Member states of the African Union

Member states of the AU in dark green, suspended states in light green

The member states of the African Union are the 55 sovereign states that have ratified or acceded to the Constitutive Act of the African Union to become member states to the African Union (AU).[1] The AU was the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and AU membership was open to all OAU member states.

From an original membership of 36 states when the OAU was established on 25 May 1963, there have been nineteen successive enlargements—the largest occurring on 18 July 1975 when four states joined. Morocco is the newest member state, having joined on 31 January 2017.[2] Morocco was a founding member of the OAU but withdrew in 1984 following the organization's acceptance of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a member state, which claims the sovereignty of the disputed territory of Western Sahara with Morocco.

The AU spans the entirety of the African continent, with the exception of the Spanish North Africa semi-enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and Vélez de la Gomera. Island states are also members of the AU, but not the offshore islands that are integral parts of the transcontinental countries of France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom and Yemen. The 55 member states are grouped into five regions.

The African Union is composed of fifty-two republics and three monarchies. The total population of the AU is in excess of 1.5 billion.[3]

## Current members

[edit]

Currently suspended

State[4] | Accession  | Population  | Area (km2)  | Capital  | Language(s)  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|

Algeria | 1963-05-25  | 43,088,000 | 2,381,741 | Algiers |

* Arabic
* Berber

Angola | 1979-02-11  | 30,053,000 | 1,246,700 | Luanda | Portuguese |
Benin | 1963-05-25  | 11,722,000 | 112,622 | Porto-Novo | French | Known as Dahomey until 1975.
Botswana | 1966-10-31  | 2,378,000 | 600,370 | Gaborone |

* English
* Setswana

Burkina Faso | 1963-05-25  | 20,000,000 | 274,000 | Ouagadougou | French | Known as Upper Volta until 1984. Suspended in September 2015 after a brief military coup.[5] Suspended again in January 2022 after another military coup.[6]
Burundi | 1963-05-25  | 11,529,000 | 27,830 | Gitega |

* English
* French
* Kirundi

Cameroon | 1963-05-25  | 25,506,000 | 475,442 | Yaoundé |

* English
* French

Cabo Verde | 1975-07-18  | 551,000 | 4,033 | Praia | Portuguese |
Central African Republic | 1963-05-25  | 5,181,000 | 622,984 | Bangui |

* French
* Sango

| Suspended from March 2013 to April 2016 during the Central African Republic Civil War[7][8]
Chad | 1963-05-25  | 12,802,000 | 1,284,000 | N'Djamena |

* Arabic
* French

Comoros | 1975-07-18  | 872,000 | 2,235 | Moroni |

* Arabic
* Comorian
* French

Democratic Republic of the Congo | 1963-05-25  | 91,931,000 | 2,344,858 | Kinshasa | French | Known as Zaire from 1971 to 1997.
Republic of the Congo | 1963-05-25  | 4,500,000 | 342,000 | Brazzaville | French |
Djibouti | 1977-06-27  | 1,078,000 | 23,200 | Djibouti |

* Arabic
* French

Egypt | 1963-05-25  | 99,211,000 | 1,002,450 | Cairo | Arabic | Suspended from July 2013 until June 2014
following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état[9][10]
Equatorial Guinea | 1968-10-12  | 887,000 | 28,051 | Malabo |

* French
* Portuguese
* Spanish

Eritrea | 1993-05-24  | 6,159,000 | 117,600 | Asmara |

* Arabic
* Tigrinya

| Eritrea returned to the 53-member organization after several years' absence.
Eswatini | 1968-09-24  | 1,177,000 | 17,364 | Lobamba (royal and legislative)
Mbabane (administrative) |

* English
* Swati

| Known as Swaziland from 1968 to 2018.
Ethiopia | 1963-05-25  | 96,633,458 | 1,104,300 | Addis Ababa | Afar
Amharic
Oromo
Somali
Tigrinya[11][12][13] |
Gabon | 1963-05-25  | 2,080,000 | 267,745 | Libreville | French | Suspended from 31 August 2023 to 30 April 2025 following a military coup.[14][15]
Gambia | 1965-10-01  | 2,238,000 | 10,380 | Banjul | English |
Ghana | 1963-05-25  | 29,742,000 | 238,535 | Accra | English |
Guinea | 1963-05-25  | 13,627,000 | 245,857 | Conakry | French | Suspended from December 2008 to January 2011[citation needed] after the 2008 Guinean coup d'état,[16] and suspended again in September 2021 after another coup.[17]
Guinea-Bissau | 1973-11-19  | 1,776,000 | 36,544 | Bissau | Portuguese | Suspended from April 2012 until June 2014 following the 2012 Guinea-Bissau coup d'état.[10][18]
Ivory Coast | 1963-05-25  | 26,275,000 | 322,460 | Yamoussoukro | French | Suspended after the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis.
Kenya | 1963-12-13  | 50,000,000 | 580,367 | Nairobi |

