Modern sovereign republics of the African continent, from West African states such as Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal through East African states such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda to Southern African states such as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana and the island nations of Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Cabo Verde and Sao Tome and Principe. The group covers every present-day republic whose own description places it on the African continent, distinguishing it from the separate Middle Eastern and North African Republics group, which holds Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania and Egypt, countries this atlas's own sourced descriptions place in the Middle East and North Africa region rather than in Africa generally, matching the same regional split this atlas already uses for the continent's ancient and medieval history.