Coverage of sub-Saharan Africa

Two ‘stepping stone’ EPAs – one with Côte d’Ivoire and the other with Ghana – were concluded to regulate trade relations pending the entry into force of the regional EPA with the entire west African region; however, the prospect of this regional EPA entering into force remains uncertain.
The nine EPAs altogether cover over half of ACP countries (including those which have not yet signed them but are explicitly mentioned as parties). The remaining ACP countries have the legal possibility of joining existing EPAs (see Table 1 below for more details). Although the lack of adherence of ACP countries to the EPA project, particularly in Africa, is often emphasised, it is worth noting that countries in sub-Saharan Africa implementing an EU EPA (including Kenya, which enjoys a transitional arrangement) account for 41 % of the region’s GDP, while representing only 26 % of the region’s estimated population (calculation based on IMF WEO October 2022 database).