Africa Source
The total number of countries in the African continent is unknown due to the instability throughout the region. At present there are 54 sovereign countries and around 90 countries, territories and regions not recognized by the UN. One needs to take into account the fact that some countries are independent nations, and while they have geopolitical borders they are protectorates or territories (for example the Islands of St. Helena, the Canary Islands etc.). Also, certain parts of Africa have a tendency towards political instability (more so than other continents); this means that from time to time countries split, merge and are renamed. Some examples include: The Republic of South Sudan, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana and Burkina Faso. Since colonialism, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of the presidential system of rule. However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic governments on a permanent basis, and many have instead cycled through a series of coups, producing military dictatorships.
Great instability was mainly the result of marginalization of ethnic groups, and graft under these leaders. For political gain, many leaders fanned ethnic conflicts, some of which had been exacerbated, or even created, by colonial rule. In many countries, the military was perceived as being the only group that could effectively maintain order, and it ruled many nations in Africa during the 1970s and early 1980s. During the period from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, Africa had more than 70 coups and 13 presidential assassinations. Border and territorial disputes were also common, with the European-imposed borders of many nations being widely contested through armed conflicts.
Cold War conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as the policies of the International Monetary Fund,[citation needed] also played a role in instability. When a country became independent for the first time, it was often expected to align with one of the two superpowers. Many countries in Northern Africa received Soviet military aid, while many in Central and Southern Africa were supported by the United States, France or both. The 1970s saw an escalation, as newly independent Angola and Mozambique aligned themselves with the Soviet Union, and the West and South Africa sought to contain Soviet influence by funding insurgency movements. There was a major famine in Ethiopia, when hundreds of thousands of people starved. Some claimed that Marxist/Soviet policies made the situation worse. The most devastating military conflict in modern independent Africa has been the Second Congo War; this conflict and its aftermath have killed an estimated 5.5 million people.[66] Since 2003 there has been an ongoing conflict in Darfur which has become a humanitarian disaster. Another notable tragic event is the 1994 Rwandan Genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were murdered. AIDS in post-colonial Africa has also been a prevalent issue.
In the 21st century, however, the number of armed conflicts in Africa has steadily declined. For instance, the civil war in Angola came to an end in 2002 after nearly 30 years. This has coincided with many countries abandoning communist style command economies and opening up for market reforms. The improved stability and economic reforms have led to a great increase in foreign investment into many African nations, mainly from China, which has spurred quick economic growth in many countries, seemingly ending decades of stagnation and decline. Several African economies are among the world's fastest growing as of 2011. A significant part of this growth can also be attributed to the facilitated diffusion of information technologies and specifically the mobile telephone.
| Name | Period | Today | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Andries-Ohringstad Republic | 1845 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A fort was established by a group of Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Hendrik Potgieter with the help of a Dutch merchant Gregorius Ohrig. The settlers arrived in 1845 and were decimated by malaria. Forced to abandon the area, the republic was officially abandoned in 1849. |
 Anjouan | 1997 2008 | Now part ofComoros | Joined with the Comoros then seceded twice to gain independence. Anjouan rejoined the Comoros after talks during the first secession. After the second event, the secessionist government was forcefully removed. |
 Azawad | 2012 | Now part ofMali | Controlled territory in Northern Mali, it wasn't recognized by any state |
 Biafra | 1967 | Part ofNigeria | Controlled territory in eastern Nigeria, recognized by five states (Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Zambia) |
 Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda | 1977 1981 1976 1979 | Now all part of South Africa | Former apartheid Bantustan homelands, formed and recognized only by each other and South Africa. Israel extended marginal recognition to Bophuthatswana and Ciskei by allowing both polities to build trade missions in Tel Aviv. In 1993 Bophuthatswana opened an information center in Latvia, so that the Latvian song festival was also attended by a chorus of this country (Bop Arts Council Chorus).[citation needed] |
 Republic of Cabinda | 1975 | Now part ofAngola | Cabinda was a Portuguese protectorate known as the Portuguese Congo. During the Portuguese Colonial War period, the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) fought for the independence of Cabinda from the Portuguese. The independence was proclaimed on 1 August 1975. After the Angolan independence came in effect in November 1975, Cabinda was invaded by forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) with support of troops from Cuba. |
 State of Goshen | 1882 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A Boer Republic which merged with the Republic of Stellaland to form the United States of Stellaland in 1883. |
 Republic of Graaff-Reinet | 1795 | Now part ofSouth Africa | Formed in rebellion to Dutch East India Company, it took 2 years to be incorporated into the Cape Colony although this time under British rule. |
| Griqualand West (New Griqualand) | 1861 | Now part ofSouth Africa | Founded by Adam Kok III as a final resting place for Griqua people. The State suffered from a secret deal signed between theBritish Empire and Orange Free State causing unceasing instability. Although the reasons for its annexation are still debated, it was eventually integrated with the Cape Colony in 1880 |
| Griqualand West | 1813 | Now part ofSouth Africa | Enjoying de facto independence since the founding of Griquatown
in 1813, Griqualand West eventually proclaimed itself a British colony in 1873. It did not gain recognition by Britain nor the neighboring Cape Colony and was annexed in 1880.
