<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

Iran

Israel

Europe

Ukraine

Russia

Israeli air defense systems are activated to intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early on June 18, 2025. 

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: Israel-Iran Conflict Rages On, NATO Holds Annual Summit

Italy

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks to media during the closing press conference of the G7 Summit in Fasano, Italy, on June 15, 2024. 

Energy

Italy is seeking to embed its Mattei Plan into EU policy to gain support for its immediate goals of energy security and migration control, but structural issues will likely limit Rome's long-term influence in Africa.

Italy Syncs Its Mattei Plan for Africa With EU Initiatives

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop hold a joint press conference following their meeting in Moscow, Russia, on May 20, 2022. 

While Russian military support to Mali is set to persist, the Sahelian country's security environment will likely continue to deteriorate amid jihadist groups' strong momentum.

What's Next for Mali as Russia's Wagner Group Pulls Out? 

Canada

Japan

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Rescue teams work at damaged buildings in Nobonyad Square following Israeli airstrikes on June 13, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. 

Global Trade

The Weekly Rundown: G7 Leaders' Summit, More Israeli Attacks on Iran

Palestinian Territories

China

Poland

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: A U.S. Tariff Ruling, Israel's Opposition Seeks To Dissolve the Knesset

U.S.-China Relations

M23 fighters are seen at the main border crossing between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in Goma on March 1, 2025.

Mediation efforts from the Trump administration will likely see the two African countries ink a peace deal in the coming months, but implementation will prove challenging, sustaining the risk of a new military escalation in eastern Congo.

U.S. Mediation Brings Congo and Rwanda Closer to a Peace Deal

A worker inspects an oil drilling platform located roughly 35 kilometers away from Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta. 

The recent drop in global oil prices risks exacerbating Nigeria's already high inflation, which would ripen socioeconomic conditions for protests and threaten to fuel recruitment by jihadist and bandit groups.

Can Nigeria Navigate Lower Oil Prices? 

Taiwan

Portugal

Romania

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 21 during an official trip to the United States.

The Weekly Rundown: South Africa's U.S. Reset, Three European Elections

Columns

On Geopolitics

Algeria

Morocco

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. 

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.

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 

Turkey

Nigerien authorities announced that they would nationalize uranium mining company SOMAIR, a subsidiary of France's state-owned Orano that owns the country's only operating uranium mine, Reuters reported on June 20. 

Niger: Junta To Nationalize Subsidiary of France's Orano 

Technical teams from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda initialed the text of a draft peace agreement that both countries' foreign affairs ministers are due to sign on June 27, Radio France Internationale reported on June 19. 

Congo, Rwanda: Ministers Scheduled To Sign Peace Agreement on June 27

The CEO of French multinational energy company TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, said he expected the development of the $20 billion Mozambique LNG project to resume "this summer," Reuters reported on June 18.

Mozambique: TotalEnergies CEO Confirms Plan To Resume Work on Mozambique LNG 'This Summer' 

Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress, or APC, is facing rising internal tensions amid speculation that President Bola Tinubu is considering running mates other than Vice President Kashim Shettima for the 2027 general election, the Punch reported on June 17.

Nigeria: Ruling APC Faces Mounting Internal Tensions as Doubts Grow Over Tinubu's 2027 Running Mate

 Malian court appointed an administrator to run Canadian mining company Barrick Mining's Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex for an initial period of six months, the Financial Times reported on June 16.

Mali: Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto Gold Mining Complex Placed Under State Control

Antigua and Barbuda

Dominican Republic

Saint Lucia

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Egypt

Syria

Cambodia

Tonga

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

Kyrgyzstan

Bhutan

The U.S. State Department issued a memo giving 36 countries 60 days to meet new department requirements or be added to a travel ban implemented on June 9, The Washington Post reported on June 14.

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

United Arab Emirates

The Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, found crates of ammunition and mortar bombs ordered by the Kenyan Ministry of Defense and dated from 2023 and 2024 in recaptured weapon depots belonging to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, Daily Nation and Bellingcat reported on June 15.

Sudan: Nairobi To Face Global Scrutiny as Kenyan Weapons Found in RSF Depot 

In Burundi's June 5 parliamentary elections, the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy party won all 100 directly elected seats with over 96% of the vote, a result the opposition called a death blow to democracy, BBC reported on June 12.

Burundi: Ruling Party Wins Every Seat in Parliamentary Poll

Sub-Saharan Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Niger: Junta To Nationalize Subsidiary of France's Orano

Congo, Rwanda: Ministers Scheduled To Sign Peace Agreement on June 27

Mozambique: TotalEnergies CEO Confirms Plan To Resume Work on Mozambique LNG 'This Summer'

Nigeria: Ruling APC Faces Mounting Internal Tensions as Doubts Grow Over Tinubu's 2027 Running Mate

Mali: Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto Gold Mining Complex Placed Under State Control

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

Sudan: Nairobi To Face Global Scrutiny as Kenyan Weapons Found in RSF Depot

Burundi: Ruling Party Wins Every Seat in Parliamentary Poll

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