Black Girl With A Purple Scarf Posing On The Terrace

Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is a common, if imprecise term that encompasses African countries located south of the Sahara Desert. It is commonly used to differentiate the region culturally, ecologically, politically and, more controversially, racially, from North Africa, which has historically been part of the Mediterranean sphere. Because the indigenous people of this region are primarily dark-skinned, it is alternatively called "Black Africa". Some criticize the use of the term, because, having become in many quarters synonymous with Black Africa, it can leave the mistaken impression that there are not indigenous Black populations in North Africa. Furthermore, the Sahara cuts across countries such as Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan, leaving some parts of them in North Africa and some in sub-Saharan Africa.
Owen 'Alik Shahadah argues that the term sub-Saharan Africa has racist overtones: