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

It flew in its Wagner mercenaries to support his forces and used his territory as its logistical access point to half-a-dozen sub-Saharan countries where it scooped up valuable reserves of gold, diamond and timber.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Fletcher said the UN was also trying to keep the Strait of Hormuz open in its bid to get aid convoys to sub-Saharan Africa amid a "looming famine" in the region.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher warned that the escalating war and the impact on the strait was having "a direct impact on our humanitarian supplies, including going to areas of key need in sub-Saharan Africa".

From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026

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

Most of GGS concerned differences between continents: i.e., the question of why some Eurasians rather than Aboriginal Australians, sub-Saharan Africans, or Native Americans were the ones to expand over the world within the past millennium.

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