African Economic Community

International organization

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This article is part of a series on

Politics of the African Union

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* Casablanca Group
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* Transport, Comm., Tourism
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Financial bodies

* AEC Pillars (Abuja Treaty)
* CEN-SAD
* COMESA
* EAC
* ECCAS/CEEAC
* CEMAC
* ECOWAS/CEDEAO
* UEMOA
* WAMZ
* IGAD
* SADC
* SACU
* AMU/UMA
* African Central Bank
* African Monetary Union
* African Investment Bank
* New Partnership for Africa's Development
* African Peer Review Mechanism
* New Partnership for Africa's Development E-School Program

Decentralised bodies

* Agencies of the AU
* Africa CDC
* African Space Agency
* Afripol

Related topics

* Enlargement
* Foreign relations
* TerrAfrica partnership

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

Part of a series on the

History of the
African Union

* History of Africa
* Economic history
* Decolonisation of Africa
* Union of African States
* Organisation of African Unity
* African Economic Community
* Sirte Declaration
* Constitutive Act of the African Union
* Union Launch

* v
* t
* e

The African Economic Community (AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states.[1] The stated goals of the organization include the creation of free trade areas, customs unions, a single market, a central bank, and a common currency (see African Monetary Union) thus establishing an economic and monetary union.

## Goals

[edit]

The AEC founded through the Abuja Treaty, signed in 1991 and entered into force in 1994[2] is envisioned to be created in six stages:

1. (completed in 1999) Creation of regional blocs in regions where such do not yet exist
2. (completed in 2007) Strengthening of intra-REC integration and inter-REC harmonisation
3. (completed in 2021) Establishing of a free trade area and customs union in each regional bloc
4. (to be completed in 2023) Establishing of a continent-wide customs union (and thus also a free trade area)
5. (to be completed in 2025) Establishing of a continent-wide African Common Market (ACM)
6. (to be completed in 2028) Establishing of a continent-wide economic and monetary union (and thus also a currency union) and Parliament

* End of all transition periods: 2034 at the latest

Parts of this article (those related to pre-2017 deadlines) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2017)

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### Stages progress

[edit]

as of September 2007

* Stage 1: Completed, only Arab Maghreb Union members and Sahrawi Republic not participating. Somalia is participating, but no practical implementation yet.
* Stage 2: Steady progress, nothing factual to check.
* Stage 3:

| Regional blocs - pillars of the African Economic Community (AEC)

|

Activity  | CEN-SAD | COMESA | EAC | ECCAS | ECOWAS | IGAD | SADC | UMA
CEMAC | Common  | UEMOA | WAMZ | Common  | SACU | Common
Free Trade Area | stalled  | progressing 1 | fully in force  | fully in force  | proposed for 2007 ?  | fully in force  |  | proposed  | stalled  | fully in force  | progressing 2 | stalled
Customs Union | stalled  | proposed for 2008  | fully in force  | fully in force  | proposed for 2011 ?  | fully in force  |  | proposed for 2007  | stalled  | fully in force  | proposed for 2010  | stalled

1 Members not yet participating: DR Congo (in talks to join), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Seychelles (in talks to join), Swaziland (on derogation until SACU gives permission for Swaziland to join the FTA), Uganda (to join very soon)[1]
2 Members not yet participating: Angola, DR Congo, Seychelles [2]

* Stage 4: In March 2018, 49 African countries signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement paving the way for a continent-wide free trade area. The continental free trade area became operational in July 2019, after 22 ratifications.[3][4] As of 2021, 34 signatories have effectively become parties of the treaty.
* Stage 5: no progress yet
* Stage 6: no progress yet

### Overall progress

[edit]

