The 2021 African Integration Report issued under the theme “Putting Free Movement of Persons at the centre of Continental Integration”, is based on the African Multidimensional Regional Integration Index (AMRII). The Index was developed by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), with the participation of the Association of African Central Banks and national statistical agencies.

The 2021 Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII) assesses the regional integration status and efforts of African countries. ARII compares each country to the other countries in its regional economic community and to the countries of Africa as a whole. 

The third edition of the African Integration Report comes at a time when the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to ravage economies around the world, and the continent is no exception. The economic impact of the pandemic on the African continent is already clear: the first recession in 25 years, with economic activity falling by more than 3% in 2020.

The report captures the opportunities and challenges that come with these significant developments in the African regional integration agenda and provides a comprehensive and structured review of the status of integration and gives innovative policy recommendations for accelerating the ongoing regional integration process.

The third edition of the African Integration Report gives in-depth analysis of:

• The status of regional integration on the continent using the African multidimensional regional integration Index.
• The lessons and trends in the integration process both at the continental as well as REC level.
• The free movement of persons as an essential step towards the achievement of the African Economic Community in relation to the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people.
• The recommendations on how regional integration can help Africa to build back better and the role of regional integration in Africa's post-COVID-19 recovery with an analysis of the global economic and financial ecosystem.
• The need for enhanced inclusivity and the role of gender and youth in African integration; including in the AfCFTA and in post-COVID19 recovery on the continent.
• Financing regional integration in Africa and operationalising the African Integration Fund.

The overall assessment score for the integration process within the continent is 0.62 on a scale of 0 to 1. The overall AMRII scores for each of the RECs are the arithmetic mean of the scores obtained in the 8 dimensions of the index. These scores are a reflection of the efforts made within each of the RECs. The RECs which are making the most effort are, the East African Community (EAC); the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Overall, they have scores exceeding 0.6 in a rating range between 0 and 1. On the other hand, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD); the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD); and the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) are just above the average value of 0.5. The fact of not having defined plans or programmes in certain dimensions of integration such as free movement, financial and monetary integration is one reason for the poor overall performance of these RECs.

The Report shows that ECOWAS, COMESA and EAC performed best in trade integration, with scores above 75%. The three have been able to implement essential steps for achieving trade integration such as the free trade zones and a common external tariff, among others.

At the infrastructural level, the RECs have almost similar developments. This corroborates the general problem of infrastructure in Africa, which cannot effectively support the integration process. With an average progression of 63%, no REC stands out significantly in terms of the achievements and progress made.

The Report shows that the average progress of the RECs in the implementation of free movement of persons is moderate at 0.68 on a rating scale between 0 and 1. ECOWAS and EAC stand out from other RECs in the evaluations, with respective ratings of ECOWAS (100%) and EAC (96%); all the other RECs score below 65%. This can be explained by the difficulties experienced in either implementing the regional free movement protocols or the abolition of visas in their Member States.

In terms of monetary integration, the report shows that all the RECs are still struggling. SADC and EAC are making the best progress towards monetary integration, with the establishment of preparatory institutions for monetary integration, such as a Monetary Institute and a committee for the harmonization of convergence criteria. On environmental integration, ECCAS, SADC, ECOWAS and COMESA have scores above 60%. These RECs have been able to develop plans and programmes focused on environmental protection particularly in the context of climate change. ECCAS is more advanced with several institutions involved in environmental management.

Financial Integration is one of the important dimensions to support free trade areas, customs unions, and common markets, at the regional or continental level. This latest report looks at the main steps that characterize the process of financial integration such as the harmonization of financial policies at the regional level and the establishment of a regulatory institution; among others. It shows that SADC and COMESA have put in the most effort in achieving financial integration.

In regards to institutional and political integration, ECOWAS and the EAC stand out as having set up institutions linked to political and institutional integration, such as the court of justice and a regional parliament.

Download the 2021 African Integration Report here.

The African Union Commission Chairperson, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat commended the progress made in moving forward the continental integration highlighting the possibilities to foster regional integration for the continent's socio-economic transformation. Some RECs have provided practical success stories based on strategies and initiatives that can easily be adopted by others. In his foreword to the report, he stated “one of the important messages emerging from the 2021 African Integration Report is that while the pace of regional integration has been generally slow in some RECs, significant progress has been made in various thematic areas; such as the free movement of persons, customs unions, tariff and nontariff barriers, transport corridors and regional infrastructure.”

The report was launched during the Africa CEOs Roundtable Conference at the Expo 2020 Dubai. Watch the launch of the report and the contributions of various stakeholders here.

Read statements by Amb. Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Mining Department and ZHAO Jian, Acting Chief of Mission and Head of Special Liaison Office of IOM .