{"id":7,"date":"2014-07-14T09:36:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T08:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/?p=7"},"modified":"2020-07-29T00:36:03","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T23:36:03","slug":"countries-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/countries-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Countries In Southern Africa: Facts You Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa is one of the largest continents in the world with over 50 different countries. It is subdivided into various regions: Northern Africa which is constituted by countries like Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya; the western region of Africa include countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Togo etc.<\/p>\n

Countries that occupy the eastern part of Africa include Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania etc and, Central Africa is made up of countries like Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea etc.<\/p>\n

Countries in South Africa\u00a0<\/strong>is the part that often brings confusion. There are several countries in Southern Africa just like in every other African region. Such countries include Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and\u00a0South Africa<\/a> (which is a country within southern Africa).<\/p>\n

A lot of people often think that South Africa has other countries within it; but that’s not true, South Africa is the main hub among the Southern African countries.<\/p>\n

South Africa is just one country in the southern part of Africa. Geographically, Lesotho is an African country located right inside South Africa forming an enclave (an independent country that is completely landlocked by another) and is the only independent African country to have such attribute. Apart from Lesotho, there are only 2 more landlocked nations in the world – The Republic of\u00a0San Marino\u00a0which is\u00a0enclaved within\u00a0Italy\u00a0and The\u00a0Vatican City, which is enclaved within the city of\u00a0Rome.<\/p>\n

Classification of Countries in South Africa<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Southern<\/a>
Map of Southern Africa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are 2 major classifications for countries in Southern Africa<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The United Nations classification and that of the Southern African Development Community\u00a0(SADC) which is\u00a0an\u00a0inter-governmental agency headquartered in\u00a0Gaborone,\u00a0Botswana\u00a0with the sole purpose of fostering\u00a0socio-economic integration and growth among the member states. One may consider it as a smaller version of the African Union.<\/p>\n

United Nations Recognition of Countries in South Africa<\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to the United Nations, there are 5 different countries that make-up Southern Africa. They include:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0South Africa<\/p>\n

2. Namibia<\/p>\n

3. Lesotho<\/p>\n

4. Botswana<\/p>\n

5. Swaziland<\/p>\n

These countries constitute the geographic mapping of South African countries according to the United Nations. This is also the classification used by the\u00a0Southern African Customs Union\u00a0(SACU)<\/a> which was established in 1969 to replace the customs union of 1910 making it the oldest\u00a0existing customs union in the world.<\/p>\n

Southern African Development Community (SADC) Classification of South African Countries<\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to\u00a0Southern African Development Community\u00a0(SADC), 15 countries constitute the South African region. The countries include the following:<\/p>\n

1. Angola<\/p>\n

2. Namibia<\/p>\n

3. Mozambique<\/p>\n

4. Tanzania<\/p>\n

5. Swaziland<\/p>\n

6. Seychelles<\/p>\n

7. South Africa<\/p>\n

8. Mauritius<\/p>\n

9. Zambia<\/p>\n

10. Zimbabwe<\/p>\n

11. Botswana<\/p>\n

12. The Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/p>\n

13. Lesotho<\/p>\n

14. Madagascar<\/p>\n

15. Malawi<\/p>\n

Sometimes, the 2 major islands (Madagascar and Mauritius) are regarded as countries in East Africa.<\/p>\n

See Also: Tribes of South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Economy of South African Region<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Southern Africa is endowed with natural resources like gold, platinum and diamond but just like other countries in Africa, corruption and the bane of colonialism has shaped this region into what it is today.<\/p>\n

Among all the countries in Southern Africa, South Africa is the economic superpower, the main centre of economic activity and development. South Africa’s GDP is more than those of all other countries in this region put together.<\/p>\n

Southern African People, History and Culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"South<\/a><\/h3>\n

Various countries in South Africa have various people who adopt different cultures. Through the years of migration, colonization, and resettlement in Southern African history, the cultures of this region have changed quite a lot resulting in a significant population of European (Afrikaners,\u00a0Anglo-Africans,\u00a0Portuguese Africans, etc.) and Asian descent (Cape Malays,\u00a0Indian South Africans, etc.) in many southern African countries.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Bantu expansion\u00a0pushed the former occupants of the region to the more remote areas and this is the reason most of the ethnic groups in this region\u00a0speak languages which share common\u00a0Bantu language\u00a0origin and include the people of Zulu<\/a>,\u00a0Xhosa<\/a>, Northern\u00a0Ndebele<\/a>, Swazi, Ovimbundu, Chaga, Southern Ndebele, Tswana<\/a>, Sotho, Balunda, Mbundu, Sukuma and Shona.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa is one of the largest continents in the world with over 50 different countries. It is subdivided into various regions: Northern Africa which is constituted by countries like Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya; the western region of Africa include countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Togo etc. Countries that occupy the eastern part of Africa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCountries in South Africa: List and Facts You Should Know<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is South Africa a country? People often get confused about this as it is often wondered if there are countries in South Africa, whether the term refers to a geographical region in the continent or just to a specific nation. 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