ECOWAS

THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICA STATES (ECOWAS)

The Economic Community of West African States, also known as ECOWAS (CEDEAO in French), is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of 5,114,162 km2 (1,974,589 square miles), and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million.

The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou. Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC), the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve “collective self-sufficiency” for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.

The ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc’s member countries at times of political instability and unrest. In recent years these included interventions in Ivory Coast in 2003Liberia in 2003Guinea-Bissau in 2012Mali in 2013, and The Gambia in 2017.

ECOWAS includes two sub-regional blocs:

  • The West African Economic and Monetary Union (also known by its French-language acronym UEMOA) is an organization of eight, mainly French-speaking, states within the ECOWAS which share a customs union and currency union. Established in 1994 and intended to counterbalance the dominance of English-speaking economies in the bloc (such as Nigeria and Ghana), members of UEMOA are mostly former territories of French West Africa. The currency they all use is the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro.
  • The West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), established in 2000, comprises six mainly English-speaking countries within ECOWAS which plan to work towards adopting their own common currency, the eco.

In addition, ECOWAS includes the following institutions: ECOWAS Commission, Community Court of Justice, Community Parliament, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Health Organization (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA).

The ECOWAS operates in three co-official languages—French, English, and Portuguese, and consists of two institutions to implement policies: the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), formerly known as the Fund for Cooperation until it was renamed in 2001. In 1976, Cape Verde joined the ECOWAS, while Mauritania withdrew in December 2000, having announced its intention to do so in December 1999.

In 2011, the ECOWAS adopted its development blueprint for the next decade, Vision 2020, and, to accompany it, a Policy on Science and Technology (ECOPOST).

The Economic Community of West African States Member states:

Benin 🇧🇯

Burkina Faso 🇧🇫

Cabo Verde 🇨🇻 

Cote D’Ivoire 🇨🇮

The Gambia 🇬🇲

Ghana 🇬🇭

Guinea 🇬🇳

Guinea Bissau 🇬🇼

Liberia 🇱🇷 

Mali  🇲🇱

Niger 🇳🇪

Nigeria 🇳🇬

Senegal 🇸🇳

Sierra Leone 🇸🇱

Togo  🇹🇬