The Sahel, comprising portions of ten (10) African countries, from left to right: [northern] Senegal, [southern] Mauritania, [central] Mali, [northern] Burkina Faso, [southern] Algeria, [southwestern] Niger, [northern] Nigeria, [central] Chad, [central] Sudan and [northern] Eritrea.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is the largest regional economic organization in Africa, with 19 member states and a population of about 390 million.
The member States of CEN-SAD are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.
The 15 members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Regional Economic Communities
- AMU.
- CEN-SAD.
- COMESA.
- EAC.
- ECCAS.
- ECOWAS.
- IGAD.
- SADC.
The proposed framework for African integration and continental industrialization was the division of the continent into regional integration areas that would constitute a united African economy, the African Economic Community. The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) was established in 1989, completing continental coverage.
The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are regional groupings of African states. Generally, the purpose of the RECs is to facilitate regional economic integration between members of the individual regions and through the wider African Economic Community (AEC), which was established under the Abuja Treaty (1991).
Summary. The Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (Abuja Treaty) was adopted on 3 June I991 and entered into force on 12 May 1994. The treaty has been signed by all member states of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), except Eritrea. South Africa signed the treaty on 10 October 1997.
Regional integration helps countries overcome divisions that impede the flow of goods, services, capital, people and ideas. These divisions are a constraint to economic growth, especially in developing countries. The provision of other common public goods (e.g. shared natural resources, security, education).
