ECOWAS
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area of and have an estimated population of over 424.34 million.
Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community, the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union. Additionally, ECOWAS aims to raise living standards and promote economic development. The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou, the largest city in Benin.
ECOWAS's published principles include equality and inter-dependence of member states, solidarity, self-reliance, cooperation and harmonization of policies, nonaggression, promotion of human rights, economic and social justice, and democratic governance.
Notably among ECOWAS's protocols and plans are the ECOWAS Free Movement of Persons, Residences and Establishment Protocol and the Ecotour Action Plan 2019–2029. The Free Movement of Persons Protocol permits citizens the right to enter and reside in any member state's territory, and the Ecotour Action Plan aims to develop and integrate the tourist industry of each member state.
ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc's member countries at times of political instability and unrest.
In 2024, the military governments of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali jointly announced their withdrawal from the bloc, after having been suspended following respective military takeovers in these countries. The withdrawal took effect on 29 January 2025. The three later went on to form the Alliance of Sahel States, with the end goal of establishing a federation.
Member states
ECOWAS currently has 12 member states: five French-speaking, five English-speaking, and two Portuguese-speaking. All current members joined the community as founding members in May 1975, except Cape Verde which joined in 1977.Morocco officially requested to join ECOWAS in February 2017. The application was endorsed in principle at the Summit of Heads of State in June 2017. However, Morocco's bid for membership was stalled as West African economic actors feared goods imported through Morocco's free trade agreements would flood the market of states within ECOWAS.
Statistics for population, nominal GDP and purchasing power parity GDP listed below are taken from World Bank estimates for 2015, published in December 2016. Area data is taken from a 2012 report compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division.
States that have withdrawn or been suspended
Arabic-speaking Mauritania was one of the founding members of ECOWAS in 1975 and decided to withdraw in December 2000. Mauritania signed a new associate-membership agreement in August 2017.Mali was suspended from ECOWAS on 30 May 2021, following its second military coup within nine months. Guinea was also suspended on 8 September 2021, shortly after a military coup took place in the country. Sanctions were placed on both countries on 16 September. On 10 January 2022, Mali announced its decision to close its borders and recalled several ambassadors with ECOWAS in response to sanctions imposed for deferring elections for four years. On 28 January 2022, Burkina Faso was suspended from ECOWAS following a military coup. Niger was suspended from ECOWAS after the 2023 coup d'état and threatened with military intervention if President Mohamed Bazoum was not restored to office, causing the Nigerien crisis. Additionally, ECOWAS closed all land and air borders between other member states and Niger and instituted a no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger. The suspension removed all commercial and financial transactions and froze Niger's assets in ECOWAS central banks. On 16 September 2023, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso formed a military alliance, the Alliance of Sahel States, following ECOWAS's threat to intervene to restore civilian rule in Niger. On 21 November 2023, Niger's military government asked the ECOWAS regional court to order the lifting of sanctions imposed on the country. Until the coup, aid from countries like the United States and international organizations like ECOWAS accounted for almost half of Niger's annual budget. Following Niger's ECOWAS suspension, Niger's neighbours closed their borders to the country and 70 percent of its electricity, coming from Nigeria, was cut off. While these sanctions and consequences that have followed have affected the individuals and economy of Niger, the government is not backing down. As a result of the suspension, children have not been able to attend school due to lack of supplies, and businesses are shutting down due to rising costs. Further, the ECOWAS lawyer pointed out that the Nigerien government is not recognized by ECOWAS and therefore does not have the power to ask the regional court for a removal of these sanctions.
On 28 January 2024, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced via a joint statement that they were withdrawing from ECOWAS "without delay". The three nations, all of which are currently ruled by military juntas, accused ECOWAS of implementing "inhumane" sanctions in order to reverse the coups in each nation. Under the ECOWAS protocol, immediate withdrawal is not possible, and the three member states could remain in the bloc for up to a year. ECOWAS said in a statement that "Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali remain important members of the Community and the Authority remains committed to finding a negotiated solution to the political impasse."
