The countries listed are those described in the United Nations geoscheme for East Africa: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Over the years the country has suffered through political instability including two civil wars and two instances of genocide.
[6] Djibouti is located at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
[10] Ethiopia is one of the world's oldest countries; with a civilisation stretching back to 1000 BC.
Ethiopia has gone through costly drought and a bloody war with Eritrea in recent years.
[18] Mauritius is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean that became independent within the Commonwealth on 12 March 1968.
The Republic of Rwanda is a member of the AU, the Commonwealth, COMESA, OIF, and the East African Community.
The Republic of Seychelles is a member of the UN, the AU, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Commonwealth.
The Federal Republic of Somalia is a member of the UN, the Arab League, AU, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and the OIC.
[36] The Republic does not enjoy international recognition and in 1998 a region in the northeast, the Puntland, declared itself "autonomous.