Regions
Central Africa
Also Known As Middle Africa
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Central Africa, called Middle Africa in the United Nations geoscheme, is the subregion of the African continent comprising Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and Sao Tome and Principe. The Congo River and its basin, and the rainforest it drains, have shaped the region's settlement and economy since long before the modern states existed; farming, herding and fishing remain the main livelihoods across much of it.
Facts
Disputed
Area (sq km)Compiled by summing the nine UN geoscheme Central Africa member countries' individual areas listed in the source's own country table (Angola, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and six more); narrower Central African definitions exclude some of these members. PopulationCompiled the same way from the source's own 2021 per-country population table for the nine UN geoscheme members. Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the nine states the UN Middle Africa definition names.
The Congo Basin and its rainforest are the region's defining ecological feature.
The Congo River is the region's central watercourse and historic transport artery.
On Continent
Sources
1. Central Africa (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDefinition and geography sectionQuote, Definition and geography section
The Congo River basin has historically been ecologically significant to the populations of Central Africa.
1. Central Africa (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDefinition section, alias (UN geoscheme name)Quote, Definition section, alias (UN geoscheme name)
The United Nations geoscheme identifies it as Middle Africa.
1. Central Africa (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDefinition section, on-continent edgeQuote, Definition section, on-continent edge
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions.
1. Central Africa (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDemographics section, country tableQuote, Demographics section, country table
Due to common historical processes and widespread demographic movements between the countries of Central Africa before the Bantu Migration into much of southern Central Africa, the cultures of the region evidence many similarities and interrelationships.
United Nations M49 Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (Geoscheme)
United Nations Statistics DivisionAssociated With: Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa regional structureQuote, Associated With: Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa regional structure
Sub-Saharan Africa (202): Eastern Africa (014), Middle Africa (017), Southern Africa (018), Western Africa (011)
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.