Geographical region (northern reaches now more commonly referred to as the Sahel) stretching across Africa from Cape Verde on the Atlantic Coast to the Red Sea between 8o and 16o north latitude, just south of the Sahara Desert, characterized by savanna and semiarid steppe. Term derived from Arabic bilad as sudan (literally "land of the blacks"). Not to be confused with Sudan, the country.

Sudan (or The Sudan; officially the Republic of the Sudan or Republic of Sudan) (Arabic :السودان) is the largest country by area in Africa and the largest Arab country by area. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, Kenya and Uganda to the southeast, Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. It is the tenth largest country in the world by area.

The Sudan, from the Arabic bilâd as-sûdân "land of the Blacks," is a geographic region in West and Eastern Africa. The phrase 'The Sudan' is also used by some to refer specifically to the country Sudan, the savannah of which forms much of the larger region.