African Union

The African Union (AU) is a <a href="/facts/Continental_union/TCrcFT7b">continental union</a> of 55 member states located on the continent of <a href="/facts/Africa/XkqQUP9s">Africa</a>. The AU was announced in the <a href="/facts/Sirte_Declaration/0sM7UHM9">Sirte Declaration</a> in <a href="/facts/Sirte%2c_Libya/9SBX876W">Sirte, Libya</a>, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was launched on 9 July 2002 in <a href="/facts/Durban/ADRqGHGy">Durban</a>, <a href="/facts/South_Africa/vvXQpLgq">South Africa</a>. The intention of the AU was to replace the <a href="/facts/Organisation_of_African_Unity/roqLjS2d">Organisation of African Unity</a> (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in <a href="/facts/Addis_Ababa/8TmdnlmM">Addis Ababa</a> by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the <a href="/facts/Assembly_of_the_African_Union/ewTv4bLB">Assembly of the African Union</a>, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and <a href="/facts/Government/N4bYL0VC">government</a> of its member states.
The AU's secretariat, the <a href="/facts/African_Union_Commission/0IaRvkJE">African Union Commission</a>, is based in <a href="/facts/Addis_Ababa/8TmdnlmM">Addis Ababa</a>. The largest city in the AU is <a href="/facts/Lagos%2c_Nigeria/sujDJmtW">Lagos, Nigeria</a> while the <a href="/facts/List_of_urban_areas_in_Africa_by_population/YIhK2Dk8">largest urban agglomeration</a> is <a href="/facts/Cairo%2c_Egypt/dXjj60ar">Cairo, Egypt</a>. The African Union has more than 1.3 billion people and an area of around 30 million km2 (12 million sq mi) and includes world landmarks such as the <a href="/facts/Sahara/JVlJd2VC">Sahara</a> and the <a href="/facts/Nile/vGoXVUFH">Nile</a>. The primary working languages are <a href="/facts/Arabic/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a>, <a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">English</a>, <a href="/facts/French_language/qe1DnaQh">French</a>, <a href="/facts/Portuguese_language/vr3Fwzw3">Portuguese</a>, <a href="/facts/Spanish_language/95BgYNfv">Spanish</a>, and <a href="/facts/Swahili_language/sLzhutLC">Swahili</a>. Within the African Union, there are official bodies, such as the <a href="/facts/Peace_and_Security_Council/c4SJT2Tl">Peace and Security Council</a> and the <a href="/facts/Pan-African_Parliament/IrfvDeru">Pan-African Parliament</a>.
At a <a href="/facts/G20/pFut6kJQ">G20</a> (Group of 20) meeting held in <a href="/facts/New_Delhi/9UMpnDN8">New Delhi</a>, <a href="/facts/India/1kKHcnxM">India</a> in 2023, the African Union was admitted as a member to the G20 like the <a href="/facts/European_Union/6GYcR8qM">European Union</a>.

African Union open-in-new

African Union