Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara desert. Politically, it consists of all African countries that are fully or partially located south of the Sahara (excluding Sudan, even though Sudan sits in the Eastern portion of the Sahara desert).[2] It contrasts with North Africa, whose Arab states are part of the Arab world. Somalia, Djibouti, Comoros and Mauritania are geographically part of Sub-Saharan Africa, but are also Arab states and part of the Arab world.[3]
