Britannica Sources used in this answer

Which countries are included in Southern Africa?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Southern Africa Sand dunes and vegetation at Sossusvlei in the Namib desert, Namibia.

The region of Southern Africa comprises the following ten countries:

Angola
Botswana
Eswatini
Lesotho
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Zambia
Zimbabwe1

While the island nation of Madagascar is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), it is excluded from the geographic definition of the Southern Africa region due to its distinct language and cultural heritage.12