Member States

The AU is made up of 55 Member States which represent all the countries on the African continent. AU Member States are divided into five geographic regions. which were defined by the OAU in 1976 (CM/Res.464QCXVI).

The following list shows all members states grouped by region, in alphabetical order, and their date of joining the AU or its predecessor the OAU.

Central Africa

Member State	Abbreviation	Date of joining the OAU or AU
Republic of Burundi	Burundi	25 May 1963
Republic of Cameroon	Cameroon	25 May 1963
Central African Republic	Central African Republic	25 May 1963
Republic of Chad	Chad	25 May 1963
Republic of the Congo	Congo Republic	25 May 1963
Democratic Republic of Congo	DR Congo	25 May 1963
Republic of Equatorial Guinea	Equatorial Guinea	12 October 1968
Gabonese Republic	Gabon	25 May 1963
Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé and Príncipe	18 July 1975

Eastern Africa

Member State	Abbreviation	Date of joining the OAU or AU
Union of the Comoros	Comoros	18 July 1975
Republic of Djibouti	Djibouti	27 June 1977
State of Eritrea	Eritrea	24 May 1993
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia	Ethiopia	25 May 1963
Republic of Kenya	Kenya	25 May 1963
Republic of Madagascar	Madagascar	25 May 1963
Republic of Mauritius	Mauritius	August 1968
Republic of Rwanda	Rwanda	25 May 1963
Republic of Seychelles	Seychelles	29 June 1976
Federal Republic of Somalia	Somalia	25 May 1963
Republic of South Sudan	South Sudan	27 July 2011
Republic of the Sudan	Sudan	25 May 1963
United Republic of Tanzania	Tanzania	25 May 1963
Republic of Uganda	Uganda	25 May 1963

Northern Africa

Member State	Abbreviation	Date of joining the OAU or AU
People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria	Algeria	25 May 1963
Arab Republic of Egypt	Egypt	25 May 1963
Libya	Libya	25 May 1963
Islamic Republic of Mauritania	Mauritania	25 May 1963
Kingdom of Morocco	Morocco	1963/31 January 2017
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	Sahrawi Republic	22 February 1982
Republic of Tunisia	Tunisia	25 May 1963

Southern Africa

Member State	Abbreviation	Date of joining the OAU or AU
Republic of Angola	Angola	11 February 1975
Republic of Botswana	Botswana	31 October 1966
Kingdom of Eswatini	Eswatini	24 September 1968
Kingdom of Lesotho	Lesotho	31 October 1966
Republic of Malawi	Malawi	13 July 1964
Republic of Mozambique	Mozambique	18 July 1975
Republic of Namibia	Namibia	June 1990
Republic of South Africa	South Africa	6 June 1994
Republic of Zambia	Zambia	16 December 1964
Republic of Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe	18 June 1980

Western Africa

Member State	Abbreviation	Date of joining the OAU or AU
Republic of Benin	Benin	25 May 1963
Burkina Faso	Burkina Faso	25 May 1963
Republic of Cabo Verde	Cabo Verde	18 July 1975
Republic of Côte d’Ivoire	Côte d’Ivoire	25 May 1963
Republic of the Gambia	Gambia	9 March 1965
Republic of Ghana	Ghana	25 May 1963
Republic of Guinea	Guinea	25 May 1963
Republic of Guinea-Bissau	Guinea-Bissau	19 November 1973
Republic of Liberia	Liberia	25 May 1963
Republic of Mali	Mali	25 May 1963
Republic of Niger	Niger	25 May 1963
Federal Republic of Nigeria	Nigeria	25 May 1963
Republic of Senegal	Senegal	25 May 1963
Republic of Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	25 May 1963
Togolese Republic	Togo	25 May 1963

Agenda 2063

Flagship Projects

Integrated High Speed Train Network

Connecting African capitals and commercial centers through a High-Speed Train Network; facilitating the movement of goods, factor services and people as well as reducing transport costs and relieving congestion of current and future systems through increased rail connectivity.

African Commodities Strategy

Transforming Africa from a raw materials supplier by enabling countries to add value, extract higher rents from commodities, integrate into global value chains promote diversification anchored in value addition and local content development.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

The African Passport & Free Movement of People

Removing restrictions on Africans’ ability to travel, work and live within their own continent by transforming restrictive laws and promoting visa free travel to enhance movement of all African citizens in all African countries.

Silencing the Guns by 2020

Ending all wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence, violent conflicts and preventing genocide in the continent by 2020.

The Grand Inga Dam Project

Generating an estimated 43,200MW of power to support current regional power pools and their combined service to transform Africa from traditional to modern sources of energy and ensure access to clean and affordable electricity.

Single African Air-Transport Market

Promoting intra-regional connectivity between the capital cities of Africa by creating a single unified air transport market in Africa, as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration and growth agenda.

African Economic Forum

Multi-stakeholder meeting bringing together the Africa’s policy makers, private sector, academia and civil society to reflect on accelerating Africa’s socio- economic development and transformation by harnessing its vast resources.

African Financial Institutions

Accelerating integration and economic development through the establishment of organisations which will play a pivotal role in the mobilization of resources and management of the African financial sector.

The Pan African e-Network

Transforming Africa into an e-Society by implementing policies and strategies that lead to transformative e-applications and services in Africa such as broad band terrestrial infrastructure, cyber security and revolutionary bio and nanotechnology industries.

Africa Outer Space Strategy

Strengthening Africa’s use of outer space to bolster development in critical sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, remote sensing, climate forecast, banking and finance, defense and security.

African Virtual & e-University

Using ICT based programmes to increase access to tertiary and continuing education in Africa by reaching large numbers of students and professionals in multiple sites simultaneously.

Cyber Security

Incorporating emerging technologies in Africa’s development plans and ensuring these technologies are used for the benefit of African individuals, institutions and nation states by ensuring data protection and safety online.

Great African Museum

Preserving and promoting African cultural heritage by creating awareness of Africa’s vast, dynamic and diverse cultural artefacts and Africa’s continuing influence on world cultures in art, music, language, science, and so on.

Encyclopaedia Africana

Provide an authoritative resource on the authentic history of Africa and African life.

NOW

Related Content

Agenda 2063

Key Resources