The European Union and the African Union : a statistical portrait : 2016 edition.
Date: 2016-11-22
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: African Union, EU statistics, European Union, economic statistics, international statistics, population statistics

The European Union and 
the African Union

A stAtisticAl portrAit

2016 edition

© European Union, 2016 

Cover: © shutterstock.com

C o m Pa C t 
g U I D E S

Cooperation for high quality official statistics

Eurostat, at the centre of the European Statistical System, and the 
Statistics Division of the African Union Commission (AUSTAT), at the 
centre of the African Statistical System, engage to share good practices 
and lessons learnt from their experiences in producing statistics across 
the different domains at regional level.

The Statistics Division of the African Union Commission, the African 
Centre for Statistics of the United Nation Economic Commission for 
Africa and the Statistics Department of the African Development Bank, 
together with the African Capacity Building Foundation, constitute the 
African Statistical Coordination Committee. They cooperate in strategic 
initiatives for statistical development in Africa, including the African 
Charter on Statistics, the Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in 
Africa, the African Statistical Yearbook, etc.

This leaflet presents some highlights from the 2016 edition of the ‘The 
European Union and the African Union; a Statistical Portrait’, jointly 
prepared by Eurostat and AUSTAT.  The main publication provides a wide 
range of detailed statistics and offers a broad comparative view of the 
EU and AU regions in figures. 

Africa-EU Strategic Partnership

Africa’s continental integration is a key priority for the strategic 
partnership between the African Union and the EU. The new  
Pan-African Programme provides a major contribution to the Africa-EU 
Partnership, established in 2007 with the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES). 
The programme is a key instrument for the EU to implement, in close 
cooperation with African partners, the political priorities of the Joint 
roadmap 2014 –2017. 

To achieve the strategic objectives of the 4th priority area agreed 
in 2015 between the European Commission and the African Union 
Commission (economic growth for poverty reduction, creation of 
decent jobs, development of the private sector, continental integration, 
energy, industrialisation and investment), support for statistical capacity 
building is considered essential. Decisions to invest or develop new 
policies need to be based on reliable and comparable data. Therefore, 
cooperation between the European Statistical System and the African 
Statistical System in producing quality statistical service is being 
enhanced. 

Within the Africa-EU Partnership and the JAES, the EU supports capacity 
building for statistics in the African Union. 

The Pan-African Statistics (PAS) programme, as part of the overall  
Pan-African Programme, therefore aims to support African integration by 
improving the availability and quality of statistical information required 
for informed decision-making and policy monitoring. To this end it will 
provide technical assistance to enhance harmonisation of statistics on 
the continent and to foster institutional capacity building. 

Key aspects of the socio-economic situation

According to UN projections, the importance of Africa in the world 
population will increase substantially over the coming decades, from  
16.1 % of the world population in 2015 to 25.5 % by 2050. Infant and child 
mortality in Africa are steadily falling. At the same time, estimated life 
expectancy in Africa is rising, reaching 61.1 years in 2015. In comparison, 
life expectancy for the world of the whole is 70.1 years and in the EU 80.9 
years (2014).

The African economy is also growing steadily. Overall inflation has 
remained between 7 % and 9 % since 2010, substantially higher than in 
the EU. Although GDP per capita in many African countries still remains 
well below EU levels, economic development in Africa is reflected in a 
strong GDP growth in many countries. Ethiopia, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire 
recorded the highest GDP growth from 2014 to 2015.

There are strong trade ties between Africa and the EU.  In 2015, the main 
African trade partners for imports of goods to the EU were Algeria, South 
Africa and Nigeria. The main African destinations for EU-28 exports were 
South Africa, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco. The main product group 
imported to the EU from Africa is energy products, representing 47 % 
of the value of the EU’s imports from Africa in 2015. However, falling oil 
prices have led to a substantial fall in the value of the oil and gas imports 
from Africa over recent years. The main product group exported from 
the EU to Africa is machinery and vehicles, comprising both cars and 
machinery for industry, mining, extraction and energy production.             

Mobile communications, both telephony and data transfer, are a key 
driving force for the information society. In both Africa and Europe, the 
number of subscriptions per capita is increasing, with Gabon, Botswana, 
Seychelles and Libya among the top 10 countries in Africa in terms of 
mobile communications.   

World population by regions, 2015 and 2050
(% of total world population)

2015 

Northern
America
4.9 %

Oceania
0.5 %

2050 (2)

Northern
America
4.5 %

Oceania
0.6 %

Caribbean,
Central and
South
America 

8.6 %

Rest of
Europe (1)
3.1 %

EU-28
6.9 %

Africa
16.1 %

Caribbean,
Central and
South
America 
8.1 %

Rest of
Europe (1)
1.9 %

EU-28
5.4 %

Africa
25.5 %

Asia
59.8 %

Asia
54.2 %

(1) Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Hezegovina, Faeroe Islands, Iceland, Kosovo*, Liechtenstein, 

the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Serbia, 
Switzerland and Ukraine (* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in 
line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence); 