* English
* Swahili

Lesotho | 1966-10-31  | 2,048,000 | 30,355 | Maseru |

* English
* Sesotho

Liberia | 1963-05-25  | 5,000,000 | 111,369 | Monrovia | English |
Libya | 1963-05-25  | 6,578,000 | 1,759,541 | Tripoli | Arabic |
Madagascar | 1963-05-25  | 27,055,000 | 587,041 | Antananarivo |

* French
* Malagasy

| Suspended from December 2001 – 10 July 2003 and from 20 March 2009 – 27 January 2014 after a political crisis.[19]
Malawi | 1964-07-13  | 20,289,000 | 118,484 | Lilongwe |

* Chichewa
* English

Mali | 1963-05-25  | 20,161,000 | 1,240,192 | Bamako |

* Bambara
* Bobo
* Bozo
* Dogon, Toro So
* Fula
* Hassaniya Arabic
* Kassonke
* Maninke
* Minyanka
* Senufo, Senara
* Songhay, Koyraboro Senni
* Soninke
* Tamasheq

| Suspended from 23 March 2012 until October 2013 after a military coup. Suspended again from 19 August to 8 October 2020 due to a military coup.[20][21] Currently suspended since 1 June 2021 after another coup.[22]
Mauritania | 1963-05-25  | 3,516,806 | 1,030,700 | Nouakchott | Arabic | Suspended 4 August 2005 after a military coup. Presidential elections were held in March 2007. Suspended 6 August 2008 after a military coup.
Mauritius | 1968-08-01  | 1,279,000 | 2,040 | Port Louis |

* English
* French

Morocco | 1963-05-25  | 35,587,000 | 446,550 | Rabat |

* Arabic
* Berber

| Originally joined the AU's predecessor, the OAU, in 1963. However, withdrew in 12 November 1984 when a majority of member states supported the admission of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, as an OAU member.[23][24] AU membership approved on 31 January 2017.[25]
Mozambique | 1975-07-18  | 31,157,000 | 801,590 | Maputo | Portuguese |
Namibia | 1990-06-01  | 2,408,000 | 825,418 | Windhoek | English |
Niger | 1963-05-25  | 20,000,000 | 1,267,000 | Niamey | French | Suspended from 19 February 2010 until 16 March 2011 after a military coup and until the subsequent transition to a civilian administration.[26]

Suspended again on 22 August 2023 following another military coup.[27]

Nigeria | 1963-05-25  | 199,206,000 | 923,768 | Abuja | English |
Rwanda | 1963-05-25  | 12,432,000 | 26,798 | Kigali |

* English
* French
* Kinyarwanda

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | 1982-02-22  | 267,405 | 266,000 | El Aaiun (de jure claimed)
Tifariti (de facto temporary) |

* Arabic
* Spanish

São Tomé and Príncipe | 1975-07-18  | 222,000 | 964 | São Tomé | Portuguese |
Senegal | 1963-05-25  | 16,793,000 | 196,723 | Dakar | French |
Seychelles | 1976-06-29  | 96,000 | 451 | Victoria |

* English
* French
* Seychellois Creole

Sierra Leone | 1963-05-25  | 7,737,000 | 71,740 | Freetown | English |
Somalia | 1963-05-25  | 11,998,222 | 637,661 | Mogadishu |

* Arabic
* Somali

South Africa | 1994-06-06  | 58,333,000 | 1,221,037 | Pretoria (executive)
Bloemfontein (judicial)
Cape Town (legislative) |

* Afrikaans
* English
* Southern Ndebele
* Northern Sotho
* Southern Sotho
* Swazi
* Tsonga
* Tswana
* Venda
* Xhosa
* Zulu

South Sudan | 2011-08-15  | 13,400,000 | 619,745 | Juba | English |
Sudan | 1963-05-25  | 43,222,000 | 1,886,068 | Khartoum |

* Arabic
* English

| Suspended 6 June 2019 due to violence committed by the military following a coup d'état as part of the 2018–19 Sudanese protests.[28] Suspension was lifted three months later on 6 September 2019.[29] Suspended again on 25 October 2021 following another coup d'état.
Tanzania | 1963-05-25  | 52,067,000 | 945,203 | Dodoma |

* English
* Swahili

(Zanzibar: Arabic)  | Formed by a merger on 26 April 1964 of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which had both become members on 25 May 1963.
Togo | 1963-05-25  | 8,205,000 | 56,785 | Lomé | French | Suspended 25 February 2005 after concerns over unconstitutional presidential appointment. Presidential elections were held 4 May 2005.
Tunisia | 1963-05-25  | 11,800,000 | 163,610 | Tunis | Arabic |
Uganda | 1963-05-25  | 40,007,000 | 241,038 | Kampala |

