Eastern and Southern Africa’s COMESA is a Major Market Place for Internal and External Trading

Map of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Member States

Eastern and Southern Africa’s COMESA is a Major Market Place for Internal and External Trading

By Abdi Ali
Published March 30, 2024

Map of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Member States The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia in the north to Eswatini in the south.

COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981. Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe, nine of the member states, formed a free trade area in 2000, with Rwanda and Burundi joining the FTA in 2004, the Comoros and Libya in 2006, Seychelles in 2009 and Tunisia and Somalia in 2018.

COMESA is one of the pillars of the African Economic Community.

In 2008, COMESA agreed to an expanded free-trade zone including members of two other African trade blocs, the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). COMESA is also considering a common visa scheme to boost tourism.

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is the largest regional economic organization in Africa. With its 21 Member States, population of over 640 million, a Gross Domestic Product of $1.0Trillion and a global export/import trade in goods worth US$383 billion, COMESA forms a major market place for both internal and external trading.

COMESA has a free trade area, with 21 member states, and launched a customs union in 2009.

Though located in East Africa and a member of EAC alongside Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Somalia and DR Congo, Tanzania isn’t a member of COMESA, having withdrawn in 2000 saying it could not participate effectively in all activities of the various trade blocs it belonged to. But analysts say Tanzania withdrew from COMESA over the bloc’s zero tariff reduction agreement which was a threat for Tanzania that relies on revenues from trade tariffs and VAT.