Trade among African countries continued to expand in 2025, driven by the accelerated implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
According to the African Trade Report 2026 published by Afreximbank, intra-African trade reached $213.8 billion, up 5.47% compared with 2024. While this represents encouraging progress, the report also highlights significant disparities among the continent’s economies.
South Africa remains the leading player in intra-African trade, accounting for 19.2% of all merchandise trade within the continent. Its exports consist mainly of fuels, vehicles, machinery, electrical equipment, iron and steel products, plastics, and cereals. In contrast, the country primarily imports crude oil, coal, precious metals, electricity, as well as processed food products and textiles, notably from Eswatini, Zambia, and Mozambique.
Ranking second with 6.74% of continental trade, the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues its rise. This growth is driven by the size of its domestic market, its population of more than 100 million people, and its strategic location at the heart of Africa. South Africa remains its leading African trading partner.
Côte d’Ivoire completes the top three with 4.83% of intra-African trade. A key driver of commerce in West Africa, the country benefits from its integration within both WAEMU and ECOWAS. While remaining a major exporter of cocoa, cashew nuts, rubber, and palm oil, Abidjan is accelerating the local processing of these commodities, steadily strengthening its position as a regional agro-industrial hub.
Côte d’Ivoire’s main export markets remain Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Nigeria. Morocco and South Africa also play a strategic role by facilitating access to North African and Southern African markets. On the import side, the country sources refined petroleum products, machinery, cement, cereals, and processed food products from partners including Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, and South Africa.
Just outside the top three are Uganda (4.48%), Morocco (4.46%), Egypt (4.35%), Zambia (4.33%), Nigeria (4.22%), Zimbabwe (3.64%), and Namibia (3.46%). Together, these ten countries account for nearly 60% of intra-African trade, highlighting the strong concentration of trade flows among a limited number of economies.
At the other end of the spectrum, several countries remain only marginally integrated into continental trade. Libya recorded no contribution, while Eritrea, Comoros, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, and Sierra Leone each accounted for less than 0.11% of intra-African trade.
Beyond intra-African trade, Africa’s total merchandise trade with the rest of the world reached nearly $1.5 trillion in 2025, representing a 6.1% increase year-on-year. This performance came despite a challenging international environment marked by geopolitical tensions, regional conflicts, and trade wars.
African exports rose by 6.2% to $685.2 billion, while imports increased by 6% to $781.5 billion. As a result, the continent’s trade deficit widened to $96.3 billion, compared with $91.9 billion in 2024.
According to Afreximbank, this positive momentum has been driven by the continued rollout of the AfCFTA, stronger national trade policies, improved logistics infrastructure, and higher prices for agricultural products, minerals, and precious metals, according to Ecofin Agency.
