What was the last sub-Saharan African country to gain independence?
The last sub-Saharan African country to become independent was South Sudan, which gained independence from its neighbor to the north, Sudan, in 2011. Prior to that, Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and Namibia became independent in 1990 after decades of South African rule that had begun with a mandate to the country via Great Britain. Because of the unique mandate situation (see below), Namibia is one of the sub-Saharan African countries considered the last to gain independence from a colonial power; another is Zimbabwe, which gained independence from Great Britain in 1980.
South Sudan
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011. This followed decades of conflict while it was part of Sudan. South Sudan’s population, consisting predominantly of people from African cultures that tend to adhere to Christian or animist beliefs, and Sudan’s largely Muslim and Arab northern government had long been at odds. Sudan itself had gained independence in 1956 from Great Britain, but conflict between the north and the south had taken the form of lengthy civil wars spanning decades (1955–72 and 1983–2005). The latter war was ended by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement; among its provisions were a future referendum for independence as well as semiautonomous status for the south in the interim. The referendum was held in January 2011. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of secession, leading to South Sudan’s independence months later.
Other countries
Eritrea
Eritrea gained independence from its neighbor to the south, Ethiopia, on May 24, 1993. Eritrea, an Italian colony since 1890, was made part of the short-lived Italian East Africa (1936–41) that included the recently conquered Ethiopia. During World War II, the area fell to British-led forces in 1941, and Ethiopia quickly reclaimed its independence. Eritrea was under British administration until 1952, when, at Ethiopia’s urging and under the mandate of a United Nations resolution, the two neighbors were joined in a federation. Eritreans began agitating for independence in the 1960s, which only happened after decades of war and a regime change in Ethiopia.
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Namibia
Namibia became an independent country on March 21, 1990. It was a former German colony that neighboring South Africa had invaded during World War I (1914–18). After the war it was designated a Class C mandate by the League of Nations. The mandate was awarded to Great Britain but was to be exercised by South Africa (then a dominion within the British Empire). Namibians began to petition the United Nations (the successor to the League of Nations) against South African rule in the 1940s. The UN revoked South Africa’s mandate in 1966, to no immediate avail; this was affirmed by a 1971 ruling by the International Court of Justice, which also found that South Africa’s continued presence in Namibia was illegal and ordered South Africa to immediately withdraw its administration from there. However, South African rule remained entrenched until 1988, when, after several setbacks, it negotiated for Namibia’s transition to independence, supervised by the UN.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe gained independence from Great Britain on April 18, 1980. The former British colony known as Southern Rhodesia had a rocky path to freedom. In 1965 the colony’s white minority illegally declared independence as Rhodesia. This was met with resistance: Great Britain did not recognize independence, and there was armed resistance among the Black majority as well as increasing international pressure in the following years for the white minority to come to an agreement with the majority Black population. Negotiations in the late 1970s paved the way for Black majority rule. Britain briefly retook control of the colony in late 1979, with independence coming the next year.
