian opposition figures, including leader of the Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI) Tidjane Thiam and former president Laurent Gbagbo, were not included in the final version of Cote d'Ivoire's electoral roll, effectively barring them from running in the country's October presidential election, Radio France Internationale reported June 4.

Cote d'Ivoire: Leading Opposition Figures Barred From Final Electoral Roll 

The World Bank announced that it would end a funding freeze for new projects in Uganda that it had instated in response to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023, Reuters reported June 5.

Uganda: World Bank Ends Funding Freeze Over Anti-LGBTQ Bill 

Sub-Saharan Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Sudan, Libya: Libyan National Army and Sudanese Armed Forces Clash at Border

Africa: Russia Vows To Step Up Economic and Security Cooperation With African Countries

Mali: Army Withdraws From Key Military Base Following Jihadist Attacks

Mali: Russia's Wagner Group Announces Exit, But Africa Corps To Maintain Presence

Mali: Bout of JNIM Attacks Prompts Junta To Impose Curfew in Central Malian City

U.S.: Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban

Cote d'Ivoire: Leading Opposition Figures Barred From Final Electoral Roll

Uganda: World Bank Ends Funding Freeze Over Anti-LGBTQ Bill

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

Explore

Subscribe

Help & Support