East Africa
Six of the countries here are islands in the Indian Ocean. The catalogue takes the United Nations grouping for Eastern Africa and files the Horn separately, which leaves 16 countries, two of them governed from Paris rather than sovereign. Every mainland member holds a coast on that ocean or sits one border away from it.
16 countries
Common questions
Questions about East Africa
Which countries and territories does the catalogue file under East Africa?
Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe on the mainland, and Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Réunion and Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Mayotte and Réunion are French dependencies rather than sovereign states.
Why are Ethiopia and Somalia not filed here?
The United Nations places them in the same Eastern Africa block as Kenya and Tanzania, and this catalogue lifts Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia out of it into the Horn of Africa. The grouping is a filing convenience and carries no political meaning.
Who administers Mayotte?
France, as an overseas department since March 2011. The Comoros claims the island on the ground that the archipelago voted for independence as one territory in 1974, and General Assembly resolutions have supported that reading; France counted the vote island by island and treats the matter as closed. Both positions are recorded and neither is adjudicated.
Do these countries share a currency?
No. Every sovereign member issues its own, and the two French dependencies use the euro.