Southeast Africa,[1][2] or Southeastern Africa,[3][a] is an African region that is intermediate between East Africa[b] and Southern Africa.[c][8] It comprises the countries Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi,[9] Mozambique,[10][11] Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda,[12] Zambia and Zimbabwe[13] in the mainland, with the island-nations of Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, and Seychelles also included.[10]
History
Prehistory
East and southern Africa are among the earliest regions where modern humans (Homo sapiens) and their predecessors are believed to have lived. In September 2019, scientists reported the computerized determination, based on 260 CT scans, of a virtual skull shape of the last common human ancestor to modern humans/H. sapiens, representative of the earliest modern humans, and suggested that modern humans arose between 350,000 and 260,000 years ago through a merging of populations in South and East Africa.[14][15]
Bantu expansion
Bantu-speakers traversed from Central Africa into Southeast Africa approximately 3,000 years ago.[10]
Swahili coast
Urewe
Madagascar
Kitara and Bunyoro
Lake Plateau states and empires
Buganda
Rwanda
Burundi
Maravi
Modern history
In the 19th and 20th centuries, David Livingstone[16] and Frederick Courtney Selous visited Southeast Africa. The latter wrote down his experiences in the book Travel and Adventure in South-East Africa.[17]
Demographics and languages
People include the San people.[3] The Swahili language is spoken, both as an official language and lingua franca, by millions of people.[18]
Culture
Art
Architecture
Clothing
Cuisine
Music
Religion
Film industry
Science and technology
Health
Geography
Lake Malawi[16][19] and Limpopo River[20] are located in Southeast Africa.
Climate
Natural Disasters
Wildlife
Fauna[17] includes the cheetah, leopard, lion,[21] Nile crocodile, hyena, Lichtenstein's hartebeest and white rhinoceros.