Road signs in the Southern African Development Community
Road signs in the Southern African Development Community refer to the harmonised system of road signs adopted by a number of member states of the Southern African Development Community – Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They are regulated in the Southern African Development Community Road Traffic Signs Manual.
Non-SADC member Rwanda has adopted its own road sign system which resembles the SADC design.
Background
Ten SADC member states entered into a Protocol Agreement to develop cooperation in infrastructure and services in June 1995. The intention to harmonise traffic signs among member states was part of this agreement. South Africa offered to take care of the harmonisation process, developing the Road Traffic Signs Manual based on two existing manuals – the Southern Africa Transport and Communications Commission Road Traffic Signs Manual, published in November 1990, and the South African Road Traffic Signs Manual, published in January 1993 – both of which were very similar and based on European traffic signing strategies.As of 2025, not all SADC member states make use of this system – Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles all make use of their own systems, whereas Angola is transitioning to the SADC design.
The typeface used on SADC road signs is DIN 1451.
National variants
The Road Traffic Signs Manual notes that complete uniformity is unachievable due to differing needs across its member states, such as language and the side of the road on which traffic travels:- Most SADC member states drive on the left, but Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Comoros, Madagascar and non-SADC member Rwanda drive on the right.
- Most SADC member states speak English as an official language, but Portuguese is the only official language in Angola and Mozambique.