The member states of the African Union are the 55 sovereign states that have ratified or acceded to the Constitutive Act of the African Union to become member states to the African Union (AU).[1] The AU was the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and AU membership was open to all OAU member states.
From an original membership of 36 states when the OAU was established on 25 May 1963, there have been nineteen successive enlargements—the largest occurring on 18 July 1975 when four states joined. Morocco is the newest member state, having joined on 31 January 2017.[2] Morocco was a founding member of the OAU but withdrew in 1984 following the organization's acceptance of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a member state, which claims the sovereignty of the disputed territory of Western Sahara with Morocco.
As of 2017, the AU spans the entirety of the African continent, with the exception of the Spanish North Africa semi-enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and Vélez de la Gomera. Island states are also members of the AU, but not the offshore islands that are integral parts of the transcontinental countries of France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom and Yemen. The 55 member states are grouped into five regions.
The African Union is composed of fifty-two republics and three monarchies. The total population of the AU is 1,068,444,000 (2013).[3]
- ^ "LIST OF COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE SIGNED, RATIFIED/ACCEDED TO THE CONSTITUTIVE ACT OF THE AFRICAN UNION" (PDF). African Union. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ "Western Sahara welcomes Morocco's African Union membership". BBC News. 31 January 2017.
- ^ "The European Union and the African Union. A statistical portrait" (PDF). Eurostat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.