Six regions, one union: a reader's guide
The African Union counts five geographic regions and a sixth, the diaspora. A short guide to each, and to the regional bodies that do much of the continent's daily work.
Africa is often described as a single place, and just as often as many. The African Union offers a practical middle path: five geographic regions, and a sixth that is not on any map, the diaspora. Eight regional economic communities recognised by the Union organise much of the practical cooperation between neighbours.
North Africa
The Mediterranean coast, the Maghreb and the Nile valley. A gateway between Africa, Europe and the Middle East, with deep trade and cultural ties across all three. The Arab Maghreb Union and the community of Sahel-Saharan states are among its regional groupings.
West Africa
The Gulf of Guinea coast and the Sahel. The region is anchored by ECOWAS, whose free movement of people is among the most advanced on the continent, and is home to some of its largest cities and fastest-growing technology scenes.
Central Africa
The Congo Basin, the second-largest tropical rainforest on Earth, and the economies that surround it. ECCAS coordinates cooperation on trade, transport and the management of shared natural resources.
East Africa
From the Horn to the Great Lakes and the Indian Ocean coast. The East African Community and IGAD work on trade, infrastructure and regional security, and the region's ports and airports connect the continent to Asia and the Gulf.
Southern Africa
Rich in minerals and home to the continent's most industrialised economies. SADC brings its members together on energy, transport and trade, and the region's rail and road corridors link inland producers to the sea.
The diaspora
In 2003, the African Union decided to recognise people of African origin living abroad as a sixth region. It is a decision with practical consequences: it gives millions of people in Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean and the Gulf a formal place in the continent's story, and a reason to invest in it.
Why the map matters
The regional communities are more than administrative boxes. The African Union treats them as the building blocks of continental integration: they harmonise rules, build cross-border infrastructure and, in the case of free movement, often move faster than the continent as a whole. Understanding the regional layer helps make sense of almost every continental story, from trade to security.