Members of the AEC's parent, the African Union

| Activities

|

Regional bloc  | Free Trade Area | Economic and monetary union | Free Travel | Political pact  | Defence pact
Customs Union | Single Market | Currency Union | Visa-free | Border-less
AEC | Partially In Force  | proposed for 2023  | proposed for 2023  | proposed for 2028  | proposed for 2023  | proposed for 2023  | proposed for 2028  | proposed for 2028
CEN-SAD | proposed for 2010  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
COMESA | in force 1 | proposed for 2008  | ?  | proposed for 2018  |  |  |  |
EAC | in force  | in force  | proposed for 2015  | proposed for 2024 | proposed for 2018[5] | ?  | proposed for 2023  |
ECCAS | CEMAC | in force  | in force  | ?  | in force  |  |  |  |
Common | proposed for 2007 ?  | proposed for 2011 ?  | proposed  | proposed  | proposed  | ?  |  | in force
ECOWAS | UEMOA | in force  | in force  | proposed[6] | in force  |  |  |  |
WAMZ |  |  | ?  | proposed for 2012  |  |  |  |
Common | proposed 2 | proposed for 2007  | proposed[7] | proposed  | in force 1 | proposed  | proposed  | in force
IGAD |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
SADC | SACU | in force  | in force  |  | de facto in force 1 | ?  |  |  |
Common[3][permanent dead link‍] | proposed for 2008 3 | proposed for 2010  | proposed for 2015  | proposed for 2016  |  |  |  |
UMA |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

1 not all members participating yet
2 telecommunications, transport and energy \- proposed
3 sensitive goods to be covered from 2012

African Economic Community

Pillar regional
blocs (REC)  | Area
(km²) | Population  | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Member
states
(millions) | (per capita)
EAC | 5,449,717  | 343,328,958  | 737,420  | 2,149  | 8
ECOWAS/CEDEAO | 5,112,903  | 349,154,000  | 1,322,452  | 3,788  | 15
IGAD | 5,233,604  | 294,197,387  | 225,049  | 1,197  | 7
AMU/UMA 4 | 6,046,441  | 106,919,526  | 1,299,173  | 12,628  | 5
ECCAS/CEEAC | 6,667,421  | 218,261,591  | 175,928  | 1,451  | 11
SADC | 9,882,959  | 394,845,175  | 737,392  | 3,152  | 15
COMESA | 12,873,957  | 406,102,471  | 735,599  | 1,811  | 20
CEN-SAD 4 | 14,680,111 |  |  |  | 29
Total AEC | 29,910,442 | 853,520,010 | 2,053,706 | 2,406 | 54
Other regional
blocs  | Area
(km²) | Population  | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Member
states
(millions) | (per capita)
WAMZ 1 | 1,602,991  | 264,456,910  | 1,551,516  | 5,867  | 6
SACU 1 | 2,693,418  | 51,055,878  | 541,433  | 10,605  | 5
CEMAC 2 | 3,020,142  | 34,970,529  | 85,136  | 2,435  | 6
UEMOA 1 | 3,505,375  | 80,865,222  | 101,640  | 1,257  | 8
UMA 2 4 | 5,782,140  | 84,185,073  | 491,276  | 5,836  | 5
GAFTA 3 4 | 5,876,960  | 1,662,596  | 6,355  | 3,822  | 5
AES | 2,780,159  | 71,374,000  | 179,347  |  | 3

During 2004. Sources: The World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database.

Smallest value among the blocs compared.

Largest value among the blocs compared.

1: Economic bloc inside a pillar REC.

2: Proposed for pillar REC, but objecting participation.

3: Non-African members of GAFTA are excluded from figures.

4: The area 446,550 km2 used for Morocco excludes all disputed territories, while 710,850 km2 would include the Moroccan-claimed and partially-controlled parts of Western Sahara (claimed as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic by the Polisario Front). Morocco also claims Ceuta and Melilla, making up about 22.8 km2 (8.8 sq mi) more claimed territory.

