Economic Community of West African States

The Economic Community of West African States is the regional bloc of West Africa, founded by the Treaty of Lagos in May 1975. ECOWAS coordinates trade, economic, and security policy across the region, and operates a peacekeeping force (ECOMOG) that has intervened in regional conflicts since the early 1990s.

At a glance

• Founded: 1975 (Treaty of Lagos signed 28 May 1975)
• Headquarters: Abuja, Nigeria
• Official languages: English, French, Portuguese
• Website: www.ecowas.int

Mission

The bloc's objectives are economic integration through a customs union and eventual common market, regional peace and security through ECOMOG and the ECOWAS Standby Force, and political stability via the 2001 Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance — which mandates electoral processes and prohibits unconstitutional government change.

Structure

The Authority of Heads of State and Government, meeting twice a year, is the supreme body. The Council of Ministers handles inter-summit affairs. The ECOWAS Commission in Abuja is the secretariat. The Community Court of Justice in Abuja handles legal disputes. The ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja is a consultative body.

Member states

ECOWAS has 12 member states. Membership current as of 2024-01.

• Benin
• Cabo Verde
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Ivory Coast
• Liberia
• Nigeria
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• The Gambia
• Togo

Observer or suspended states

• Burkina Faso
• Mali
• Niger

Key facts

• In January 2024, the military-led governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS — the first significant departures since the bloc's founding nearly fifty years earlier.
• The three withdrawing states formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in September 2023 as an alternative grouping.
• ECOMOG, the bloc's peacekeeping force, conducted major interventions in Liberia (1990s), Sierra Leone (1990s–2000s), and most recently in Guinea-Bissau (2012).
• ECOWAS has long planned a common single currency, the Eco, repeatedly delayed; current target is around 2027.
• The bloc's 2001 Protocol on Democracy has been invoked to suspend members after coups; suspensions have followed coups in Mali (2012, 2020, 2021), Guinea (2008, 2021), Burkina Faso (2014, 2022), and Niger (2023).

Historic milestones