(2) UNPD estimate, medium fertility scenario

Sources: Eurostat (online data code: demo_pjan and proj_13ndbims) and United Nations 
Population Division

Life expectancy at birth
(years)

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2005

2010

2014

2005

2010

2015

EU-28 (1)

Africa (2)

(1) EU-28: 2014 instead of 2015
(2) Africa: estimated
Sources: Eurostat (online data code: demo_mlexpec) and the Statistics Division of the African 
Union Commission

Inflation rate
(% annual growth)

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Sources: Eurostat (online data code: prc_hicp_aind) and the Statistics Division of the African Union 
Commission

Africa

EU-28

GDP per capita at current prices, top 10 EU Member States and 
top 10 African countries, 2015
(Euro)

 0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000

EU-28

Luxembourg

Ireland

Denmark

Sweden

Netherlands

United Kingdom

Austria

Finland

Germany

Belgium

Africa

Equatorial Guinea

Seychelles

Mauritius

Gabon

Botswana

South Africa

Libya

Namibia

Algeria

Angola

Sources: Eurostat (online data code: nama_10_pc) and the Statistics Division of the African Union 
Commission

GDP growth rates at constant prices, top 10 EU Member 
States and top 10 African countries, 2015
(%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Africa

Ethiopia

Liberia

Côte d'Ivoire

Congo, Dem. Rep.

Tanzania

Rwanda

Seychelles

Djibouti

Chad

Senegal

EU-28

Ireland (1)

Malta

Luxembourg

Czech Republic

Sweden

Romania

Slovakia

Poland

Spain

Hungary

(1) The Irish GDP for 2015 has been revised upwards. The high GDP growth rate from 2014 to 2015 

is to a large extent caused by this revision.

Sources: Eurostat (online data code: tec00115) and the Statistics Division of the African Union 
Commission

EU-28 imports of goods from Africa by main partners, 2015
(%)

Other
22 %

Egypt
5 %

Libya
6 %

Angola
6 %

Algeria
16 %

South 
Africa
15 %

Nigeria
14 %

Tunisia
7 %

Morocco
9 %

Source: Eurostat (online data code: DS-018995)

EU-28 exports of goods to Africa by main partners, 2015
(%)

South 
Africa
17 %

Algeria
14 %

Egypt
13 %

Other
30 %

Nigeria
7 %

Tunisia
7 %

Morocco
12 %

Source: Eurostat (online data code: DS-018995)

EU-28 trade in goods with Africa, 2015
(billion EUR)

200

175

150

125

100

75

50

25

0

-25

-50

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

EU-28 exports to Africa

EU-28 imports from Africa

EU-28 trade balance with Africa

Source: Eurostat (online data code: DS-018995)

EU-28 trade in goods with Africa, by SITC section, 2015
(billion EUR)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Food and live
animals

Beverages and
tobacco

Crude materials,
except fuels

Energy 
products

Oils, fats and
waxes

Chemicals

Manuf'd goods
classified by

Machinery and
vehicles

Miscellaneous
manufactured
articles

Products not
classified
elsewhere

EU-28 exports to Africa

EU-28 imports from Africa

Source: Eurostat (online data code: DS-018995)

Mobile communication subscriptions, top 20 EU Member 
States and African countries, 2014
(subscriptions per thousand inhabitants)

0

250

500

750 1 000 1 250 1 500 1 750 2 000 2 250

Sweden

Latvia

Finland

Gabon

Botswana

Seychelles

Denmark

Libya

Bulgaria

Italy

Portugal

Austria

Lithuania

South Africa

Mali

Estonia

Luxembourg

United Kingdom

Poland

Germany

EU-28

Africa (1)

(1) Estimated

Sources: DG CONNECT’s Digital Agenda Scoreboard and the Statistics Division of the African Union 
Commission

Eurostat coopEration rEsourcEs

For more information on European statistics, please go to the Eurostat 
website: 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

For more information on quality in statistics, see:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/quality/overview

For information on Eurostat’s statistical cooperation activities: 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/international-statistical-
cooperation/overview

E-mail: ESTAT-STATISTICAL-COOPERATION@ec.europa.eu

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the European union and the african union  
a statistical portrait

2016 edition (Statistical Book with more detailed data )

Guide to statistics in European commission 
development cooperation 

 2013 edition

ISSN 2315-0815

Essential SNA: Building the basics

Essential sna:  
Building the basics 

2014 edition

2014 edition

We can do better if we know better! 
statistics for development

2016 edition

Building better statistics 
Eurostat’s tools for statistical capacity building

Compact guides

snapshot 

Snapshot 
A user-friendly tool to assess the  
strengths and weaknesses of  
National Statistical Systems

A user-friendly tool to assess National Statistical Systems

See ‘Statistics explained’ for further insight into Eurostat’s international 
cooperation activities: 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Non-
EU_countries

sEE also
African Union Commission – Statistics Division:

http://www.au.int

ISBN 978-92-79-52223-9  doi:10.2785/564680
PDF:  
Print:   ISBN 978-92-79-52222-2  doi:10.2785/540633
© European Union, 2016 
Cover: © shutterstock.com