sub-Saharan

American  

[suhb-suh-har-uhn, -hair-uhn, -hahr-uhn] / ˌsʌb səˈhær ən, -ˈhɛər ən, -ˈhɑr ən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

   a sub-Saharan country; sub-Saharan peoples.

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sub-Saharan British  

adjective

1. in, of, or relating to Africa south of the Sahara desert

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sub-Saharan Cultural  

1. Region in Africa south of the Sahara desert.

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Etymology

Origin of sub-Saharan

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

I think my first eureka moment was when I was traveling in sub-Saharan Africa on the Ivory Coast doing a site visit.

From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026

While he rightly celebrates the fall in poverty rates in his four successes, he does not note the more modest success for sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Michael M. Phillips runs The Wall Street Journal's Africa bureau and writes features stories from across the breadth of sub-Saharan Africa, from Somalia to Equatorial Guinea.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

While in sub-Saharan Africa, infections dominate and account for nearly 80% of preventable cancers in women.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

Africa’s north-south axis posed a further obstacle to the diffusion of technology, both between Eurasia and sub-Saharan Africa and within the sub-Saharan region itself.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond