<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

France

A photo taken on Dec. 8, 2025, shows an armored vehicle at the entrance of a blocked road in Cotonou, Benin, near the headquarters of the state broadcaster Benin TV.

Military & Security

Politics

The coup attempt will increase political and security risks ahead of Benin's 2026 elections, while the swift, Nigeria-led ECOWAS intervention suggests Abuja is assuming a more assertive regional role with tacit French backing following Paris's troop drawdown.

Benin's Foiled Coup Signals Strengthening Franco-Nigerian Coordination in West Africa

Hong Kong SAR, China

Europe

Ukraine

Protesters help an injured demonstrator near burning barricades amid clashes in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Oct. 29, 2025. 

Environment, Science & Technology

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: Unrest in Tanzania, an EU Summit in Ukraine

U.S.-China Relations

Snapshots

Yemen

Yemenis stand under a billboard depicting the seizure of an Israeli-linked ship in the sea by Yemen's Houthi-run coast guards during a demonstration staged in solidarity with the people of Gaza and against U.S. President Donald Trump's deal to end the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 3, 2025, in Sanaa, Yemen. 

While the partnership provides tactical benefits, structural limitations on Houthi resources and al Shabaab's financial independence suggest the relationship will remain opportunistic.

The Outlook for Cooperation Between Yemen's Houthis and Somalia's al Shabaab

United States

Japan

South Korea

United Kingdom

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

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

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

Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri fled to neighboring Togo after his Dec. 7 coup attempt in Benin collapsed, Jeune Afrique reported on Dec. 10. 

Benin, Togo: Benin's Failed Coup Leader Flees to Togo

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels entered the city of Uvira, the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's South Kivu province, despite calls from the United States and the European Union for the group to immediately halt its offensive, Radio Okapi reported Dec. 10. 

Congo: M23 Rebels Enter Eastern City of Uvira in Major Escalation

Tanzanian authorities deployed police and army troops across major cities, particularly in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, to prevent planned protests on Independence Day, celebrated on Dec. 9, Reuters reported the same day.

Tanzania: Security Forces Deployed To Counter Anticipated Anti-Government Protests After Preemptive Arrests

The regional administration of southern Somalia's semiautonomous state of Jubaland publicly rebranded itself as a "government" rather than a regional state, effectively rejecting its previous status under the national federal system governed by the Federal Government of Somalia, Garowe Online reported on Dec. 8. 

Somalia: Jubaland State Rebrands as a 'Government'

A source within the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, claimed Sudan's SAF-backed government had frozen plans for Russia to establish a naval base at Port Sudan, Sudan Tribune reported on Dec. 6. 

Sudan: SAF Official Claims Plans for Russian Naval Base Are Frozen

Al Qaeda Sahel affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, resumed attacks against fuel tanker convoys in southern Mali, setting on fire at least 15 tankers near Bougouni, in southern Mali, on Dec. 6, RFI reported the following day. 

Mali: JNIM Resumes Attacks on Fuel Tankers After Lull

The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, announced the immediate deployment of a standby force comprising troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone to Benin following a failed Dec. 7 coup attempt against President Patrice Talon, Jeune Afrique reported on Dec. 8.

West Africa: ECOWAS To Deploy Troops to Benin Following Failed Coup Attempt

President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame signed the "Washington Accords," in which both sides reiterated their commitment to implementing their U.S.-brokered June peace deal, the U.S. State Department said in a press release on Dec. 4.

Congo, Rwanda: Tshisekedi Signs Peace Deal With Kagame, Strategic Partnership With U.S.

Sub-Saharan Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Benin, Togo: Benin's Failed Coup Leader Flees to Togo

Congo: M23 Rebels Enter Eastern City of Uvira in Major Escalation

Tanzania: Security Forces Deployed To Counter Anticipated Anti-Government Protests After Preemptive Arrests

Somalia: Jubaland State Rebrands as a 'Government'

Sudan: SAF Official Claims Plans for Russian Naval Base Are Frozen

Mali: JNIM Resumes Attacks on Fuel Tankers After Lull

West Africa: ECOWAS To Deploy Troops to Benin Following Failed Coup Attempt

Congo, Rwanda: Tshisekedi Signs Peace Deal With Kagame, Strategic Partnership With U.S.

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