Southern 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 Union of South Africa); nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.[1]
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Definitions and usage
UN scheme of geographic regions and SACU
In the UN scheme of geographic regions, five countries constitute Southern Africa:[2]
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU), created in 1969, also comprises the five countries in the UN subregion of Southern Africa.[3]
SADC membership
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) was established in 1980 to facilitate co-operation in the region. It includes:[4]
Angola
Botswana
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lesotho
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
General usage
The region is sometimes reckoned to include other territories:
- Angola – part of Central Africa in the UN scheme.
Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, 
Mayotte, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, 
Seychelles, Zambia, Zimbabwe – part of Eastern Africa in the UN scheme.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania, though more commonly reckoned in Central and Eastern Africa respectively, are occasionally included in Southern Africa.
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 for natural sciences and particularly in guide books such as Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa and Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. It is not used in political, economic or human geography contexts as its boundary cuts Mozambique in two.
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.
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. South Africa is the dominant economic "superpower" of the region. South Africa's GDP is a multiple of the sum of the GDPs of all the other countries in the region.
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, there remain significant numbers of various wildlife species, including White Rhino, lion, leopard, impala, kudu, blue Wildebeest, Vervet monkey and elephant.
Culture and people
Southern Africa is home to many cultures and people. It was once populated by San, Namaqua and Pygmies in widely-dispersed concentrations. Due to the Bantu expansion which edged the previous peoples to the more remote areas of the region, the majority of ethnic groups in this region, including the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho, and Shona people, BaLunda, Mbundu, Kikuyu and Luo, speak languages which share common Bantu language traits. The process of colonization and settling resulted in a significant population of European (Afrikaners, Anglo-Africans, Portuguese Africans, etc.) and Asian descent (Cape Malays, Indians, Sikhs, etc.) in many southern African countries.
See also
References
- ↑ "Africa." The Oxford Companion to the English Language (ISBN 0-19-214183-X). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 19 -- quotation reads: "South Africa: This term once referred to the south of the continent generally, but is currently restricted to the Republic of South Africa. The term Southern/southern Africa, however, generally includes Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe."
- ↑ ""Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings"". http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm.
- ↑ Southern African Customs Union (SACU) official website
- ↑ SADC - Southern African Development Community official website
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