# African Economic Community

The African Economic Community (AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. 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

The AEC founded through the Abuja Treaty, signed in 1991 and entered into force in 1994 is envisioned to be created in six stages:
* (completed in 1999) Creation of regional blocs in regions where such do not yet exist
* (completed in 2007) Strengthening of intra-REC integration and inter-REC harmonisation
* (completed in 2021) Establishing of a free trade area and customs union in each regional bloc
* (to be completed in 2023) Establishing of a continent-wide customs union (and thus also a free trade area)
* (to be completed in 2025) Establishing of a continent-wide African Common Market (ACM)
* (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

### Stages progress

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:
$^1$ 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) $^2$ Members not yet participating: Angola, DR Congo, Seychelles
* 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. As of 2021, 34 signatories have effectively become parties of the treaty.
* Stage 5: no progress yet
* Stage 6: no progress yet

### Overall progress

$^1$ 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) ($US) | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Member states |
| Pillar regional blocs (REC) | Area (km²) | Population | (millions) | (per capita) | Member states |
| 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) ($US) | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Member states |
| Other regional blocs | Area (km²) | Population | (millions) | (per capita) | Member states |
| 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 km$^2$ used for Morocco excludes all disputed territories, while 710,850 km$^2$ 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 km$^2$ (8.8 sq mi) more claimed territory. This box: viewtalkedit ||||||

## Pillars

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

* 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
* 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
* 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
* UMA$^1$
* 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 $^{withdrawn2004-2007}$
* 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

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

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

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.