Southern Africa (UN subregion)      geographic, including above      Southern African Development Community (SADC)

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 Fruit, a successor country to the Union of South Africa. Image File history File links LocationSouthernAfrica. ... Image File history File links LocationSouthernAfrica. ... The definition of continental subregions in use by the United Nations. ... SADC-only (yellow) and SADC+SACU members Headquarters Gaborone, Botswana Working languages Membership 15 African states Leaders  -  Secretary General Establishment  -  as the SADCC April 1, 1980   -  as the SADC August 17, 1992  Website http://www. ... A compass rose with South highlighted South is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. ... Look up Region in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ... Geopolitics is the study that analyzes geography, history and social science with reference to spatial politics and patterns at various scales (ranging from home, city, region, state to international and cosmopolitics). ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... Motto Ex Unitate Vires (Latin: From Unity, strength} Anthem Die Stem van Suid-Afrika Capital Cape Town (legislative) Pretoria (administrative) Bloemfontein (judicial) Language(s) Afrikaans, Dutch, English Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch  - 1952-1961 Queen Elizabeth II Governor-General  - 1959-1961 Charles Robberts Swart Prime Minister  - 1958-1961 Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd...

Definitions and usage

In the UN scheme of geographic regions, five countries constitute Southern Africa: This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ... The definition of continental subregions in use by the United Nations. ...

• Botswana
• Lesotho
• Namibia
• South Africa
• Swaziland

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).  Eastern Africa (UN subregion)  East African Community  Central African Federation (defunct)  geographic, including above East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. ... Anthem God Save the Queen The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Capital Salisbury Language(s) English Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch  - 1953-1963 Elizabeth II Governor-General  - 1953-1957 Lord Llewellin  - 1957-1963 The Earl of Dalhousie  - 1963 Sir Humphrey Gibbs Prime Minister  - 1953-1956 Sir Godfrey Huggins  - 1956-1963 Sir...  Eastern Africa (UN subregion)  East African Community  Central African Federation (defunct)  geographic, including above East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. ... SADC-only (yellow) and SADC+SACU members Headquarters Gaborone, Botswana Working languages Membership 15 African states Leaders  -  Secretary General Establishment  -  as the SADCC April 1, 1980   -  as the SADC August 17, 1992  Website http://www. ...

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU), created in 1969, comprises the five countries in the UN subregion of Southern Africa. States of SACU // Origins The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) came into existence on December 11, 1969 with the signature of the Customs Union Agreement between South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. ...

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]} Map of the black homelands in South Africa as of 1986 Map of the black homelands in Namibia as of 1978 Bantustan is a territory designated as a tribal homeland for black South Africans and Namibians during the apartheid era. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ...

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]} The Cunene River (sometimes transliterated Kunene) is a river in Southwest Africa. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Geography

A composite satellite image of southern Africa.

The terrain of Southern Africa is varied, ranging from forest and grasslands to deserts. The region has both low-lying coastal areas, and mountains. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (6533x5760, 5398 KB) Composite satellite image of South Africa in November 2002. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (6533x5760, 5398 KB) Composite satellite image of South Africa in November 2002. ...

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. General Name, Symbol, Number platinum, Pt, 78 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 6, d Appearance grayish white Standard atomic weight 195. ... REDIRECT [[ Insert text]]EWWWWWWWWWWWWW YO General Name, symbol, number chromium, Cr, 24 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 6, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 51. ... General Name, symbol, number vanadium, V, 23 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 5, 4, d Appearance silver-grey metal Standard atomic weight 50. ... For other uses, see Cobalt (disambiguation). ... This article is about the chemical element. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... General Name, symbol, number titanium, Ti, 22 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 4, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 47. ... General Name, symbol, number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Standard atomic weight 55. ... This article is about the gemstone. ...

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. It has been suggested that Benign colonialism be merged into this article or section. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... Species Human immunodeficiency virus 1 Human immunodeficiency virus 2 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS, a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections). ... For other uses, see AIDS (disambiguation). ... Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. ... For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ...

Environmental factors

The region has a wide 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, and there remain significant numbers of various wildlife species, including White Rhino, lion, leopard, impale, kudu, blue Wildebeest, Vervet monkey and elephant it has been noted that the elephant population has tripled in the last decade. The Konza tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas. ... The Bushveld is a geographic region of South Africa that encompasses most of Limpopo Province and part of the North West Province. ... The Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. ... Savannah redirects here. ... A well preserved Riparian strip on a tributary to Lake Erie. ... Map of countries by population density (See List of countries by population density. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Binomial name Ceratotherium simum Burchell, 1817 The White Rhinoceros or Square-lipped rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is one of the five species of rhinoceros that still exists and is one of the few megaherbivore species left. ... For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation). ... This article is about the big cat. ... Categories: Stub | Death penalty | Torture ... Male Greater Kudu Female Greater Kudu The Kudu are two species of antelope: Lesser Kudu, Tragelaphus imberbis Greater Kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros Kudu: has a symbolic role in Hindu and Buddhist architecture. ... Binomial name (Burchell, 1823) The Blue Wildebeest is a large ungulate mammal of the genus Connochaetes which grows to 1. ... Species Chlorocebus sabaceus Chlorocebus aethiops Chlorocebus djamdjamensis Chlorocebus tantalus Chlorocebus pygerythrus Chlorocebus cynosuros The vervet monkeys or green monkeys are primates from the family of Old World monkeys. ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus † Elephas beyeri † Elephas celebensis † Elephas cypriotes † Elephas ekorensis † Elephas falconeri † Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea...

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. Languages Zulu Religions Christian, African Traditional Religion Related ethnic groups Bantu Nguni Basotho Xhosa Swazi Matabele Khoisan The Zulu (South African English and isiZulu: amaZulu) are a South African ethnic group of an estimated 17-22 million people who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ... The Xhosa (IPA ( )) people are speakers of Bantu languages living in south-east South Africa, and in the last two centuries throughout the southern and central-southern parts of the country. ... There are two versions of Ndebele in South Africa, they both belong to the Nguni group of Bantu Languages. ... Tswana (Motswana, plural Batswana) is the name of a Southern African people. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Flag Anthem Pfano na vhuthihi Location of Venda within South Africa Capital Thohoyandou Language(s) vha-Venda Political structure Bantustan History  - Self-government February 1, 1973  - Re-integrated into South Africa April 27, 1994 Currency South African Rand For the eCommerce company see Venda Inc. ... The Sotho people (native name Basotho) have lived in southern Africa since around the fifteenth century. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with SAN. (Discuss) Look up san, -san in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Contents // Categories: Bantu languages | Languages of Mozambique | Languages of South Africa | Languages of Swaziland | Languages of Zimbabwe | Language stubs ... Afrikaners (sometimes known as Boers) are white South Africans, predominantly of Calvinist German, French Huguenot, Friesian and Walloons descent who speak Afrikaans. ... Shona (IPA: ) is the name collectively given to several groups of people in Zimbabwe and western Mozambique. ...