For the predecessor organisation, see Organisation of African Unity.
African Union
Arabic
الاتحاد الأفريقي
Spanish
Unión Africana
French
Union africaine
Portuguese
União Africana
Swahili
Umoja wa Afrika
Flag
Emblem
Motto: "A United and Strong Africa"
Anthem: "Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together"[1] (instrumental)
Member states Suspended states
Capital
Niamey
Political centres
Addis Ababaa
Johannesburgb
Largest urban agglomerations
Cape Town
Official languages
Arabic
English
French
Portuguese
Spanish
Swahili
and any other African language[2][3]
Demonym(s)
African
Type
Continental union
Membership
55 member states
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso[note 1]
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Gabon[note 1]
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea[note 1]
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali[note 1]
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger[note 1]
Nigeria
Republic of the Congo
Rwanda
Sahrawi Republic
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan[note 1]
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
10 observer states
Haiti
Israel[note 1]
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Mexico
Palestine
Serbia
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Leaders
• Chairperson
Mohamed Ould Ghazouani
• Commission Chairperson
Moussa Faki[4]
• Parliamentary President
Fortune Z. Charumbira
Legislature
Pan-African Parliament
Establishment
• OAU Charter
25 May 1963
• Abuja Treaty
3 June 1991
• Sirte Declaration
9 September 1999
• African Union founded
July 9, 2002; 21 years ago (2002-07-09)
• Admission of South Sudan
9 July 2011
• Admission of Morocco
31 January 2017
• African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
1 January 2021
Area
• Total
29,922,059[5] km2 (11,552,972 sq mi)
Population
• 2024 estimate
1,494,988,668 [6]
GDP (PPP)
2024 estimate
• Total
$8.990 trillion[7][note 2]
• Per capita
$6,330[7]
GDP (nominal)
2024 estimate
• Total
$2.89 trillion[7][note 2]
• Per capita
$2,035[7]
HDI (2020)
0.577 medium
Internet TLD
.africa
Website au.int
a Seat of the African Union Commission.
b Seat of the Pan-African Parliament.
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa.[8] The intention of the AU was to replace the Organization of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.
The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa. The largest city in the AU is Lagos, Nigeria, while the largest urban agglomeration is Cairo, Egypt. The African Union has more than 1.3 billion people and an area of around 30 million km2 (12 million sq mi) and includes world landmarks, such as the Sahara and the Nile.[9] The primary working languages are Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili.[2] Within the African Union, there are official bodies, such as the Peace and Security Council and the Pan-African Parliament.
At a G20 (Group of 20) meeting held in Delhi, India, in 2023, the African Union was admitted as a member to the G20 like the European Union.[10]
^"African Union anthem, etc". Africamasterweb.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
^ ab"AU Languages". African Union. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
^Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"African Union votes to readmit Morocco". BBC News. 19 September 2018. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
^Corresponds to the terrestrial surface. Including the Exclusive Economic Zones of each member state, the total area is 43 434 569 km2.
^"Africa Population 2024".
^ abcd"World Economic Outlook Database, October 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
^Mbeki, Thabo (9 July 2002). "Launch of the African Union, 9 July 2002: Address by the chairperson of the AU, President Thabo Mbeki". ABSA Stadium, Durban, South Africa: africa-union.org. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
^Manboah-Rockson, Joseph (23 September 2016). Politics & the Struggle for Democracy in Ghana: An Introduction to Political Science.
^"African Union made permanent member of G20 at Delhi summit". The Guardian. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
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Global Information
1,494,988,668 [6]
