Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the African continent south of the Sahara desert. It has 48 countries for just over a billion people.
List of sub-Saharan African countries
Here are the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa :
- Afrique du Sud
- Angola
- Bénin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cap-Vert
- Cameroun
- Comores
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Érythrée
- Éthiopie
- Gabon
- Gambie
- Ghana
- Guinée
- Guinée-Bissau
- Guinée équatoriale
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Libéria
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Maurice
- Mauritanie
- Mozambique
- Namibie
- Niger
- Nigéria
- Ouganda
- République Centrafricaine
- République démocratique du Congo
- République du Congo
- Rwanda
- Sao Tomé-et-Principe
- Sénégal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalie
- Soudan
- Soudan du Sud
- Swaziland
- Tanzanie
- Tchad
- Togo
- Zambie
- Zimbabwe
The 15 sub-Saharan African countries with high potential according to Coface
Coface has listed 15 sub-Saharan African countries with high private consumption potential by 2025. The report also identifies the two most promising sectors according to him: distribution and information technology (NICT and software).
The 15 countries selected by Coface in its report are: Angola, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania.
Emerging countries in sub-Saharan Africa according to OBEMA
OBEMA is the Observatory for Emergence in Africa. He has just published his ranking of the emergence in Africa 2017 according to his index :
- Mauritius
- South Africa
- Seychelles
- Botswana
- Cape Verde
- Rwanda
- Ghana
- Namibia
- Sao Tome and Principe
French-speaking countries in sub-Saharan Africa
Here are the sub-Saharan African countries that are members of the Francophonie (25 countries) :
- Benin
- Burkina-Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Comoros
- Congo
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Ivory Coast
- Gabon
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Equatorial Guinea
- Mali
- Madagascar
- Mauritius Island
- Mauritania
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Chad
- Togo
Sub-Saharan African countries and their currencies
| Country | Currency |
| South Africa | Rand (ZAR) |
| Angola | Kwanza (AOA) |
| Benin | CFA Franc (XOF) |
| Botswana | Pula (BWP) |
| Burkina Faso | CFA Franc (XOF) |
| Burundi | Burundian Franc (BIF) |
| Cape Verde | Cape Verdean Escudo (CVE) |
| Cameroon | CFA Franc (XAF) |
| Comoros | Comorian Franc Comorian (KMF) |
| Cote d’Ivoire | CFA Franc (XOF) |
| Eritrea | Eritrean Nakfa (ERN) |
| Ethiopia | Birr (ETB) |
| Gabon | CFA Franc (XA) |
| Gambia | Dalasi (GMD) |
| Ghana | Cedi (GHS) |
| Guinea | Guinean Franc (GNF) |
| Guinea-Bissau | CFA Franc (XOF) |
| Euqatorial Guinea | CFA Franc (XAF) |
| Kenya | Kenyan Shilling (KES) |
| Lesotho | Rand (ZAR) |
| Liberia | Liberian Dollar (LRD) |
| Madagascar | Ariary (MGA), Malagasy Franc (FMG) |
| Malawi | Malawian Kwacha (MWK) |
| Mali | CFA Franc (XOF) |
| Maurice | Mauritian Rupee (MUR) |
| Mauritania | Ouguiya (MRO) |
| Mozambique | Metical (MZN) |
| Namibia | Namibian Dollar |
| Niger | CFA Franc (XOF) |
| Nigeria | Naira (NGN) |
| Uganda | Uganda Shilling (UGX) |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | Congolese Franc, Zaire (CDF) |
| Republic of Congo | CFA Franc (XAF) |
| Rwanda | Rwandan Franc (RWF) |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Dobra (STD) |
| Senegal | CFA Franc (XAF) |
| Seychelles | Seychelles Rupee (SCR) |
| Sierra Leone | Leone (SLL) |
| Somalia | Somali Shilling (SOS) |
| Sudan | Sudanese Pound (SDG) |
| South Sudan | South Sudanese Pound (SSP) |
| Swaziland | Lilangeni (SZL) |
| Tanzania | Shilling Tanzania (TZS) |
| Togo | CFA Franc (XAF) |
| Zambia | Zambian Kwacha (ZMW) |
| Zimbabwe | Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL) |
The franc zone in sub-Saharan Africa
At the time of its creation in 1945, on 26 December to be precise, the CFA franc meant « Franc des Colonies Françaises d’Afrique ». A special day for France, which ratifies the Bretton Woods agreements with the first parity declaration to the International Monetary Fund or IMF. Then, the name was changed to « Franc of the African Financial Community » for members of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU), and « Franc of Financial Cooperation in Central Africa » for members of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC).
Sub-Saharan African countries members of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) in CFA Franc with currency code XOF : Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo.
Sub-Saharan African countries members of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC) in CFA Franc with currency code XAF : Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Republic of Congo.
The case of Zimbabwe
This country allows the circulation of several currencies : Rand, Pound Sterling, Euro, Indian Rupee, Yen, Yuan, Austalian Dollar, Pula; but the exchanges are mainly in American dollars. Recently, Zimbabwe, more specifically its Minister of Finance, stated that the country would reintroduce its own currency, the Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL), by the end of 2019, to correct hyperinflation and the lack of US dollars.
In Madagascar, how is it going ?
Although there is only one currency in Madagascar, there are two currency units used daily by Malagasy with the particularity of a value gap, a factor of 5, more clearly, the Ariary (MGA) multiplies by 5 to have the value in Malagasy franc (FMG).
Here are some useful resources if you want to know more about Madagascar, a sub-Saharan African member country in the Indian Ocean region :
- Internet in Madagascar : Who is the best ISP in Madagascar
- What language is spoken in Madagascar ?
- The discovery of Madagascar by a Portuguese captain
