<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

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Mali

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Uganda

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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

The Geopolitics of Trade

Economics

Global Trade

Politics

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

United States

China

Japan

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

Military & Security

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?

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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

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

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

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

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

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

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party reacts on stage during a rally in Dar es Salaam on Aug. 28, 2025, to officially launch the CCM's campaign ahead of the Tanzanian general election. 

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is highly likely to be reelected in the Oct. 29 ballot, which is unlikely to turn violent but could portend wider governance challenges in the medium term.

Previewing Tanzania's General Elections

Global Elections

Snapshots

Protesters face police from a distance near burning barricades in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on Oct. 9, 2025. 

President Andry Rajoelina's removal on the back of widespread, youth-led protests will likely deescalate tensions in Madagascar in the next few weeks, but it could inspire similar protest movements elsewhere in Africa and potentially beyond.

Africa Sees Its First Gen Z-Driven Coup in Madagascar

Ghanaian Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson unveiled the country's 2026 budget before Parliament, which he said would ensure a primary budget surplus of 1.5% of gross domestic product, an overall budget deficit of 2.2% of GDP, and the allocation of 30 billion cedis ($2.74 billion) in 2026 to fund infrastructure projects, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 13.

Ghana: Government's 2026 Budget Portends Accelerating Economic Recovery

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana confirmed in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement that South Africa's effective inflation target would be reduced from 4.5% to 3% with a 1% "tolerance band," News24 reported on Nov. 12. 

South Africa: Finance Minister Confirms Reduction of Inflation Target, Curbs on Spending in Budget Speech

The political bureau of Senegal's ruling Patriots of Senegal party, or PASTEF, rejected a Nov. 11 decision by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to remove an ally of Prime Minister and PASTEF leader Ousmane Sonko from the helm of his "Diomaye President" coalition on the basis that Faye did not "have the power" to make such a decision, Radio France Internationale reported on Nov. 12.

Senegal: Tensions Escalate Between President and Prime Minister as Bonds Tumble

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Environment, Science & Technology

The International Energy Agency stated in its World Energy Outlook, published Nov. 12, that oil demand would not peak by 2050 unless current energy transition policies globally became more ambitious.

Global: IEA's 2025 World Energy Outlook Published With New Current Policies Scenario

Guinean junta leader Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya inaugurated the start of iron ore exports from the country's $23 billion Simandou mine at the port of Morebaya, Radio France Internationale reported on Nov. 11.

Guinea: Authorities Inaugurate the Start of Iron Ore Exports From $23B Simandou Mine 

Tanzanian authorities have ordered the arrest of at least 10 senior opposition figures, including the deputy secretary general of the Chadema party, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 10. 

Tanzania: Senior Opposition Members Arrested Following Deadly Protests

Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the opposition presidential runner-up in Cameroon's recent election, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the government to release all detainees arrested in the post-election protests, Jeune Afrique reported on Nov. 10.

Cameroon: Opposition Leader Gives Authorities 48-Hour Ultimatum To Release Post-Election Detainees

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf expressed his "deep concern" about the "rapidly deteriorating security situation in Mali" and called for "enhanced cooperation, intelligence-sharing and sustained support" for countries in the western Sahel confronted with rapidly expanding activity from jihadist groups, Reuters reported on Nov. 10. 

Mali: African Union Calls for Urgent Support to Junta as Concerns Over JNIM's Capture of Bamako Rise

Sub-Saharan Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Ghana: Government's 2026 Budget Portends Accelerating Economic Recovery

South Africa: Finance Minister Confirms Reduction of Inflation Target, Curbs on Spending in Budget Speech

Senegal: Tensions Escalate Between President and Prime Minister as Bonds Tumble

Global: IEA's 2025 World Energy Outlook Published With New Current Policies Scenario

Guinea: Authorities Inaugurate the Start of Iron Ore Exports From $23B Simandou Mine

Tanzania: Senior Opposition Members Arrested Following Deadly Protests

Cameroon: Opposition Leader Gives Authorities 48-Hour Ultimatum To Release Post-Election Detainees

Mali: African Union Calls for Urgent Support to Junta as Concerns Over JNIM's Capture of Bamako Rise

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