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## Pillars

[edit]

Currently there are multiple regional blocs in Africa, also known as Regional Economic Communities (RECs), many of which have overlapping memberships. The RECs consist primarily of trade blocs and, in some cases, some political and military cooperation. Most of these RECs form the "pillars" of AEC, many of which also have an overlap in some of their member states. Due to this high proportion of overlap it is likely that some states with several memberships will eventually drop out of one or more RECs. Several of these pillars also contain subgroups with tighter customs and/or monetary unions of their own:

These pillars and their corresponding subgroups are as follows:

Pillars  | Subgroups

|

Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)  |
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)  |
East African Community (EAC)  |
Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS/CEEAC)  | Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC)
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)  | West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)

West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ)

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)  |
Southern African Development Community (SADC)  | Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
Common Monetary Area (CMA)
Arab Maghreb Union (UMA)  |

### Pillar membership

[edit]

member states; year of joining

member states; year of joining; cooperation in the framework of the bloc stalled

candidate states; year of application

| CEN-SAD

Founding states (1998):

* Burkina Faso
* Chad
* Libya
* Mali
* Niger
* Sudan

Joined later:

* 1999:  Central African Republic
* 1999:  Eritrea
* 2000:  Djibouti
* 2000:  Gambia
* 2000:  Senegal
* 2001:  Egypt
* 2001:  Morocco
* 2001:  Nigeria
* 2001:  Somalia
* 2001:  Tunisia
* 2002:  Benin
* 2002:  Togo
* 2004:  Ivory Coast
* 2004:  Guinea-Bissau
* 2004:  Liberia
* 2005:  Ghana
* 2005:  Sierra Leone
* 2007:  Comoros
* 2007:  Guinea
* 2008:  Kenya
* 2008:  Mauritania
* 2008:  São Tomé and Príncipe
* 2009:  Cape Verde

| COMESA

Founding states (1994):

* Burundi
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Kenya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mauritius
* Rwanda
* Sudan
* Eswatini
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Joined later:

* 1999:  Egypt
* 2001:  Seychelles
* 2005:  Libya
* 2018:  Tunisia
* 2018:  Somalia

Former members:

* 1994-1997:  Lesotho
* 1994-1997:  Mozambique
* 1994-2001:  Tanzania
* 1994-2004:  Namibia
* 1994-2007:  Angola[8][9]

| EAC

Founding states (2001):

* Kenya
* Tanzania
* Uganda

Joined later:

* 2007:  Burundi
* 2007:  Rwanda
* 2016:  South Sudan
* 2022:  Democratic Republic of the Congo

ECOWAS

Founding states (1975):

* Benin UEMOA-94
* Burkina Faso UEMOA-94
* Ivory Coast UEMOA-94
* Gambia WAMZ-00
* Ghana WAMZ-00
* Guinea WAMZ-00
* Guinea-Bissau UEMOA-97
* Liberia WAMZ-10
* Mali UEMOA-94
* Niger UEMOA-94
* Nigeria WAMZ-00
* Senegal UEMOA-94
* Sierra Leone WAMZ-00
* Togo UEMOA-94

Joined later:

* 1977:  Cape Verde

Former members:

* 1975-1999:  Mauritania

UEMOA-94: UEMOA state from 1994

UEMOA-97: UEMOA state from 1997
WAMZ-00: WAMZ state from 2000

WAMZ-10: WAMZ state from 2010

| ECCAS

Founding states (1985):

* Burundi
* Cameroon CEMAC-99
* Central African Republic CEMAC-99
* Chad CEMAC-99
* Congo CEMAC-99
* DR Congo
* Equatorial Guinea CEMAC-99
* Gabon CEMAC-99
* Rwanda withdrawn 2007[8]-2016[10]
* São Tomé and Príncipe

Joined later:

* 1999:  Angola

CEMAC-99: CEMAC state from 1999
| IGAD

Founding states (1986):

* Djibouti
* Ethiopia
* Kenya
* Somalia
* Sudan
* Uganda

Joined later:

* 1993:  Eritrea
* 2011:  South Sudan

UMA1

Founding states (1989):

* Algeria
* Libya
* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Tunisia

| SADC

Founding states (1980):

