[5]: 70 The origins of SADC are in the 1960s and 1970s, when the leaders of majority-ruled countries and national liberation movements coordinated their political, diplomatic and military struggles to bring an end to colonial and white-minority rule in southern Africa.

[citation needed] The immediate forerunner of the political and security cooperation leg of today's SADC was the informal Frontline States (FLS) grouping.

[citation needed] The Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) was the forerunner of the socio-economic cooperation leg of today's SADC.

[6] The first event in 2004 in Maputo resulted in over 1000 youths under-20 from 10 countries taking part in a sports programme including athletics, football, netball, boxing and basketball.

[23][24] Its original members were Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe,[25] with Malawi and Seychelles joining later.

[26][27] The SADC-Customs Union, scheduled to be established by 2010 according to SADC's Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), is unlikely to become reality in the near future.

In addition to eliminating duplicative membership and the problem member states also participating in other regional economic cooperation schemes and regional political and security cooperation schemes that may compete with or undermine each other, the African Free Trade Zone further aims to strengthen the bloc's bargaining power when negotiating international deals.

Pursuant to the SADC goal of more integration, Botswana and Namibia signed an agreement in February 2023 allowing citizens to travel between the two countries using only identity cards, with passports no longer being needed.

[31] SADC countries face many social, development, economic, trade, education, health, diplomatic, defence, security and political challenges.

The sustainable development that trade could bring is threatened by the existence of different product standards and tariff regimes, weak customs infrastructure and bad roads.