sub-Saharan

adjective

sub-Sa·​ha·​ran ˌsəb-sə-ˈher-ən 

-ˈhär-

: of, relating to, or being the part of Africa south of the Sahara

Examples of sub-Saharan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

South Africa’s fruit and nut exporters have benefited from the 26-year-old program that allows thousands of products from eligible sub-Saharan countries to enter the US market duty-free. — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2026

Those voluntary licenses cover a specific set of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. — ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

During John Hardman's tenure, the Carter Center trained more than 25 million farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, expanded election observation worldwide and worked to reduce Guinea worm disease. — Joshua Cole, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

Dengue is a leading concern after travel in much of Latin America and Asia, while malaria is especially important in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and typhoid and paratyphoid fever loom largest in South Asia. — Andrés Henao, The Conversation, 27 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sub-Saharan

• lactoferrin
• acheron
• operon
• percheron
• polaron
• charon
• herren
• karen
• marron
• perron
• terran

Kids Definition

sub-Saharan

adjective

sub-Sa·​ha·​ran

ˌsəb-sə-ˈhar-ən, 

ˈsəb-, 

-ˈher-, 

-ˈhär-

: of, relating to, or being the part of Africa south of the Sahara