The Coast of West Africa

Attye (Atie), Asante (Ashanti), Baga, Bassa, Baule, Bete, Bidjogo, Dan Gere, Fante, Grebo, Guro, Mende, Senufo, Temne, Toma, We, Wobe, Yaure.   

Inland West Africa

Bambara, Bobo, Bwa, Dogon, Ligbi, Lobi, Mossi, Senufo, Warka (Marka).

Nigeria and Cameroon

Bamun, Bamileke, Benin, Ekoi, Ibibio, Idoma, Ife, Ijo, Igbo (Ibo), Mambila, Mumuye,  Namji, Yaruba

Gabon and Zaire (DRC)

Bembe, Binji, Boa, Dengese, Fang, Hemba, Jokwe (Chokwe, Tshokwe), Kongo, Kota, Kuba, Kusu, Kwele, Lega, Lele, Lengola, Luba, Luena (Lwena), Luba, Lulua, Lwalwa, Mbagani, Mbala, Mbole, Ngbaka, Ngbandi, Pende, Punu,  Salampasu, Songye (Songe), Suku, Tabwa, Teke, Vili, Yaka, Yombe, Zombo

East and South Africa

Makonde, Masai, Kisi, Nyamezi

NORTHERN AFRICA

Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali and the Cape Verde Islands make up Northern Africa. It is bounded by the Red and Mediterranean Seas, Atlantic Ocean and the southern Sahara. Mainly Moslem and known as "Arab" Africa, it is actually racially diverse, though separated from "Black" Africa by desert. It is subtropical to tropical and generally arid in climate.

The economy ranges from nomadism to manufacturing, though no North African country is industrial. Egypt goes back 5,000 years and Rome brought all of the Mediterranean shore into its Empire by 44 CE. The area is heavily influenced by Moslem Arabs who ruled from the 10th century until European powers took over in the 19th century. The desert interior has been the province of nomadic tribes since neolithic times.

EASTERN AFRICA

Eastern Africa is Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, The Comoros Islands and Madagascar. The Indian Ocean and Red Sea are its coasts. The Great Rift Valley, some of the world's largest lakes, Africa's high and low points, forests, savannah and deserts are there. Madagascar's life forms are ancient and unique. Though it is entirely tropical, the highest elevations still get snow.

Eastern Africa's developing economies, some among the poorest in the world, rely on herding and agriculture. Recent wars further retard improvement. Scientists place man's earliest origin here. Ethiopia is 3,000 years old, Eritrea less than ten years old. Seafaring Arabs, then Europeans, dominated the Indian Ocean coast politically. Most of the area was under British rule before the 20th century brought independence.

WESTERN AFRICA

Western Africa is Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The southern coast and hinterlands of Africa's great western bulge, it covers most of geographical (not the country) Sudan. It lies between the Atlantic Ocean, Sahara Desert and Central African rain forest. The climate is tropical.

The area's developing economies rely heavily on agriculture and extractive industry. Overpopulation and drought are problems. The area was the home of such advanced native cultures as the 15th century Hausa. Most African slaves in the new world originated here. European control began in the 18th century and by the 20th only Liberia was self-governing. The area enters the 21st century completely independent.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Southern Africa is Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Zaire, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, the Republic of South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia and Sao Tome. Its northern boundary is highlands rising from the Sahara, its eastern edge is the Great Rift Valley and the Indian Ocean. To the south and west is the Atlantic Ocean. The climate ranges from tropical in the north to subtropical in the south.

Southern African economies are mainly extractive and undeveloped. The industrialized Republic of South Africa, with a moderate climate and heavy European investment, dominates the area. The southern savannah and desert were inhabited very early but equatorial jungles were unpopulated until more recent times. In the 19th century, an expanding Zulu kingdom fought colonizing Europeans. Now native governments have replaced colonialism.