Economic Community of West African States

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Economic Community of West African States
Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest
Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África Ocidental
Location of the Economic Community of West African States
Headquarters Abuja, Nigeria
6°27′N, 3°23′E
Largest city Lagos, Nigeria
Official languages French, English, Portuguese
Membership 15
Leaders
 -  President Flag of Niger Tandja Mamadou
Establishment
 -  Treaty of Lagos May 28, 1975 
Area
 -  Total 5,112,903 km² (7th)
1,5,352,86 sq mi 
Population
 -  2006 estimate 251,646,263 (4th)
 -  Density 115.6/km² 
299.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
 -  Total U$ 342,519 Billion (28th)
 -  Per capita U$ 7,890 
Currency Cape Verdean escudo (CVE)
Cedi (GHC)2
Dalasi (GMD)2
Guinean franc (GNF)2
Liberian dollar (LRD)3
Naira (NGN)2
Leone (SLL)3
West African CFA franc (XOF)
Time zone (UTC0 to +2)
1 If considered as a single entity.
2 to be replaced by the eco in 2009.
3 Liberia has expressed an interest in joining the eco.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen West African countries, founded on May 28, 1975 with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos. Its mission is to promote economic integration. In 1976 Cape Verde joined ECOWAS, and in 2002 Mauritania withdrew.

It was founded to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for the member states by means of economic and monetary union creating a single large trading bloc. The very slow progress towards this aim meant that the treaty was revised in Cotonou on July 24, 1993 towards a looser collaboration. The ECOWAS Secretariat and the Fund for Cooperation, Compensation and Development are its two main institutions to implement policies. The ECOWAS Fund was transformed into the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development in 2001.

ECOWAS is one of the pillars of the African Economic Community.

Member states of ECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The current Executive Secretary is Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas. The current chairman is President Tandja Mamadou of Niger.

Contents

Map of ECOWAS as of 2006.
Map of ECOWAS as of 2006.

     UEMOA (West CFA franc)      WAMZ (Eco)      none yet
     UEMOA (West CFA franc)      WAMZ (Eco)      none yet
Main article: CFA franc

The West African CFA franc (XOF), created on December 26, 1945, is currently used in six formerly French-ruled African countries, as well as in Guinea-Bissau (former Portuguese colony). It is managed by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

Main article: Eco (currency)

The Eco is the proposed name for the common currency the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) plans to introduce on 1 December 2009. The WAMZ includes the Anglophone countries of Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, and the Francophone nation of Guinea. Liberia is also interested in joining this monetary union. The ultimate goal is to unite the UEMOA and the WAMZ to form a single monetary zone in West Africa (ECOWAS), which Cape Verde would then also join.

The ECOWAS nations have signed a non-aggression protocol in 1990 as well as two earlier agreements in 1978 and 1981. They have also signed a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 29 May 1981 that provided for the establishment of an Allied Armed Force of the Community

See also: ECOMOG

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Most active regional blocs
as of 2004
Regional bloc1 Area (km²) Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Member
states1
in millions per capita
Agadir 1,703,910 126,066,286 513,674 4,075 4
AU 29,797,500 897,548,804 1,515,000 1,896 53
ASEAN 4,400,000 553,900,000 2,172,000 4,044 10
CACM 422,614 37,816,598 159,536 4,219 5
CARICOM 462,344 14,565,083 64,219 4,409 (14+1)3
CCASG / GCC 2,285,844 35,869,438 536,223 14,949 6
CEFTA 298,148 28,929,682 222,041 7,675 (7+1)3
EU 4,325,675 496,198,605 12,025,415 24,235 27
EurAsEC 20,789,100 208,067,618 1,689,137 8,118 6
EFTA 529,600 12,233,467 471,547 38,546 4
GUAM 810,506 63,764,600 456,173 7,154 4
NAFTA 21,588,638 430,495,039 15,279,000 35,491 3
PARTA 528,151 7,810,905 23,074 2,954 (14+2)3
SAARC 5,136,740 1,467,255,669 4,074,031 2,777 8
Unasur / Unasul 17,339,153 370,158,470 2,868,430 7,749 12
UN and countries
for reference2		 Area (km²) Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Units4
in millions per capita
UN 133,178,011 6,411,682,270 55,167,630 8,604 192
Brazil 8,514,877 188,078,261 1,594,482 9,108 27
Canada 9,984,670 32,507,874 1,165,000 35,200 13
India 3,287,590 1,102,600,000 4,042,000 3,700 35
Japan 377,873 128,085,000 4,220,000 33,100 47
PR China5 9,596,960 1,306,847,624 10,000,000 7,600 33
Russia 17,075,200 143,782,338 1,723,000 12,100 89
USA 9,631,418 300,000,000 12,980,000 43,500 50
Source: CIA World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database.
Legend
     smallest value among the blocs compared     largest value among the blocs compared

Footnotes
1 Including data only for full and most active members.
2 Including the largest five countries by area, population and GDP (PPP), but not #4 in population or #5 in GDP (PPP).
3 Including non-sovereign autonomous areas of other states.
4 Members or administrative divisions.
5 Data for the People's Republic of China does not include Hong Kong, Macau, or regions administered
   by the Republic of China (Taiwan).

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African Economic Community
Pillars
regional
blocs (REC)		 Area (km²) Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Member
states
in millions per capita
AEC 29,910,442 853,520,010 2,053,706 2,406 53
ECOWAS 5,112,903 251,646,263 342,519 1,361 15
ECCAS 6,667,421 121,245,958 175,928 1,451 11
SADC 9,882,959 233,944,179 737,335 3,152 15
EAC 1,817,945 124,858,568 104,239 1,065 5
COMESA 12,873,957 406,102,471 735,599 1,811 20
IGAD 5,233,604 187,969,775 225,049 1,197 7
Western
Sahara 3		 266,000 273,008  ?  ? N/A 4
Other
African
blocs		 Area (km²) Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Member
states
in millions per capita
CEMAC 1 3,020,142 34,970,529 85,136 2,435 6
SACU 1 2,693,418 51,055,878 541,433 10,605 5
UEMOA 1 3,505,375 80,865,222 101,640 1,257 8
UMA 2 5,782,140 84,185,073 491,276 5,836 5
Agadir 1,703,910 126,066,286 513,674 4,075 4
1 Economic bloc inside a pillar REC

2 Proposed for pillar REC, but objecting participation
3 The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a
signatory to the AEC, but not participating in any bloc yet
4 Majority under military occupation by Morocco; some
territory administered by the SADR
     smallest value among the blocs compared      largest value among the blocs compared During 2004. Source: CIA World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database

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