|
 Jubaland | 1998 | Now part ofSouthwestern Somalia | Briefly declared independence in 1998; it rejoined the Transitional Federal Government in 2001. |
 Katanga | 1960 | Part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Controlled the state of the same name within the former Belgian Congo after decolonisation |
 Republic of Klein Vrystaat (Little Republic) | 1886 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A Boer republic which declared its independence from lands formerly controlled by the Swazi king Mswati II. It was eventually incorporated into the South African Republic in 1891 on its own request. |
| Klipdrift Republic | 1870 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A Republic proclaimed during a dispute over diamond mines near what would become Griqualand West |
| Lydenburg Republic | 1856 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A Boer republic which was created following the dissolution of the Andries-Ohringstad Republic. Eventually this nation expanded with the inclusion of the Utrecht Republic in 1858. The republic lasted until 1860 when it was incorporated into the South African Republic |
 Sultanate of M'Simbati | 1959 | Now part ofTanzania | Latham Leslie-Moore, a retired civil servant, declared the secession of the "Sultanate of M'Simbati" from the then colony ofTanganyika. The "secession" was suppressed in 1962 by Tanzanian government troops. |
 Mahdist State | 1885–1889 | Now part ofSudan | Islamic state established during the Mahdist War by rebels. The rebellion failed the state was dissolved. |
 Republic of Martyazo | 1972 | Now part ofBurundi | A state declared by Hutu separatists inside the mountainous Vuzigo commune, between the Makamba and Lake Nyanza which lasted for little over a week. |
 Mohéli | 1997 | Now part of the Comoros | Seceded in 1997 but quietly rejoined the next year. |
 Natalia Republic | 1839 | Now part ofSouth Africa | Established in 1839 by local Afrikaans-speaking Voortrekkers after the Battle of Blood River. This Boer Republic lasted for four years before being annexed by British troops under George Napier. |
 Nieuwe Republiek (New Republic) | 1884 | Now part ofSouth Africa | Created on August 16 of 1884 with land donated by the Zulus through a treaty. The territory was part the old Boer Republic ofNatalia. The republic enjoyed independence until it was annexed by the South African Republic by its own request. |
| Potchefstroom Republic | 1830 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A republic that existed only for a couple months before joining with Winburg Republic. It was effectively a city-state. |
 Rhodesia | 1965 | NowZimbabwe | British colony, self-governing since 1923, that unilaterally declared independence. Became Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979. |
 Republic of the Rif | 1921 | Part ofMorocco | Founded in September 1921, when the people of the Rif (the Riffians) revolted and declared their independence from Spanish Morocco. It was dissolved by Spanish and French forces on 27 May 1926. |
 Kingdom of Rwenzururu | 1963 | Now part of Uganda | Was based in the Rwenzori Mountains between Uganda and Congo. |
| State of Somaliland | 1960 | Now part ofSomalia | A state declared after the end of British rule came to an end. It only lasted five days before joining Somalia.[1] |
 South Kasai | 1960 | Now part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | South Kasai seceded from the newly independent Republic of the Congo after decolonization in similar circumstances to theState of Katanga during the Congo Crisis. Kasai, however, did not declare full independence but autonomous self-government, despite producing its own constitution, still claimed to be part of a hypothetical "Federal Republic of the Congo". It was re-integrated into the Congo by force in 1962. |
 Republic of Stellaland | 1882 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A Boer republic which existed briefly before its union with its neighboring Boer republic the State of Goshen |
 United States of Stellaland | 1883 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A Boer republic which created from the union of neighboring Republic of Stellaland and State of Goshen. The republic lasted until it became a protectorate of the South African Republic on 10 September 1884 only to be annexed 6 days later. |
| Republic of Swellendam | 1795 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A republic declared in revolt against the Dutch East India Company. It lasted 3 months before being re-incorporated into the Cape Colony. |
 Tripolitanian Republic | 1918 | Now part ofLibya | A republic proclaimed following the Paris Peace Conference it disintegrated sometime in 1923. |
| Utrecht Republic | 1854 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A republic proclaimed by Andreas Theodorus Spies following a land purchase from the King of the Zulu, Mpande. It joined with the Lydenburg Republic in 1858. |
| Winburg Republic | 1836 | Now part ofSouth Africa | Established on land the Vet and Vaal Rivers donated to the Voortrekkers by Bataung Chief Makwana in 1836 in exchange for protection from neighboring Basotho tribes. Joined in union with the newly established Potchefstroom Republic in 1838 to form the Republic of Winburg-Potchefstroom. |
| Republic of Winburg-Potchefstroom | 1838 | Now part ofSouth Africa | Formed from the union of the Potchefstroom Republic and the Winburg Republic in 1938 the nation lasted until Potchefstroomleft the union to join with Pietermaritzburg. |
 People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba | 1964 | Now part ofTanzania | Following the 17 January 1964 coup which deposed the Sultan of Zanzibar, the revolutionary group purporting to represent the island's Negro majority proclaimed a Peoples' Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba. It immediately made an offer of union with the government of Tanganyika. |
 Zimbabwe Rhodesia | 1979 | NowZimbabwe | A version of Rhodesia (see above) that ended the white minority government and introduced a biracial government. |
| Zoutpansberg Republic | 1857 | Now part ofSouth Africa | A small Boer Republic that joined with the South African Republic in 1864. The white settlers in Zoutpansberg had for many years a reputation for lawlessness, and were later regarded as typical "back velt Boers". Zoutpansberg contained a larger native population than any other region of the Transvaa |