Economic Community of West African States
Regional · ECOWAS
ECOWAS spells the initials of an English name, Economic Community of West African States. In French and in Portuguese the same body comes out CEDEAO, and the letters differ because the languages do. The revised treaty of 1993 makes those three the working languages and every West African language the Authority designates an official one. Every member holds Atlantic coastline.
12 countries
Common questions
Questions about ECOWAS
What does ECOWAS stand for?
Economic Community of West African States. The same organisation is the Communaute economique des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest in French and the Comunidade Economica dos Estados da Africa Ocidental in Portuguese, and both of those come out CEDEAO, which is why the two acronyms appear side by side on its material. Article 87 of the revised treaty of 1993 sets English, French and Portuguese as the working languages.
Which countries are in ECOWAS?
The 12 states whose records show a ratified membership: Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Every one of them holds Atlantic coastline. The roster on this site is read off each country record rather than typed in, so it moves when a membership does.
Why did Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger leave?
The three gave joint notice on 28 January 2024. Article 91 of the revised treaty sets the terms of an exit: one year's written notice to the Executive Secretary, with every treaty obligation still binding until the year is out. The year ran out on 29 January 2025 and the notice had not been withdrawn, so the memberships ended that day. The Community's statement of the reasons and the three governments' own are not the same document, and this catalogue records the dates rather than adjudicating the account.
Can a citizen of one member country enter another without a visa?
For ninety days or fewer, yes, under Article 3 of Protocol A/P.1/5/79, done at Dakar on 29 May 1979. Entry is at an official post, on a valid travel document and an international health certificate, and a stay past the ninetieth day needs permission from the host authority. Article 4 keeps each member's power to refuse an inadmissible immigrant under its own law. The rights of residence and establishment are separate phases and were left to later protocols.
Does ECOWAS have a single currency?
No note has been issued. The name eco was adopted by the Authority at Abuja on 29 June 2019, and the launch has been scheduled for 2003, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 before the current roadmap target of 2027. Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Togo use the West African CFA franc through the West African Economic and Monetary Union; the others issue their own.
Is Mauritania a member?
Not since December 2000. It signed the Treaty of Lagos on 28 May 1975 and withdrew under the notice procedure, then concluded an association agreement in August 2017. This catalogue files Mauritania under the Maghreb, which is a position on the map rather than a statement about the treaty.
Sources
- ECOWAS Revised Treaty · ECOWAS Commission. Done at Cotonou on 24 July 1993. Article 3 on aims, Article 86 on the headquarters, Article 87 on the languages and Article 91 on withdrawal.
- Basic Information · ECOWAS. The founding date of 28 May 1975, the headquarters at Abuja and the institutions of the Community.
- Member States · ECOWAS. The roster as published, read on 2 September 2026.
- Protocol A/P.1/5/79 Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment · UNCTAD Investment Policy Hub. Done at Dakar on 29 May 1979. Article 2 on the three phases and the fifteen-year transitional period, Article 3 on the ninety days, Article 4 on refusal of admission.
- Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger's Withdrawal from ECOWAS is now a reality · ECOWAS Commission. The effective date of 29 January 2025, the six-month door left open, and the interim treatment of citizens, goods and services.
- Protocol A/SP1/12/01 on Democracy and Good Governance · Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa. Adopted at Dakar on 21 December 2001. The constitutional convergence principles, including zero tolerance and the six-month bar on amending electoral law.
- ECOWAS Common External Tariff · ECOWAS Trade Information System. The five bands at 0, 5, 10, 20 and 35%, adopted on 25 October 2013, and the four-band tariff they replaced.
- Economic Community of West African States · The accession of Cape Verde in 1977, the withdrawal of Mauritania in December 2000 and its association agreement of August 2017.
- Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group · The Freetown defence protocol of 29 May 1981, the Banjul meeting of 6 and 7 August 1990, and the landing in Liberia on 24 August 1990.
- Gambian constitutional crisis · The swearing in at Dakar on 19 January 2017, the crossing of the border the same day, and the departure of 21 January.
- Eco (currency) · The Accra Declaration of April 2000, the adoption of the name at Abuja on 29 June 2019, and the sequence of launch dates through to 2027.
- Alliance of Sahel States · The notice of 28 January 2024, the effective date of 29 January 2025, the confederation of 6 July 2024 and the continuing membership of the monetary union.