Africa South of the Sahara (ASotS) World Region

What is the African diaspora?

People of African descent living outside Africa due to migration and the Atlantic slave trade.

What is the African Union?

Organization promoting cooperation among African countries.

What is Afrikaans?

Language in South Africa derived mainly from Dutch.

What is animism?

Belief that natural objects and places have spirits.

What was apartheid?

South Africa’s former system of racial segregation.

What are Bantu languages?

Large language family spoken across much of Sub-Saharan Africa.

What was the Berlin Conference?

European meeting that divided Africa among colonial powers.

What are biofuels?

Fuels made from crops/plants.

What is a clan?

Group united by family ancestry.

What is the Commonwealth?

Association of many former British colonies.

What is desertification?

Productive land turning into desert.

What is ECOWAS?

Economic Community of West African States.

What is food insecurity?

Lack of reliable access to enough food.

Why is GERD important?

Major dam on the Nile causing regional water tensions.

What is the Great Escarpment?

Large elevated landform in southern Africa.

What is the Great Green Wall?

African project to stop desertification in the Sahel.

What are the Great Lakes of Africa?

Large lakes in East Africa including Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi.

What is the Great Rift Valley?

Major tectonic feature stretching through East Africa.

What is the Horn of Africa?

Eastern African region including Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti.

What is an Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

Person forced to flee home but remains within their country.

What is Mount Kilimanjaro?

Africa’s highest mountain located in Tanzania.

What is kleptocracy?

Government where leaders steal wealth.

Who are Malagasy people?

People of Madagascar.

Why is Niger’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) important?

Niger has one of the world’s highest birth rates.

What is Nollywood?

Nigeria’s major film industry.

Why is Africa’s population by 2100 important?

Africa is projected to have massive population growth.

What is a refugee?

Person forced to flee to another country.

What is the Sahel?

Semi-arid region south of the Sahara.

What is Serengeti National Park known for?

Wildlife migrations in Tanzania.

What is the difference between Sharia and civil law?

Islamic law vs secular legal code.

What is Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Regional economic organization in southern Africa.

What is Swahili?

Major trade language in East Africa.

What is tribalism?

Loyalty to one’s ethnic group over national identity.

What is a tribe?

Social group with shared ancestry/culture.

Why is the tsetse fly important?

Spreads disease harmful to humans/livestock.

What is the West African megalopolis?

Rapidly growing urban corridor from Ivory Coast to Nigeria.