<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

Japan

South Korea

United Kingdom

Ukraine

Russia

Banners bearing portraits of leaders of the G20 on Nov. 20 in Johannesburg. The South African government has focused the G20 summit's agenda on issues key to African countries.

Economics

Military & Security

Politics

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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 High-Stakes British Budget, South Africa Hosts the G20

Sudanese Armed Forces soldiers are seen on the now-disabled Shambat Bridge in Khartoum. 

While the likelihood of a humanitarian truce between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary RSF is rising, meaningful progress beyond a tentative permanent ceasefire currently appears unlikely.

Sudan Slips Toward De Facto Partition

The Geopolitics of Trade

Global Trade

Kenya and Tanzania's infrastructure buildup will support East Africa's industrialization but will also depend on a range of other factors, including regional integration, shifts in the international trading system and technological changes.

The Geopolitics of Trade: The Race to Unlock East Africa, Part 2

China

Europe

Over the next decade, Kenya and Tanzania will compete for the title of East Africa's leading trade gateway, particularly as global demand for Central Africa's critical minerals grows. 

The Geopolitics of Trade: The Race to Unlock East Africa, Part 1 

Malian trucks carrying fuel are seen waiting to cross the border between Cote d'Ivoire and Mali on Oct. 31, 2025. 

Energy

In the likely case that the junta fails to lift the blockade on Bamako by force, rising internal tensions could ultimately fragment the country's security forces, potentially enabling the al Qaeda affiliate JNIM to assert control over the capital.

Mali's Junta Fights for Its Life as Jihadists Tighten Their Noose on Bamako

A Nigerian soldier stands guard at a checkpoint at the entrance to Monguno, Borno state, Nigeria, on July 4, 2025. 

Trump wants Nigeria to take action against the armed groups targeting Christians in the country, but Abuja will face challenges in sustaining such operations, which could lead to unilateral U.S. military action if there are fresh instances of intercommunal violence.

Will the United States Take Military Action in Nigeria?

Columns

On Security

Chile

Ecuador

Peru

Jordan

Lebanon

Morocco

Tunisia

Turkey

Indonesia

Philippines

Thailand

Serbia

Bangladesh

Nepal

Fire rages through the Singha Durbar, the main administrative building for the Nepal government, in Kathmandu on Sept. 9, 2025, after youth protesters set fire to the building. 

Recent events in Nepal, Madagascar and elsewhere show how digitally coordinated, leaderless protests can succeed, but eventually face even larger challenges in sustaining the momentum for change.

Worldwide Gen Z Protesters May Be Disappointed With Their Success

Media

Podcasts

Why are certain countries and regions more susceptible to youth protests?

Essential Geopolitics: Implications of the Growing Gen Z Protests in Africa

Argentina

Netherlands

Supporters of Argentine President Javier Milei's Liberty Advances (LLA) party wave flags during a campaign rally in Rosario, Argentina, on Oct. 23, 2025.

The Weekly Rundown: Argentina Holds Midterm Elections, Trump Travels to Asia

U.S.-China Relations

Kenyan forces stand next to the coffin of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga during a funeral mass at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology on October 19, 2025 in Bondo, Kenya.

Social Issues

The death of veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga creates a significant power vacuum, fundamentally altering the political calculations ahead of the 2027 elections.


What Raila Odinga's Death Means for Kenyan Politics

In an address to community elders in Dar es Salaam, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan criticized foreign critics of her government's crackdown on opposition demonstrators during and after the country's Oct. 29 general election, accusing them of having a colonial mindset, The Chanzo reported on Dec. 2.

Tanzania: Hassan Blames Election Unrest on Foreign Conspiracy, Pointing to Hardening of CCM 

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, seized the town of Babanusa in the central West Kordofan state from the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, following a two-year siege, Sudan War Monitor reported on Dec. 1. 

Sudan: RSF Captures Babanusa Town in West Kordofan Despite Unilateral Truce 

The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, strongly condemned the Nov. 26 coup in Guinea Bissau and demanded the return to constitutional order, including the resumption of the electoral process, RFI reported on Dec.1.

Guinea Bissau: ECOWAS Rejects Coup as Junta Unveils One-Year Transition Plan

The Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, offered Russia a 25-year deal to establish its first African naval facility at Port Sudan, which would be able to accommodate up to 300 personnel and four warships, The Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 1.

Sudan: SAF Offers Russia Naval Base as U.S. Increases Pressure Over Truce, Chemical Weapons Use

Diesel and gasoline shortages in Bamako caused by al Qaeda affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin's fuel blockade on the city have greatly eased, with most gas stations in the city having reopened since Nov. 24, Radio France International reported Nov. 29.

Mali: Easing Fuel Shortages in Bamako Curb Immediate Challenges to Junta 

A group of senior military officers in Guinea-Bissau, calling themselves "High Military Command for the Restoration of Order," declared they had taken "total control" of the country until further notice following the disputed Nov. 23 presidential election, which both President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and his main challenger, Fernando Dias, claimed to have won, RFI reported Nov. 27.

Guinea-Bissau: Army Officers Say They Have Taken Control After President's Arrest

Central African Republic (CAR) President Faustin Touadera met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali on Nov. 23, where they discussed security matters related to CAR's Dec. 28 presidential election and broader areas of bilateral collaboration, including infrastructure development, health and mining sectors, Jeune Afrique reported Nov. 26.

Central African Republic, Rwanda: Leaders Discuss Security Ahead of CAR's Presidential Election 

The National Unity Platform, the party of opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi (aka Bobi Wine), announced that security forces have detained more than 300 of its supporters and officials since campaigning for the January 2026 election began in October, Reuters reported Nov. 25.

Uganda: Opposition Reports More Than 300 Supporters Detained Ahead of Election

Sub-Saharan Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Tanzania: Hassan Blames Election Unrest on Foreign Conspiracy, Pointing to Hardening of CCM

Sudan: RSF Captures Babanusa Town in West Kordofan Despite Unilateral Truce

Guinea Bissau: ECOWAS Rejects Coup as Junta Unveils One-Year Transition Plan

Sudan: SAF Offers Russia Naval Base as U.S. Increases Pressure Over Truce, Chemical Weapons Use

Mali: Easing Fuel Shortages in Bamako Curb Immediate Challenges to Junta

Guinea-Bissau: Army Officers Say They Have Taken Control After President's Arrest

Central African Republic, Rwanda: Leaders Discuss Security Ahead of CAR's Presidential Election

Uganda: Opposition Reports More Than 300 Supporters Detained Ahead of Election

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