How has Africa-EU trade evolved in the past 25 years?

The 11th OACPS Summit in March 2026 in Malabo marks the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the first Lomé Convention, one of the oldest partnerships between the EU and third countries.

Marking the occassion, we've explored how trade has evolved between Africa -particularly African ACP countries- and the EU, and who has benefited from these agreements.

• Story idea and writing: David Ehl

• Data analysis and visualisation: Ana Muñoz Padrós

Data sources

We have extracted the data from the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat's database "EU trade since 1988 by HS2-4-6 and CN8", which includes detailed data. We have used the most recently available data, last updated on 13/02/2026. More information on this database metadata can be found here.

Statistical dimensions

Scope: We extracted all trade flows (exports and imports) by goods only. We have considered 2-digit level of the Combined Nomenclature (HS2) chapters.

Reference period: We initially considered all available annual data (1999 on), but eventually represented figures from 2000 on in our charts.

Reporting country: The European Union as defined after Brexit (27 countries).

Partner country: All African countries, including past definitions and delimitations

Trade value (in euros): As defined by Eurostat, it is "statistical value, i.e. the amount that would be invoiced in the event of sale or purchase at the national border of the reporting country." Exports from the EU to Africa are a FOB (Free on Board) valuation and imports in the EU from Africa are a CIF (Cost Insurance Freight) valuation.

Methodology

After extracting all data from Eurostat, we analysed:

• year-on-year changes for all Africa and African ACP countries only.
  We took the list of ACP countries from here. They are, in short, all African countries except for Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Libya.
• trade balance with the EU in 2024 per African country.
  Since Eurostat data is compilled from the EU's point of view, trade balance was calculated as "Imports - Exports" in order to obtain Africa's trade balance with the EU.
• top exported products in 2024 by categories
  We first found out which were the top 5 most exported products from Africa to the EU. We then grouped all other category products as "Other goods".
• flows of primary and refined goods
  In order to better understand the flows of broader categories, we first selected and classified HS2 chapters based on the top 5 imported and exported goods between the EU and Sub-Saharan Africa listed in a recent European Commission report.

The report listed the following categories and chapters:
Imports EU
V Mineral products: ch 25-27
IV Foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco: ch. 16-24
XVII Transport equipment: ch. 86-89
XVI Machinery and appliances: ch. 84-85
II Vegetable products: ch. 6-14

Exports
XVI Machinery and appliances
V Mineral products
VI Products of the chemical or allied industries: ch. 28-38
XVII Transport equipment
XV Base metals and articles thereof

We classified them as follows:
II Vegetable products: ch. 6-14 >> vegetables and minerals
IV Foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco: ch. 16-24 >> refined goods
V Mineral products: ch 25-27 >> vegetables and minerals
VI Products of the chemical or allied industries: ch. 28-38 >> refined goods
XV Base metals and articles thereof: chp. 72-83 >> refined goods
XVI Machinery and appliances: ch. 84-85 >> refined goods
XVII Transport equipment: ch. 86-89 >> refined goods

Details on the exact calculation can be checked in the code book.