The AU recognises eight RECs and considers them the building blocks of the broader continental integration initiative. This approach ensures that these RECs remain the engine rooms advancing deeper integration and that the progress made is elevated to continental level. The following are the AU-recognised RECs:
Integration within the RECs occurs at different levels and pace. It may involve liberalising trade flows by reducing or removing tariffs on intra-regional trade, collaboration on trade facilitation measures such as improved border processes and facilities, infrastructure development, and easing the movement of people across their national borders. Integration follows on from, and results in, cooperation in various fora, be it peace and security, public health initiatives and responses, sustainable resource management (for instance among coastal economies), or responses to natural disasters.
Several RECs have established regional protocols on intra-regional movement of people. These are often at different stages of implementation – with some agreed but not ratified. The cohesive nature of RECs can be a catalyst for initiatives and policies on intra-regional movement of persons. Where these initiatives are followed by high levels of adoption, this may sometimes serve as a springboard for countries to extend similar liberties towards nationals from outside of the region. Generally, RECs that maintain higher levels of regional openness also fare better, on average, at the continental level. Within the RECs, bilateral initiatives sometimes compensate for the lack of regional commitments or progress on implementation of protocols. Some of these initiatives could be more progressive, like the case of Namibia and Botswana, who signed an agreement in 2023 to simplify their mutual border controls by allowing each other’s nationals to pass through their common border using only their national identity document. Similar examples occur elsewhere, for example within the EAC.
Alongside countries’ individual rankings, this report also measures REC’s average visa openness, which is derived by combining each member state’s individual score, divided by the number of members. It offers insights into regional attitudes towards easing the movement of people more broadly, and in this respect, established trends towards visa openness over a period of time. Average visa openness often correlates with regional visa-free reciprocity scores, which provide insights not only into advances in freeing the movement within a region, but also alludes to possible policy congruence in this regard.
In 2024, four of the eight RECs have achieved higher average scores on the AVOI than in 2023, with the remaining four scoring lower for varying reasons. EAC, ECCAS, SADC and AMU all improved on their previous regional averages. CEN-SAD, ECOWAS, IGAD and COMESA recorded a slightly lower average score than 2023. Five of the eight RECs also have higher scores than the pre-pandemic year, 2019, reflecting sustained progress towards greater visa openness and with that, the ease of movement. While EAC is one of three RECs whose average score in this year’s report is lower than in 2019, it is important to consider that changes in the bloc’s membership – with new members acceding (the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia in the last two years) – complicate direct comparisons over time.
ECOWAS achieves the highest average score amongst the eight RECs, notwithstanding a slightly lower score compared to 2023. The REC adopted a Protocol Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment in 1979, under which member states grant visa-free travel to each other’s nationals, and which also accounts for the near perfect regional reciprocity score as seen in the next section. Experience with this regional visa-free policy may have helped drive member states’ broader visa openness too: seven of its members offer visa-free access to at least 20 other African countries, thus exceeding the REC membership pool. Two REC members – Benin and The Gambia – remain in top spot on the index. But there are emerging challenges: the announcement of leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, in January 2024, of their states’ intended withdrawal from ECOWAS affects the REC’s prospects in the years to come, undermining the region’s significant achievements in regional integration, and removing the three landlocked countries’ free-trade status, including preferential access to ports in the region. Without doubt, free movement of people in the region would be severely impacted by this announcement.
SADC scores second highest in average visa openness. Its score has been on an upward trajectory in recent years. This has been driven largely by Angola, which, in late 2023, almost doubled the number of countries whose nationals now qualify for visa-free access, from 10 to 19. Other changes include South Africa and Malawi offering visa-free access to Ghana nationals, Mozambique granting Senegal visa-free status, as well as some changes in Namibia and Tanzania’s visa regimes. Namibia announced that it would in future require visas from nationals whose countries do not reciprocate visa-free access, effective April 2025. However, at this stage no AU Member State should be impacted by this development.
CEN-SAD’s regional score has declined slightly since last year when it held joint second place with SADC. The treaty establishing CEN-SAD lists the free movement of people as a core objective, even if it has not been uniformly implemented. However, with CEN-SAD largely overlapping with ECOWAS, several of its members have dropped restrictions on the movement of people within the region6. CEN-SAD’s regional average score has been negatively impacted by visa restrictions applied by Burkina Faso on 11 countries, which no longer qualify for visa on arrival. The Central African Republic, meanwhile, implemented visa-free access to nationals from four nearby countries. Chad and Comoros both changed aspects of their visa regime, with a slight tightening by Comoros and a slight easing by Chad (towards Benin). Togo has moved away from visa on arrivals to requiring a visa ahead of arrival, including through its e-visa portal. This is a roll-back and impacts 37 countries.
EAC scored slightly higher in 2024, due to a combination of factors. On the one hand, Uganda and Tanzania have eased access to the DRC and Ethiopia respectively. Somalia, a top-20 ranked country on the AVOI, has recently become a full member of EAC, with DRC having joined the REC in 2022. Kenya now requires an ETA ahead of travel, and only exempts EAC members (this privilege extends to Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, while at the time of writing, Somalia was not included in this list of exempt countries).
COMESA scores fifth amongst the RECs, slightly lower than in 2023 where it ranked fourth. Several COMESA members implemented changes to their visa policies: Ethiopia tightened its visa requirements towards nationals of Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan from visa on arrival to visa required ahead of travel, while abolishing visas for nationals of South Africa and Morocco. Uganda removed its visa requirement for DRC while Eritrea did the same with respect to nationals of Kenya. Kenya’s requiring of an ETA prior to travel for most travellers from other African countries lowered the score, notwithstanding exemptions for EAC Member States.
IGAD scores slightly lower in 2024 following a significant increase in 2023. However, it still scores lower than before the pandemic in 2019. Overall, in four intra-regional scenarios there has been a tightening of visa policy (from visa-on-arrival to visa-required-ahead-of-travel), while in four other scenarios, the requirement for obtaining a visa was dispensed with. Among the eight IGAD members, half are also members of the EAC. Several of its members rank among the lowest on the index, with some visa policy changes noted from Kenya, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
ECCAS achieved the highest nominal year-on-year increase in its regional visa openness score amongst all RECs. ECCAS comprises several central African states, the majority of which rank in the lower third on the index. The significant improvement in the regional average is driven primarily by Angola’s removal of visa requirement from nationals of nine countries, and the Central African Republic’s abolishing of visa requirements ahead of travel for nationals of Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Burundi. Chad now provides visa-free access to Benin, while Cameroon requires a visa from nationals of Mali. Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) members within ECCAS generally offer visa-free entry to each other’s citizens. These latest developments have elevated ECCAS’s rank, after recording the lowest regional average score in 2023.
AMU is currently the lowest ranked REC in terms of average score and sits slightly below ECCAS. Its score has however seen a slight improvement in 2024 compared to 2023 owing to several visa-related policy changes amongst its five North African members. Libya dropped its visa requirement for nationals of Algeria, while Tunisia did likewise for Benin. Mauritania tightened its policy towards Burundi, which now requires a visa on arrival, and Morocco requires the same from nationals of Côte d’Ivoire, while abolishing visas for nationals of Cabo Verde. Within AMU, Mauritania’s visa openness ranks high above the regional average and falls within the top 10 on the overall index, Tunisia ranks in the middle of the index, while Morocco, Algeria and Libya rank in the bottom quarter.
6 UNECA (archive)
