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The European Union is Africa's largest trading partner at 26 to 29% of its trade, with China next at 15%

Africa's main external trading partners by share of its total external trade (exports plus imports) in 2024, with the EU bloc ahead of China, the United States and India.

Updated October 2026 · Data year 2024 (partner shares). 2025 for the EU tier A corroboration and EU-Africa trade value

Figure 1

Africa's main external trading partners by share of its total external trade (exports plus imports) in 2024, with the EU bloc ahead of China, the United States and India.

26%

European Union · % of Africa's total external trade

Source: European Commission (DG Trade), SWP / Megatrends Afrika (German Institute for International and Security Affairs), The China-Global South Project · 2024 (partner shares). 2025 for the EU tier A corroboration and EU-Africa trade value · Figures are 2024 shares of total external trade (exports plus imports) from SWP / Megatrends Afrika [S2]. The EU is a 27-country bloc and the source gives a stable range of 26 to 29 percent. It is plotted here at its lower bound, 26 percent. Other partners are single countries. The United States and India are each 'almost 5 percent'. A separate tier A source, the European Commission using IMF data, puts the EU at 32.7 percent of Africa's total trade in 2025 [S1]. China is Africa's largest single-country partner, with two-way trade of US$295.5 billion in 2024 [S3].

Measured as a bloc, the European Union is Africa's biggest trading partner. Its 27 members together took 26 to 29 percent of Africa's total external trade in 2024, and the European Commission, using IMF data, puts the EU at 32.7 percent of Africa's trade in 2025 [S1][S2]. China is the largest single country at 15 percent, with two-way trade of US$295.5 billion in 2024, ahead of the United States and India at almost 5 percent each [S2][S3]. The figures are total trade, exports plus imports combined. The honest caveat is that the EU is a 27-country group while the others are single nations, so China remains Africa's top single-country partner even though the EU bloc is larger [S3].

Takeaways

The EU bloc is Africa's largest trading partner, at 26 to 29 percent of its total trade in 2024.
China is the biggest single country at 15 percent, with US$295.5 billion of two-way trade in 2024.
The United States and India each account for almost 5 percent, the UAE about 4 percent.

Sources

TIER A European Commission (DG Trade), Africa (all countries) trade statistical factsheet (2025). https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/isdb_results/factsheets/region/details_africa-all-countries_en.pdf
Using IMF data, EU is 32.7% of Africa's total trade (38.2% of exports, 28.2% of imports). EU-Africa two-way goods trade EUR 364.0 billion in 2025.
TIER B SWP / Megatrends Afrika (German Institute for International and Security Affairs), MTA Spotlight 65: Assessing 25 Years of Partnership between the AU and EU (2024). https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/publication/mta-spotlight-65-partnership-between-the-au-and-eu-strong-economic-ties
Shares of Africa's total external trade 2024: EU 26-29%, China 15%, US almost 5%, India almost 5%, UAE 4%, Saudi Arabia 2%, Turkey 2%. EU-Africa trade about US$367 billion (IMF).
TIER C The China-Global South Project, Who Are China's Top Trading Partners in Africa? (2025). https://chinaglobalsouth.com/analysis/infographic-who-are-chinas-top-trading-partners-in-africa/
China-Africa two-way trade US$295.5 billion in 2024, up 6.1%, from Chinese customs data; China is Africa's largest single-country partner.

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