sub-Saharan
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
a sub-Saharan country; sub-Saharan peoples.
adjective
-
in, of, or relating to Africa south of the Sahara desert
Etymology
Origin of sub-Saharan
First recorded in 1960–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
By comparison, in 2023, the same pollster found that a slightly smaller proportion of sub-Saharan Africans—37%—wished to do the same.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026
Libya has become a staging point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach Europe since long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in 2011.
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026
Before that, she covered sub-Saharan Africa for eight years, most recently as the Journal’s Africa bureau chief.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026
Furthermore, only about one-third of its area falls within the sub-Saharan zone north of the equator that was occupied by farmers and herders before 1000 B.C.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.