The Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), which evolved into the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has been in existence since 1980. The original nine member-countries were Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. South Africa joined SADC in 1994 followed by Mauritius (1995), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, 1997). In 2005, SADC granted Madagascar membership. In addition to belonging to SADC, Angola, DRC, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe are members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

In order to facilitate development in the region, member-states in SADC formulated various objectives which the community works to achieve. Among those objectives are the promotion of regional economic integration, creation of intra-governmental policies, and sustainable utilization of natural resources. In addition to the broader objectives of SADC, the region’s Trade Protocol calls for member-states to further liberalize intra-regional trade, while eliminating trade barriers in order to establish a Free Trade Area (FTA) by 2008. The creation of the FTA is part of a strategic plan announced by the SADC executive secretary in 2004, which also includes the establishment of an SADC customs union by 2010, a common market pact by 2012, and establishment of an SADC central bank and preparation for a single SADC currency by 2016.

In 2005, the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for SADC was approximately $330.1 billion (see Table 1). South Africa, the region's most developed economy, had GDP of $239.4 billion, which is more than double the combined GDP of other SADC countries. In 2005, GDP growth rates in SADC ranged from -10.3 percent (Zimbabwe) to 15.9 percent (Angola), while the weighted average GDP growth rate was 5.7 percent in the region. Poverty is one of the major challenges facing SADC, with 70 percent of the population living on less than $2 per day.

The SADC Energy Protocol outlines the various principles and objectives that the region has towards energy. Chief among those is SADC’s desire to use energy to support economic growth and development in the region. Overall, SADC is a net energy exporter. In 2003, the countries belonging to SADC collectively consumed (see Table 2) 5.9 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) (1.4 percent of total world consumption) and produced 8.5 quadrillion Btu (2.0 percent of total world production). The region's dominant economy, South Africa, accounted for 83 percent (4.9 quadrillion Btu) of the region's energy consumption, 69.8 percent (5.9 quadrillion Btu) of its energy production, and 88.8 percent (112 million metric tons) of its CO2emissions.

Throughout the region there are significant reserves of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Electricity in SADC is generated mainly through thermal or hydroelectric resources. Natural gas is becoming more significant to the region's energy sector as Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania develop natural gas fields in their respective countries. Due to the region's relatively small urban population (approximately 25.4 percent), access to commercial energy sources is limited. The majority of SADC's population still relies on the use of biofuel as its primary source of energy.