* English
* Swahili

Zambia | 1964-12-16  | 18,321,000 | 752,618 | Lusaka | English |
Zimbabwe | 1980-06-01  | 15,658,000 | 390,757 | Harare |

* English
* Ndebele
* Shona

## Former members

[edit]

Former African Union State  | Years of membership  | Population  | Area (km2) | Capital  | Language(s)  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|

Tanganyika | 1963–1964  | 49,000,000 | 942,433 | Dar es Salaam | Swahili
English | Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged on 26 April 1964 to
form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar,
which was renamed Tanzania on 1 November 1964
Zanzibar | 1,303,569 | 2,461 | Zanzibar City

## Accession

[edit]

See also: Enlargement of the African Union

South Africa joined on 6 June 1994 after the end of the apartheid and the April 1994 general election.

South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan on 9 July 2011, joined the AU on 27 July 2011.[30][31]

The AU's most recent member state is Morocco, having joined on 31 January 2017. Morocco withdrew from the OAU in 1984 following the organization's acceptance of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a member state. Morocco rules over most of the territory, but sovereignty is disputed.

## See also

[edit]

* List of African Union member states by political system

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "LIST OF COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE SIGNED, RATIFIED/ACCEDED TO THE CONSTITUTIVE ACT OF THE AFRICAN UNION" (PDF). African Union. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
2. ^ "Western Sahara welcomes Morocco's African Union membership". BBC News. 31 January 2017.
3. ^ "African Union | Country Page | World | Human Rights Watch". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
4. ^ "LIST OF COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE SIGNED, RATIFIED/ACCEDED TO THE CONSTITUTIVE ACT OF THE AFRICAN UNION" (PDF). African Union. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
5. ^ "Communiqué of the 547th meeting of the PSC, at the level of Heads of State and Government, on the situation in Burkina Faso". Peace and Security Council. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
6. ^ "AU suspends Burkina Faso after coup as envoys head for talks". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
7. ^ Dixon, Robyn (25 March 2013). "African Union suspends Central African Republic after coup". Los Angeles Times. Johannesburg. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
8. ^ "AU readmits Central African Republic". News24. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
9. ^ "African Union suspends Egypt after leaders overthrown". ITV. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
10. ^ a b "AU ends Egypt, Guinea Bissau suspension after elections". Reuters. 18 June 2014. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
11. ^ "ETHIOPIA TO ADD 4 MORE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES TO FOSTER UNITY". Ventures Africa. Ventures. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
12. ^ "Ethiopia is adding four more official languages to Amharic as political instability mounts". Nazret. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
13. ^ Shaban, Abdurahman. "One to five: Ethiopia gets four new federal working languages". Africa News.
14. ^ "African Union suspends Gabon's membership after military coup". Al Jazeera. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
15. ^ "African Union lifts sanctions against Gabon after political transition review". France 24. 30 April 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
16. ^ "African Union bars Guinea on coup". BBC NEWS. 29 December 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
17. ^ "African Union suspends Guinea following coup". Africanews.com. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
18. ^ "Guinea-Bissau suspended from African Union". Al Jazeera English. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
19. ^ "African Union ends Madagascar suspension". Agence France-Presse. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.[dead link]
20. ^ "African Union suspends Mali following coup". Agence France-Presse, Reuters. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
21. ^ "African Union lifts Mali's suspension imposed in the wake of coup". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
22. ^ "African Union announces 'immediate suspension' of Mali after second coup". France 24, Reuters, Agence France-Presse. France 24. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
23. ^ BBC News (8 July 2001) – "OAU considers Morocco readmission". Retrieved 9 July 2006.
24. ^ Arabic News (9 July 2002) – "South African paper says Morocco should be one of the AU and NEPAD leaders" Archived 19 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 July 2006
25. ^ "Morocco rejoins African Union". Worldbulletin. 30 January 2017. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
26. ^ News Wire (19 February 2010). "African Union suspends Niger as thousands celebrate coup". France 24. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
27. ^ Peyton, Nellie (22 August 2023). "African Union suspends Niger over coup, prepares sanctions". Reuters. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
28. ^ "African Union suspends Sudan over violence against protesters". The Guardian. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
29. ^ "African Union lifts suspension of Sudan", Al Jazeera, 7 September 2019.
30. ^ "African Union Welcomes South Sudan as the 54th Member State of the Union" Archived 12 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, African Union, 2011-07-27. Retrieved on 29 July 2011.
31. ^ "The African Union Applauds the Success of the Referendum in Southern Sudan". au.int. 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2011.

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