* Angola
* Botswana SACU-70
* Lesotho SACU-70
* Malawi
* Mozambique
* Eswatini SACU-70
* Tanzania
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Joined later:

* 1990:  Namibia SACU-90
* 1990:  South Africa SACU-70
* 1995:  Mauritius
* 1997:  DR Congo
* 1997:  Seychelles withdrawn 2004-2007
* 2005:  Madagascar

SACU-70: SACU state from 1970
SACU-90: SACU state from 1990

1 The UMA (Arab Maghreb Union) does not participate in the AEC so far, because of opposition by Morocco

#### Interlocking relationships

[edit]

The image above contains clickable linksEuler diagram showing the relationships among various multinational African entities v • t • e

Venn diagrams illustrating interlocking relationship overlaps:

REC pillars of the African Economic Community.

CEN-SAD

COMESA

EAC

ECCAS

ECOWAS

IGAD

SADC

UMA

|  Active REC pillars of the African Economic Community.

COMESA

EAC

ECCAS

ECOWAS

SADC

|

### Other blocs

[edit]

Other trade blocs in Africa not part of the African Economic Community.

GAFTA

CEPGL

COI

LGA

MRU

Other African regional blocs, not participating in the AEC framework (many of them predating AEC) are:

* Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) (an organization of most Middle Eastern states, including those outside Africa)
* Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL)
* Indian Ocean Commission (COI)
* Liptako–Gourma Authority (LGA)
* Mano River Union (MRU)

Their membership is as follows:

GAFTA 1 | CEPGL | COI | LGA | MRU

|
|
|
|

2005 membership:

* Egypt
* Libya
* Morocco
* Sudan
* Tunisia

Joined later:

* 2009: Algeria

| 1976 membership:

* Burundi
* DR Congo
* Rwanda

| 1984 membership:

* Comoros
* Madagascar
* Mauritius
* Seychelles

| 1970 membership:

* Burkina Faso
* Mali
* Niger

| 1973 membership:

* Liberia
* Sierra Leone

Joined later:

* 1980:  Guinea
* 2008:  Ivory Coast

1 Only African GAFTA members are listed.
GAFTA and MRU are the only blocs not currently stalled.

## African Free Trade Zone

[edit]

Main article: African Free Trade Zone

The African Free Trade Zone (AFTZ) was announced on Wednesday October 22, 2008 by the heads of Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC).

In May 2012 the idea was extended to also include ECOWAS, ECCAS and AMU.[11]

## See also

[edit]

* African Economic Outlook
* Economy of Africa
* Economy of the African Union
* CARICOM Single Market and Economy

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Staff writer (2024). "African Economic Community (AEC)". UIA Global Civil Society Database. uia.org. Brussels, Belgium: Union of International Associations. Yearbook of International Organizations Online. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
2. ^ Staff writer (2024). "Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (Abuja treaty)". UIA Global Civil Society Database. uia.org. Brussels, Belgium: Union of International Associations. Yearbook of International Organizations Online. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
3. ^ Kede, Shoshana (2 April 2019). "Africa free trade agreement gets last ratification from Gambia". AfricanBusinessMagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
4. ^ "AfCFTA Agreement secures minimum threshold of 22 ratification as Sierra Leone and the Saharawi Republic deposit instruments". African Union. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
5. ^ Ligami, Christabel (2017-04-17). "East Africa e-passports to be issued in 2018". theeastafrican.co.ke. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
6. ^ WT/COMTD/N/11 Archived 2009-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ WT/COMTD/N/21 Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ a b "SADC, COMESA and the EAC: Conflicting regional and trade agendas". Institute for Global Dialogue. October 2008. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
9. ^ "African integration is great but has its hurdles". New Vision. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
10. ^ Mugisha, Ivan R. (2010-08-20). "Rwanda back to Central Africa bloc, 10 years on". theeastafrican.co.ke. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
11. ^ Africa free trade zone in operation by 2018

## Sources

[edit]

* A single African currency in our time?
* African leaders agree to form single market
* African Union Official Website
* South African webpage on RECs
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