<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

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Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon

Cabo Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Cote d'Ivoire

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Equatorial Guinea

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Ethiopia

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Mali

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mozambique

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Nigeria

Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

Sao Tome and Principe

Senegal

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

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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

Columns

On Geopolitics

Algeria

Morocco

France

A Gabonese brigade participates in a training exercise as part of a military program linked to the Franco-Gabonese partnership at the French military base Camp de Gaulle in Libreville on March 19, 2025. 

Military & Security

Politics

France's reduced influence in Africa will create space for local and foreign actors to take on greater leadership roles, but their inability to fill the security vacuum left by France's withdrawal would threaten to destabilize the region.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 2: The Age of Multi-Alignment 

A picture released on July 12, 1963, of then-French President Gen. Charles de Gaulle (2L) and Jacques Foccart (L) greeting African, Malagasy and French overseas territories veterans arriving in Paris for French Bastille Day celebrations.

Economics

After decades of cultivating tight-knit relationships with francophone African countries, France has effectively ended its forward military presence in West and Central Africa amid shifting political dynamics in both regions, which will weaken its influence on the continent but enable Paris to reallocate resources towards Europe's security.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 1: A New Balance of Power 

Snapshots

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen holds a press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Jan. 28, 2025.

Rising tensions between the ruling ANC and its key coalition partner over the 2025 budget are raising the risk of a coalition breakdown, which would threaten policy paralysis and a marked depreciation of the rand.

What the Democratic Alliance's Exit From Government Would Mean for South Africa

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A list of countries facing reciprocal tariffs on display April 2 at the White House.

Global Trade

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: The Escalating Global Trade War, South Africa's Coalition Government on the Brink

U.S.-China Relations

U.S.-Iran Relations

A photo of Khartoum, Sudan, with columns of smoke rising in the background.

The SAF's military victory in Khartoum marks a turning point in the country's civil war, but a firm resolution remains out of reach as the RSF fights to consolidate control in the west.

What Next for Sudan After the Army Retakes Khartoum?

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Who are the main actors involved, and what are the primary goals influencing the conflict?

Essential Geopolitics: South Sudan's Evolving Political and Security Outlook

Egypt

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Europe

Philippe Lazzarini (C), the commissioner general for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, attends a humanitarian conference for Gaza in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 2, 2024, amid the continuing Israel-Hamas war.

Egypt's economic limitations will continue to restrain its assertiveness in foreign policy, constraining its ability to project power in the region.

Egypt's Economic Priorities Sideline Assertive Foreign Policy

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Middle East and North Africa

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Israel-Hamas Conflict

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Intensifying trade wars, a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, continued volatility in the Middle East and consequential elections in key countries will shape the quarter.

2025 Second-Quarter Forecast: An Excerpt

Global Elections

The skyline of Kigali, Rwanda, is seen on March 27, 2024.

The region's population dynamics will remain favorable in the context of strong labor force growth and declining dependency ratios.

The Economic Potential of Sub-Saharan Africa's Population Growth

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (right) waves as he arrives in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 9, 2024, for the launch of new peace talks with rebel groups.

Rising political tensions risk collapsing the peace deal that ended the country's last civil war, while escalating clashes in the north risk drawing in involvement from Sudan's warring parties.

South Sudan Hurtles Toward Another Civil War

Deputy President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan signed several agreements with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries, The Chanzo reported May 6.

Tanzania: Government Expands Cooperation With UAE on Healthcare, Mining and Trade

Around two-thirds of the left-leaning African National Congress party's lawmakers in South Africa's National Assembly have urged the party's leadership to remove the center-right Democratic Alliance from government on the basis that the DA was undermining the ANC and government cohesion, The Sunday Times reported on May 4. 

South Africa: Two-Thirds of ANC Lawmakers Seek To Oust DA From Government

Venezuela

Iran

Iraq

Kuwait

Libya

OPEC+ announced on May 3 that it will raise its collective oil production cap by 411,000 barrels per day in June, an increase from the original production increase of roughly 138,000 barrels per day to which the bloc previously agreed.

Global: OPEC's Production Increase Provides Some Tariff Respite

Senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump Massad Boulos said the United States is pushing the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda to sign a formal peace deal in two months, Reuters reported on May 1.

Congo, Rwanda: Trump Administration Eyes Peace Agreement, Mineral Deals in Two Months

Participants in a national political conference organized by Mali's military regime recommended appointing junta leader Col. Assimi Goita as president of the republic for a renewable five-year term, without going through elections, RFI reported on April 30.

Mali: National Political Conference Recommends Nominating Junta Leader as President

The Kenyan government introduced the Finance Bill 2025 in the National Assembly, which Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury John Mbadi said did not involve "any tax measures which will add burden on the taxpayer," despite the bill not yet being made public, Citizen Digital reported April 30.

Kenya: Government Introduces New Finance Bill Amid Fresh Controversy Over 2024 Protests

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that he would present a new budget to South Africa's National Assembly on May 21, adding that it would focus on spending discipline and not involve additional taxes or borrowing, the Daily Maverick reported April 30.

South Africa: Finance Minister To Present New Budget on May 21

Mozambique's Council of Ministers approved the country's 2025 budget, Bloomberg reported April 29.

Mozambique: Government Seeks Spending Cuts in Push To Secure New IMF Program

Sub-Saharan Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Tanzania: Government Expands Cooperation With UAE on Healthcare, Mining and Trade

South Africa: Two-Thirds of ANC Lawmakers Seek To Oust DA From Government

Global: OPEC's Production Increase Provides Some Tariff Respite

Congo, Rwanda: Trump Administration Eyes Peace Agreement, Mineral Deals in Two Months

Mali: National Political Conference Recommends Nominating Junta Leader as President

Kenya: Government Introduces New Finance Bill Amid Fresh Controversy Over 2024 Protests

South Africa: Finance Minister To Present New Budget on May 21

Mozambique: Government Seeks Spending Cuts in Push To Secure New IMF Program

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