Regions of the African Union

Five geographical regions of the African Union

Not to be confused with List of regions of Africa.

Regions of the African Union:
Central
Eastern
Northern
Southern
Western
Note that Ceuta and Melilla in Northern Africa are parts of Spain.

The member states of the African Union (AU) are divided into five geographical regions.[1]

When a principal organ of the United Nations allocates a certain number of seats to the African Group, such as on the UN Security Council or the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the African Union distributes these seats based on these geographical regions[2] (however, even though Morocco was not a member of the African Union between 1984-2017, it was still eligible to be picked). States must apply to the Executive Council's Committee on Candidatures by March of the election year in order to become a candidate.[3] The Committee allocates seats roughly by proportion (for example, the Western Africa subregion usually gets the largest number of seats).[2]

## List

[edit]

List of AU member states by alphabetical order:

### Northern

[edit]

# | Member state | Capital | Area (km2)

|
|
|

1 |  Algeria | Algiers | 2,381,740
2 |  Egypt | Cairo | 1,001,451
3 |  Libya | Tripoli | 1,759,540
4 |  Mauritania | Nouakchott | 1,030,700
5 |  Morocco | Rabat | 446,550
6 |  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | Tifariti (provisional) | 266,000
7 |  Tunisia | Tunis | 163,610

### Southern

[edit]

# | Member state | Capital(s) | Area (km2)

|
|
|

1 |  Angola | Luanda | 1,246,700
2 |  Botswana | Gaborone | 581,726
3 |  Eswatini | Mbabane | 17,364
4 |  Lesotho | Maseru | 30,355
5 |  Malawi | Lilongwe | 118,484
6 |  Mozambique | Maputo | 801,590
7 |  Namibia | Windhoek | 824,116
8 |  South Africa | Pretoria
Cape Town
Bloemfontein | 1,221,037
9 |  Zambia | Lusaka | 752,618
10 |  Zimbabwe | Harare | 390,757

### Eastern

[edit]

# | Member state | Capital | Area (km2)

|
|
|

1 |  Comoros | Moroni | 2,235
2 |  Djibouti | Djibouti | 23,200
3 |  Eritrea | Asmara | 117,600
4 |  Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | 1,104,300
5 |  Kenya | Nairobi | 580,367
6 |  Madagascar | Antananarivo | 587,041
7 |  Mauritius | Port Louis | 2,040
8 |  Rwanda | Kigali | 26,798
9 |  Seychelles | Victoria | 451
10 |  Somalia | Mogadishu | 637,661
11 |  South Sudan | Juba | 619,745
12 |  Sudan | Khartoum | 1,886,068
13 |  Tanzania | Dodoma | 945,087
14 |  Uganda | Kampala | 236,040

### Western

[edit]

# | Member state | Capital | Area (km2)

|
|
|

1 |  Benin | Porto-Novo | 112,622
2 |  Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | 274,000
3 |  Cabo Verde | Praia | 4,033
4 |  Côte d'Ivoire | Yamoussoukro | 322,462
5 |  Gambia | Banjul | 10,380
6 |  Ghana | Accra | 238,534
7 |  Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | 36,125
8 |  Guinea | Conakry | 245,857
9 |  Liberia | Monrovia | 111,369
10 |  Mali | Bamako | 1,240,192
11 |  Niger | Niamey | 1,267,000
12 |  Nigeria | Abuja | 923,768
13 |  Senegal | Dakar | 196,723
14 |  Sierra Leone | Freetown | 71,740
15 |  Togo | Lomé | 56,785

### Central

[edit]

# | Member state | Capital | Area (km2)

|
|
|

1 |  Burundi | Gitega | 27,834
2 |  Cameroon | Yaounde | 475,442
3 |  Central African Republic | Bangui | 622,984
4 |  Chad | N'Djamena | 1,284,000
5 |  Congo Republic | Brazzaville | 342,000
6 |  DR Congo | Kinshasa | 2,345,409
7 |  Equatorial Guinea | Malabo | 28,051
8 |  Gabon | Libreville | 267,667
9 |  São Tomé and Príncipe | São Tomé | 964

### African diaspora

[edit]

In the Constitutive Act of the African Union,[4] under amended Article 3(q) of the Act (Objectives), the following is stated regarding the African diaspora: “invite and encourage the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our continent, in building the African Union.”[5] Additionally, the African Union provides definition for its concept of the African diaspora as the following: “The African Diaspora consists of peoples of native or partial African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union.”[6]

In 2016, the African Union denied membership to Haiti due to membership admission, as per Article 29.1 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, being limited to any “African State.”[7][4]

In the African Union Handbook (2021), persons who have been appointed to represent the African diaspora at the Assembly of the African Union have been granted the status of observer.[8] More specifically, the African Union Handbook (2021) states:

