Discover

'Central Africa' is a core region of the African continent often considered to include:

★ Burundi

★ Central African Republic

★ Chad

★ Democratic Republic of the Congo

★ Rwanda
'Middle Africa' (as used by the United Nations when categorising geographic subregions) is an analogous term that describes the portion of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, east of Western Africa, but west of the Great Rift Valley. The region is dominated by the Congo River and its tributaries, which collectively drain a greater area than any river system except the Amazon. According to the UN, the nine countries of Middle Africa are:

★ Angola

★ Cameroon

★ Central African Republic

★ Chad

★ Democratic Republic of the Congo

★ Republic of the Congo

★ Equatorial Guinea

★ Gabon

★ São Tomé and Príncipe
All of the states in the UN subregion of Middle Africa, plus those otherwise commonly reckoned in central Africa (11 states in total), comprise the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
The Central African Federation (1953–1963), also called the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and made up of what are now Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, are now variably regarded as parts of Southern Africa or Eastern Africa. See also British Central Africa (1891–1907).