On 24 February 2024, ECOWAS announced that it was lifting some sanctions against Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. For Niger this included the border closures, the freezing of central bank and state assets, the suspension of commercial transactions, and the no-fly-zone for commercial flights to and from Niger. However, the political sanctions and targeted sanctions would remain in force. The communiqué said this was done for humanitarian reasons, but it was seen as a gesture of appeasement to dissuade the three junta-led states from withdrawing from the bloc. ECOWAS also lifted sanctions on Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
In December 2024, ECOWAS heads of state of the member countries met to finalize the decision regarding the withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, united under the AES. President of Senegal, Basirou Diomaye Faye, stated on 8 December 2024 that he was continuing to discuss with the three countries remaining in ECOWAS, while maintaining the Alliance of Sahel States, which he recognized as a security response in the Sahel region. On 12 December 2024, ECOWAS President Bola Tinubu confirmed the political will of ECOWAS leaders to reintegrate the three countries from the Alliance of Sahel States. On 15 December 2024, the Conference of Heads of State of ECOWAS adopted an exit transition period for Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, which begins on 29 January 2025 and ends on 29 July 2025. During this transition period, ECOWAS has indicated that any exit would be reversible. The AES rejected the proposal. Celebrations were held in the three countries to mark the formal exit on 29 January. ECOWAS noted the withdrawal, while calling for the continuance of existing arrangements for the free movement of people and goods, including requesting its own members still accept documents from the departing countries.
The Foreign Ministers of the Alliance of Sahel States met on 26 January 2025, in Ouagadougou "in anticipation of future talks with ECOWAS", The Ministers reached a consensus on the overall approach to future negotiations with ECOWAS, in the best interest of the Sahelian populations. From 29 January 2025, begins the beginning of a six-month "transition period" after the official separation with the three Sahelian countries. The three Sahelian countries rejected any possibility of reversing their decision.
In June 2025, the heads of state of ECOWAS met to finalize the formalities for the countries' exit from the alliance of Sahel states.
On 29 November 2025 Guinea-Bissau was suspended by ECOWAS following a coup d'état. On 28 January 2026, Guinea had its suspension lifted following the 2025 Guinean presidential election.
History
ECOWAS was formed initially from the region's former French, British and Portuguese colonies, and independent Liberia, following post-colonial independence throughout the region. At independence, many African states were challenged in increasing economic development. Because these states could not address problems individually, there was a need for a regional approach and thus ECOWAS was founded. ECOWAS was formed to provide regional economic cooperation, but has since evolved to include political and military cooperation, as well.The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou. Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community, the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.
ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc's member countries at times of political instability and unrest. ECOWAS facilitates peacekeeping through systematic collaboration with civil society, cooperation with development policies, and other activities with the goal to meet sub-regional security challenges. It has played an important role in monitoring transitional election in West Africa, and these mediation efforts have even been recognized within and outside the continent of Africa. In recent years these included interventions in Ivory Coast in 2003, Liberia in 2003, Guinea-Bissau in 2012, Mali in 2013, The Gambia in 2017,Guinea-Bissau in 2022, and Benin in 2025. Since its creation, ECOWAS has sent peacekeeping forces at least seven times.
In 2011, ECOWAS adopted its development blueprint for the next decade, Vision 2020, and, to accompany it, a Policy on Science and Technology. However, it has had trouble achieving the goals outlined in the policy.
Covering a region known as a "coup belt", ECOWAS, since the 1990s, has attempted to defend the region's shift towards democracy against authoritarian attacks. According to the BBC, since 1990, 78% of the 27 coups in sub-Saharan Africa have taken place in former French colonies. This has led some to question whether French influence in Africa has a destabilising effect. The transition governments in Mali and Burkina Faso cancelled military agreements that allow for French troops to operate on their territory, and in the case of Mali, removed French as an official language. However, the group has been cited for mild and ineffective responses in the early 2020s, when three member countries experienced military coups d'état – two in Mali, one in Guinea, and two in Burkina Faso. When a fourth member, Niger, experienced a coup d'état in July 2023, ECOWAS was vocal in its condemnation and raised the possibility of military action if the deposed president was not reinstated by 7 August 2023. Due to the Nigerien military's refusal to restore civilian rule, ECOWAS activated its standby force composed of all other members except for Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Cape Verde.
On 6 July 2024, the military leaders of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso signed a new pact to form a confederation, a political union of sovereign states. The confederation's stated goal is to provide mutual defense, pool resources to build energy and communications infrastructure, establish a common market, implement a monetary union under proposed currency the Sahel, allow free movement of persons, enable industrialization, and invest in agriculture, mines and energy sectors, with the end goal of federalizing into a single sovereign state. The move is seen as a strong move away from ECOWAS, which has been pressing for a return to civilian rule. On 29 January 2025, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger formally withdrew from ECOWAS after providing the required 1-year notice.
Within 18 hours of a thwarted coup in Benin in 2025, a joint ECOWAS deployment of Nigerian, Sierra Leonean, Ivorian, and Ghanaian soldiers were sent to aid the Beninese government.