> In January 2008, the Executive Council suggested that the African diaspora be treated as Africa’s sixth region and its participation in the AU’s organs and activities be strengthened (EX.CL/Dec.406(XII)). The Assembly has recognised the diaspora as a substantive entity contributing to the economic and social development of the continent and has invited its representatives as observers to Assembly sessions (see Assembly/AU/Res.1(XVIII) of January 2012).[8]

The African Union has also established regional institutions, such as the Western Hemisphere African Diaspora Network, and international institutions, such as the Economic, Social and Cultural Council, to facilitate African diaspora relations.[9]

Additionally, the African Union works together with AfricaRecruit, the Caribbean Community and Common Market, the Commonwealth Business Council, the International Organization for Migration, and the World Bank to facilitate African diaspora relations, regionally and internationally.[9] Furthermore, individual countries (e.g., Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa) in Africa have also undertaken national efforts to facilitate African diaspora relations, internationally.[9]

## Changes

[edit]

When the Organisation of African Unity (the African Union's predecessor) was originally created, Southern Africa was not yet independent and member states were grouped into four regions. As states in Southern Africa gained independence and became members, they joined the Eastern Africa group (including Zambia, Botswana, and Lesotho; but excluding Angola which joined the Central Africa group).[10]

A decision in 1976, implemented by 1979, created the Southern Africa group. The six southern members which had joined Eastern Africa re-grouped, but Angola remained part of Central Africa.[11][12]

Sometime between 1979 and 1980, Sudan changed from the Northern Africa group to the Eastern Africa group.[a]

In 1995, Angola changed from the Central Africa group to the Southern Africa group.[2]

Sometime between 2000 and 2003, Rwanda changed from the Central Africa group to the Eastern Africa group.[b]

In 2004, Mauritania changed from the Western Africa group to the Northern Africa group.[18][19]

## See also

[edit]

* List of regions of Africa
* United Nations geoscheme for Africa

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ In 1972-1973, Sudan sat in the Northern Africa seat on the United Nations Security Council. A document from 1975 puts Sudan in the Northern Africa group.[13] In an apparent contradiction, a document from 1976 mentions Sudan changing from the Eastern Africa group to the Northern Africa group.[10] Documents from 1977, 1978, and 1979 put Sudan in the Northern Africa group.[14][11][12] A document from 1980 puts Sudan in the Eastern Africa group.[15]
2. ^ A document from 1999 puts Rwanda in the Central Africa group,[16] while a document from 2004 puts Rwanda in the Eastern Africa group.[17] (As an aside, a document from 1975 puts Rwanda in the Eastern Africa group[13] and a document from 1976 puts Rwanda in the Central Africa group,[10] but Rwanda was not elected to any United Nations organs until 1977.)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Appendix 1: AU Regions, Strengthening PoPular ParticiPation in the African Union" (PDF). OSISA and Oxfam. 2009. p. 62\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
2. ^ a b c Endeley, Isaac (2009). Bloc Politics at the United Nations: The African Group. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0761845584.
3. ^ "The Executive Council | African Union".
4. ^ a b "Constitutive Act of the African Union" (PDF). African Union. 11 July 2000. pp. 5–6, 17.
5. ^ "Protocol on the Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the African Union" (PDF). African Union. 11 July 2003. p. 2.
6. ^ "Report of the Meeting of Experts from Member States on the Definition of the African Diaspora" (PDF). African Union. 2 July 2005. pp. 5–6.
7. ^ "Haiti will not be admitted as African Union Member State at next Summit in Kigali, Rwanda". African Union. 18 May 2016.
8. ^ a b "African Union Handbook 2021" (PDF). African Union. 2021. p. 20.
9. ^ a b c Kamei, Seraphina (2011). "Diaspora as the 'Sixth Region of Africa': An Assessment of the African Union Initiative, 2002–2010". Diaspora Studies. 4 (1): 61. doi:10.1080/09739572.2011.10597353 (inactive 31 January 2024). S2CID 152812717.`{{cite journal}}`: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)
10. ^ a b c "Division of Africa Into 5 Regions - Distribution on Member States by Region" (PDF).
11. ^ a b "Report of the Administrative Secretary-General on the Fourth Conference of African Ministers of Trade" (PDF).
12. ^ a b "Note of Presentation of the Document on Candidatures" (PDF).
13. ^ a b "Report of the Secretary-General on the Conference of African Intergovernmental Organizations (1)" (PDF).
14. ^ "Report of the Administrative Secretary-General on the Third Conference of African Ministers of Trade" (PDF).
15. ^ "Report of the Secretary General on the Establishment of the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU)".
16. ^ "COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, Seventieth ordinary Session/Fifth Ordinary Session of the AEC".
17. ^ "Report of the chairperson on the 2nd Ordinary Session of the conference of AU ministers of trade held in Kigali, Rwanda from 24 To 28 May, 2004" (PDF).
18. ^ "Special Research Report No. 4: Security Council Elections 2011 : Research Report : Security Council Report".
19. ^ "EX/CL/Dec. 87 (IV)" (PDF).

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