Southern African Countries: Full List, Capitals, and Map

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, but the exact definition varies depending on the source.

For clarity and consistency, this post follows the United Nations (UN) geoscheme, which defines Southern Africa as consisting of five countries:

• Botswana
• Eswatini (Swaziland)
• Lesotho
• Namibia
• South Africa

Other organizations, such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), use a much broader definition that includes additional countries like Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and several Indian Ocean islands.

These expanded groupings are useful for political or economic discussions, but they do not reflect the standard UN geographic definition used in international statistics.

This article focuses on the official UN subregion, followed by notes on the wider definitions used in physical geography and regional organizations.

List of countries in Southern Africa

The UN geoscheme recognizes five sovereign states in the Southern Africa subregion:

For broader context, you can also explore how these nations compare in size and population across the continent.

Countries in Africa map

The Southern African countries sit at the very bottom of the African continent. This subregion stretches from Namibia on the Atlantic coast to South Africa’s Indian Ocean shoreline, and includes the landlocked nations of Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini.

Eswatini was formerly known as Swaziland until the country officially changed its name in 2018.

How Southern Africa is defined

UN geoscheme (most common)

This is the definition used by the United Nations, World Bank, and most international statistical agencies.

It includes only the five countries listed at the top of this post.

SADC (Southern African Development Community)

The SADC is a political and economic organization with 16 member states, aimed at promoting regional cooperation, development, and integration.

Its members include:

1. Angola
2. Botswana
3. Comoros
4. Democratic Republic of the Congo
5. Eswatini (Swaziland)
6. Lesotho
7. Madagascar
8. Malawi
9. Mauritius
10. Mozambique
11. Namibia
12. Seychelles
13. South Africa
14. Tanzania
15. Zambia
16. Zimbabwe

African Union

The African Union (AU) uses a broader definition of Southern Africa than the UN geoscheme. In the AU regional classification, 10 countries are included in the Southern Africa region:

• Angola
• Botswana
• Eswatini
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• South Africa
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

The AU’s grouping is used primarily for political and administrative purposes and does not match the narrower five-country definition used by the United Nations for statistical reporting.

Physical geography definition

Physical geographers often define Southern Africa as the land south of the Zambezi and Cunene Rivers, which can include:

• Botswana
• Eswatini
• Lesotho
• Namibia
• South Africa
• Zimbabwe
• Southern Mozambique

This definition has little use in political or economic analysis but is common in ecological, wildlife, and geological contexts.

Global regions map

To help place Southern Africa within the wider UN classification system, the global regions map below shows how all world subregions are organized.

The system groups every UN member state into a standardized region, which makes it easier to compare data across continents. Antarctica is excluded because the classification only covers UN member states.

Within Africa, the UN divides the continent into Northern Africa, Western Africa, Middle Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa. A total of 22 geographical subregions are recognized worldwide in the UN geoscheme.