Eastern Africa

Introduction
East Africa
- The coast until 1856
  - Azania
  - The Shirazi migration
  - The Portuguese invasion
  - The Omani ascendancy
- The interior before the colonial era
  - The spread of ironworking and the Bantu migrations
  - The early interlacustrine kingdoms
  - The chieftainships of the southern savanna
  - Northeastern Bantu
  - The Nilotic migrations
  - Pressure on the southern chieftainships
  - Rwanda and Buganda
  - The Luo and Maasai
  - Trade with the coast
- The colonial era
  - Missionary activity
  - Partition by Germany and Britain
The Horn of Africa
- Aksum
- The Somali
- The Solomonids
- Rise of the Oromo
- Abyssinia
- Revival of the Ethiopian empire
- The birth of Somali nationalism
- Italian rule
- Pan-Somalism
- Eritrean nationalism
- Somalia irredenta
- Cracks in the empire
- Militarism in the Horn
- Rise of the Dergue
- War in the Ogaden
- Fall of military governments

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Map of East Africa showing political boundaries, major cities, and capitals, overlaid with shaded elevation zones. Higher elevations are concentrated in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, while lower elevations follow the coastal regions along the Indian Ocean and extend into Somalia and Mozambique. Major lakes such as Victoria, Tanganyika, and Rudolf are also marked.

Historical map of eastern Africa around 1850 showing major states such as Kefa, Buganda, and the Sultanate of Zanzibar, along with minor states, stateless peoples, and the Maasai. Red lines trace major trade routes connecting inland regions to the Red Sea, Arabian Peninsula, and Indian Ocean, while green arrows indicate directions of expansion by groups like the Oromo and Maasai. Major lakes, rivers, and mountain landmarks are labeled throughout the region.

Antique map from 1902 showing central Africa with colonial territories labeled as Kamerun, French Kongo, Kongo Free State, Portuguese West Africa, British East Africa, German East Africa, East Africa, and Rhodesia. The map details rivers, cities, and borders of the era, with an inset map of Madagascar in the lower right corner.

Historical map of eastern Africa around 1914, showing the region divided among British, German, French, and Italian colonial powers. Different territories are color-coded by colonial ruler, with key locations such as British East Africa (Kenya and Uganda), German East Africa (including present-day Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi), Italian Somaliland, and French Somaliland labeled. Major lakes, rivers, and cities are also marked.

Physical map of East Africa showing elevation with color gradients, international boundaries, major cities, rivers, lakes, dams, waterfalls, spot elevations, and active volcanoes. The map covers countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Angola, with a locator inset highlighting the region within the African continent.

Thematic map of East Africa displaying major cultural and linguistic regions, with areas shaded for Bantu, Cushitic, and Nilotic language groups. Red lines mark cultural region boundaries and rift areas, with numbered labels identifying specific ethnic groups and languages across countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of neighboring nations.

Quizzes

Church of Saint George (Bet Giyorgis), Lalibela, Ethiopia. UNESCO World Heritage site.

Geography of Africa Quiz

Related Questions

How did Arab and Persian Muslim settlers influence the Horn of Africa’s coastal towns?
How did British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland join to form Somalia?
How did the Anglo-German Agreement of 1886 divide British and German influence in East Africa?
How did the Battle of Adwa affect Ethiopia’s relationship with Italy?
How did the East African Rift System help form the region’s lakes and volcanic mountains?
How do high elevations affect temperatures in Eastern Africa?
How does the climate of the Somali desert differ from the climate near the East African lakes?
What types of vegetation grow in the drier areas of Eastern Africa?
What types of vegetation grow in wetter parts of Eastern Africa?
What was the Anglo-German Agreement of 1886?
When did Djibouti gain independence from France?
When did Eritrea become independent from Ethiopia?
When did Kenya become independent?
When did Tanganyika gain independence?
When did Uganda gain independence from Britain?
When did coastal trading cities begin to arise along the East African coast?
When did food production and cattle keeping begin in the highlands of Kenya and northern Tanzania?
Where do Somali people live in Eastern Africa?
Where do the Oromo people live in Eastern Africa?
Where does the Western Rift Valley run in Eastern Africa?
Where have early Stone Age sites been found in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda?
Where is Lake Victoria located in relation to the East African rift valleys?
Which East African lake is one of the deepest lakes in the world?
Which Eastern African peoples are associated with Bantu languages?
Which Islamic states came into conflict with Christian dynasties in Ethiopia?
Which bodies of water border the Horn of Africa?
Which countries are generally included in the Horn of Africa?
Which countries are traditionally included in Eastern Africa?
Which countries belong to the East African Community?
Which countries make up East Africa in the traditional regional division of Eastern Africa?
Which country contains Mount Kilimanjaro?
Which ethnic groups are among the largest in Eastern Africa?
Which language families are spoken by many people in Eastern Africa?
Which large animals migrate across the grasslands of Kenya and Tanzania?
Which major landforms shape the geography of Eastern Africa?
Which mountain is the highest point in Africa?
Which parts of Eastern Africa have dry or semiarid climates?
Which peoples in Ethiopia speak Semitic languages?
Which peoples may have introduced food production and cattle keeping to parts of East Africa?
Which peoples of Eastern Africa speak Cushitic languages?
Which ports were important centers of trade in Somalia before European colonization?
Which predators live in the grasslands of Kenya and Tanzania?
Why are many lakes in the East African Rift Valley long and deep?
Why do definitions of the Horn of Africa include different groups of countries?
Why does Eastern Africa have some of Africa’s highest elevations?
Why has the Horn of Africa been an important crossroads for trade and migration?
Why is Lake Victoria different from many other East African lakes?

Geography & Travel Geographic Regions

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External Websites

Humanities LibreTexts - East Africa and the Horn of Africa
The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Eastern Africa, 1600ï¿½1800 A.D.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - East Africa

Eastern Africa

region, Africa

Also known as: East Africa

Written by

Harold G. Marcus

Distinguished Professor of History and African Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing. Author of A History of Ethiopia and others.

Harold G. MarcusAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 4, 2026 •History

Eastern Africa, part of sub-Saharan Africa comprising two traditionally recognized regions: East Africa, made up of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda; and the Horn of Africa, made up of Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Eastern Africa consists largely of plateaus and has most of the highest elevations in the continent. The two most striking highlands are in Ethiopia and Kenya, respectively, where large areas reach elevations of 6,500 to 10,000 feet (2,000 to 3,000 metres). Twin...

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