return {
  region = "Africa",
  ngroups = 3,
  group1 = {
    name = "[[Sovereign state]]s",
    data = {
      {"DZ","Algeria"},
      {"AO","Angola"},
      {"BJ","Benin"},
      {"BW","Botswana"},
      {"BF","Burkina Faso"},
      {"BI","Burundi"},
      {"CM","Cameroon"},
      {"CV","Cape Verde"},
      {"CF","Central African Republic",the=true},
      {"TD","Chad"},
      {"KM","Comoros"},
      {"CD","Democratic Republic of the Congo",the=true},
      {"CG","Republic of the Congo",the=true},
      {"DJ","Djibouti"},
      {"EG","Egypt"},
      {"GQ","Equatorial Guinea"},
      {"ER","Eritrea"},
      {"ET","Ethiopia"},
      {"GA","Gabon"},
      {"GM","The Gambia",link="Gambia",the=true},
      {"GH","Ghana"},
      {"GN","Guinea"},
      {"GW","Guinea-Bissau"},
      {"CI","Ivory Coast"},
      {"KE","Kenya"},
      {"LS","Lesotho"},
      {"LR","Liberia"},
      {"LY","Libya"},
      {"MG","Madagascar"},
      {"MW","Malawi"},
      {"ML","Mali"},
      {"MR","Mauritania"},
      {"MU","Mauritius"},
      {"MA","Morocco"},
      {"MZ","Mozambique"},
      {"NA","Namibia"},
      {"NE","Niger"},
      {"NG","Nigeria"},
      {"RW","Rwanda"},
      {"ST","São Tomé and Príncipe"},
      {"SN","Senegal"},
      {"SC","Seychelles"},
      {"SL","Sierra Leone"},
      {"SO","Somalia"},
      {"ZA","South Africa"},
      {"SS","South Sudan"},
      {"SD","Sudan"},
      {"SZ","Swaziland"},
      {"TZ","Tanzania"},
      {"TG","Togo"},
      {"TN","Tunisia"},
      {"UG","Uganda"},
      {"ZM","Zambia"},
      {"ZW","Zimbabwe"}
    }
  },
  group2 = {
    name = "{{longitem|[[List of states with limited recognition|States with limited<br/>recognition]]}}",
    data = {
      {"XSR","Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic",the=true},
      {"XSL","Somaliland"}
    }
  },
  group3 = {
    name = "{{longitem|[[Dependent territory|Dependencies]] and<br/>other territories}}",
    data = {
      {"YT","Mayotte"},
      {"RE","Réunion"},
      {"SH","Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha",noredlink=true,subgroup={
        {"XAC","Ascension Island"},
        {"XHL","Saint Helena",switch="SHTC",negate_switch=true},
        {"XTA","Tristan da Cunha",switch="SHTC",negate_switch=true},
        {"XST","Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha",hidden=true,switch="SHTC"},
        switch="SAT"}
      },
      {"EH","Western Sahara"}
    },
    switch = "countries_only",
    negate_switch = true
  }
}