Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa

The Standard Encyclopædia of Southern Africa (SESA) is a 12-volume encyclopedia that is principally about the Republic of South Africa and nearby countries. About 1400 people contributed to the encyclopedia. The first two volumes were published in August 1970; the 12th and final volume was published in September 1976.

Originally, the encyclopedia was to be written in Afrikaans, to focus entirely on South Africa, and to be published in six volumes. However, not only did this significantly limit the target market, many of the encyclopedia's writers submitted their copy in English. The publishers decided to prioritise an English-language edition, and to expand the scope of the encyclopedia to encompass all of the African countries in the Southern Hemisphere. (Eventually, the Afrikaans edition was abandoned.)

Although South Africa remains the central focus, the scope of the encyclopedia extends through the Southern African countries of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rhodesia, South-West Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zambia, into the Central and East African countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zaire.

Owing to an editorial decision, all of the biographies in the encyclopedia are about people who were deceased at the time of writing.

The encyclopedia was published by Nasou. Nasou was the trading name of Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery, an Afrikaans publishing house in Cape Town. Nasou was an educational publishing subsidiary of media conglomerate Naspers, but some years after the publication of the encyclopedia Nasou were acquired by a holding company, and were merged with South African publisher Via Afrika (est. 1963). The new company, Nasou Via Afrika, is a publisher for the education market.