Region

Central Africa

Also Known As Middle Africa

Africa

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 São Tomé and Príncipe. 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)

6,611,667 1

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.

Population

189,268,366 1

Compiled the same way from the source's own 2021 per-country population table for the nine UN geoscheme members.

Classification

Region Type

Cultural Region 1

Region Type

Cultural Region 1

FAQs

Which countries count as Central Africa?

The answer depends on the definition: the United Nations geoscheme names nine countries, other bodies use seven or eleven.

There is no single list, because the term is defined differently by different bodies. The United Nations geoscheme calls its version Middle Africa and names nine countries. The United Nations Office for Central Africa also covers Burundi and Rwanda, which the geoscheme places in East Africa, giving eleven countries that are or were members of the Economic Community of Central African States. The African Development Bank uses a narrower list of seven countries. Six countries also share a currency, the Central African CFA franc, through the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa.

Connections

Associated With

Cameroon

Central African Republic

Chad

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the nine states the UN Middle Africa definition names.

Source Central Africa (Wikipedia)

Equatorial Guinea

Gabon

Republic of the Congo

Sub-Saharan Africa

Source United Nations M49 Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (Geoscheme)

The Congo Basin

The Congo Basin and its rainforest are the region's defining ecological feature.

Source Central Africa (Wikipedia)

The Congo River

The Congo River is the region's central watercourse and historic transport artery.

Source Central Africa (Wikipedia)

In the Other Atlases

Origin Of

Brazzein

Also in Food and Drink Atlas: which originated in this subject.

Chikwangue

Also in Food and Drink Atlas: which originated in this subject.

Moambe Chicken

Also in Food and Drink Atlas: which originated in this subject.

Source Wikipedia: Moambe chicken

Palm Wine

Also in Food and Drink Atlas: which originated in this subject.

Source Palm Wine (Wikipedia)tier 2

Uziza

Also in Food and Drink Atlas: which originated in this subject.

Source Piper guineense (Wikipedia)Lead paragraph

Quote, Lead paragraph

These are native to topical regions of Central and Western Africa and are semi-cultivated in countries such as Nigeria where the leaves, known as uziza, are used as a flavouring for stews.

Jean-Bédel Bokassa

Also in History Atlas: which originated in this subject.

Location Of

Bantu Expansion

Also in History Atlas: which took place in this subject.

Source Bantu expansion, WikipediaLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article

Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article

The Bantu expansion was a major series of prehistoric migrations of the original Proto-Bantu-speaking group, which spread from an original nucleus around West-Central Africa across Central Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa.