The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued official exchange rate, hyperinflation, and bare store shelves.

Although poverty continues to be significant problem in Zambia, its economy has strengthened, featuring single-digit inflation, a relatively stable currency, decreasing interest rates, and increasing levels of trade.

In 1970, the government of South Yemen adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from South Yemen to North Yemen contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990.

Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal.

The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures.

Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important agricultural, mining, tourism, and manufacturing sectors.

This small, sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force.

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for more than 40% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work force. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area.

Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known HIV/AIDS prevalence rate.

Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during the last decades of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese.

South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that is 17th largest in the world; and modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region.

Despite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications.

Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution.

Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa.

Saudi Arabia possesses more than 20% of the world's proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC.

The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea promises to attract increased attention to the small island nation.

(overseas territory of the UK)

Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture.

The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and the country, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food.

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking near last on the United Nations Development Fund index of human development.

The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export.

Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close with independence in 1975.

Moroccan economic policies brought macroeconomic stability to the country in the early 1990s but have not spurred growth sufficient to reduce unemployment - nearing 20% in urban areas - despite the Moroccan Government's ongoing efforts to diversify the economy.

(overseas collectivity of France)

A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes.

Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for nearly 40% of total exports.

The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali.

Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964.

Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1896 but regained independence in 1960.

The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% of public sector wages.

Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic.

Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue.

The regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, Kenya has been hampered by corruption and by reliance upon several primary goods whose prices have remained low.

Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval.

Guinea has had only two presidents since gaining its independence from France in 1958.

Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence.

The Gambia gained its independence from the UK in 1965.

Only two autocratic presidents have ruled Gabon since independence from France in 1960.

Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II.

Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation.

Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule.

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations.

The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977.

Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the West African states, but did not protect it from political turmoil.

Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo.

Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability.

Comoros has endured more than 20 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1975.

Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990.

The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960.

The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cape Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping.

The former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon merged in 1961 to form the present country. Cameroon has generally enjoyed stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry.

Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions.

Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s.

This uninhabited volcanic island is almost entirely covered by glaciers and is difficult to approach. It was discovered in 1739 by a French naval officer after whom the island was named.

Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966.

Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin.

Angola is rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002.

After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962.