East Africa
From Freepedia
Depending on geography or geopolitics, East Africa is a region that includes:
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Burundi and Rwanda (sometimes considered part of Central Africa)
- Mozambique (usually considered part of Southern Africa)
- Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia (usually considered The Horn of Africa or North East Africa)
- Sudan (usually considered North East Africa, and sometimes North Africa)
The East African Community (EAC), an intergovernmental organisation and trading bloc, consists of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Geography
Some parts of East Africa have been renowned for their concentrations of wild animals, such as the "big five" of elephant, giraffe, lion, zebra and rhinoceros, though populations have been declining under increased stress in recent times, particularly the rhino and elephant.
The geography of East Africa is often stunning and scenic. Shaped by global forces that have created the Great Rift Valley, East Africa is the site of Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, the two tallest peaks in Africa.
The unique geography and apparent suitability for farming made East Africa a target for European exploration and exploitation in the nineteenth century. Today, tourism is an important part of the economies of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Politics
Until recently most governments were illiberal and corrupt, and several countries were riven with political coups and tribal violence. Since the end of colonialism, the region has endured:
- Ethiopian Civil War (Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front against the Derg)
- Ogaden War
- Second Sudanese Civil War
- Somali Civil War
- Burundi Civil War
- Lord's Resistance Army insurgency in Uganda
- 1998 American embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam
- Eritrean-Ethiopian War
Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have enjoyed relatively stable government. The Awdal region of Somalia too has seen relative prosperity.
See also
| Regions of the World | |
| Africa: | Central Africa | East Africa | Great Lakes | Guinea | Horn of Africa | North Africa | Maghreb / Northwest Africa | Sahel | Southern Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa | Sudan | West Africa |
| Americas: | Andean states | Caribbean | Central America | Great Lakes | Great Plains | Guianas | Latin America | North America | Patagonia | South America | Southern Cone |
| Asia: | Central Asia | East Asia | East Indies | Far East | Indian subcontinent | North Asia | Southeast Asia | Southwest Asia (Middle East / Near East, Levant, Anatolia, Arabia) |
| Europe: | Balkans | Baltic region | Benelux | British Isles | Central Europe | Eastern Europe | Northern Europe | Scandinavia | Southern Europe | Western Europe |
| Eurasia: | Caucasus | Mediterranean | Post-Soviet states |
| Oceania: | Australasia | Melanesia | Micronesia | Polynesia | Aleutian Islands | Pacific Rim |
| Polar: | Arctic | Antarctic |
