Charts / Trade
Only about 15 percent of Africa's trade is with itself
Africa trades far less within its own borders than Europe, Asia or the Americas do, and the AfCFTA is meant to close that gap.
Updated October 2026 · Data year 2015-2017 for current trade shares. World Bank AfCFTA projections run to 2035
Figure 1
Africa trades far less within its own borders than Europe, Asia or the Americas do, and the AfCFTA is meant to close that gap.
67%
Europe · % of the region's total trade
Source: UNCTAD, World Bank · 2015-2017 for current trade shares. World Bank AfCFTA projections run to 2035 · All figures are UNCTAD averages for 2015 to 2017, measured as the average of intra-regional exports and imports [S1]. UNCTAD labels this region 'America' and reports it as one region, not North America alone.
UNCTAD puts intra-African trade at about 15.2 percent of Africa's total trade over 2015 to 2017, against 67 percent inside Europe, 61 percent inside Asia and 47 percent across the Americas [S1]. African economies still sell mostly raw commodities to the rest of the world and buy manufactured goods back. The African Continental Free Trade Area aims to change that by removing tariffs across the continent. One honest caveat: the comparable cross-region figures are dated to 2015 to 2017, and more recent national data suggest the African share has moved only slightly since.
Takeaways
- Intra-African trade was about 15.2 percent of Africa's total trade in 2015 to 2017, UNCTAD [S1].
- Inside Europe the share was 67 percent, in Asia 61 percent and across the Americas 47 percent [S1].
- Projection, not current data: the World Bank estimates the AfCFTA could raise Africa's income by US$450 billion, a 7 percent gain, by 2035 [S2].
- Projection: the World Bank also projects total African exports rising by US$560 billion and 30 million people leaving extreme poverty [S2].
Sources
- TIER A UNCTAD, Facts and figures: intra-African trade and intra-regional trade shares (2015-2017). https://unctad.org/press-material/facts-figures-0
Africa 15.2%, Europe 67%, Asia 61%, Americas 47% of each region's total trade, 2015 to 2017 average. - TIER A World Bank, The African Continental Free Trade Area: Economic and Distributional Effects (2020). https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/trade/publication/the-african-continental-free-trade-area
Projections to 2035: US$450 billion income gain (7%), US$560 billion rise in exports, 30 million lifted from extreme poverty.