Central Africa is a core
region of the
African continent which includes
Burundi, the
Central African Republic,
Chad, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and
Rwanda.
Middle Africa (as used by the
United Nations when
categorising geographic subregions) is an analogous term that includes
Angola,
Cameroon, the
Central African Republic,
Chad, the
Republic of the Congo, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Equatorial Guinea,
Gabon, and
São Tomé and Príncipe. All of the states in the UN subregion of Middle Africa, plus those otherwise commonly reckoned in Central Africa (11 states in total), constitute the
Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Since its independence in 2011,
South Sudan has also been commonly included in the region.