It assessed, for example, the extent to which countries have removed barriers to trade (such as tariffs), have developed policies to allow people to move freely and work in other countries and have built links such as roads and power grids. The study measured performance in the linkage of eight key economic sectors - trade, transport, communications, energy, agriculture, manufacturing, finance and labour markets.

The ECA reports that integration among African countries improved by an average of 4.5 per cent annually from 1994 to 1999, the last year for which it had comprehensive data for a variety of indicators. The goals of that treaty have been reinforced by the adoption in 2001 of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the establishment the following year of the African Union, a continental political organization. There are 14 major regional economic groupings in Africa, considered the building blocks of the African Economic Community, which is expected to gradually develop over the next few decades under the terms of the 1994 Abuja Treaty. In its first comprehensive assessment of regional integration in Africa, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), based in Addis-Ababa, reports that the best performing regional economic communities had well-developed integration programmes that were implemented 'steadily and effectively by member states.' By contrast those communities affected by political, economic and social upheavals performed poorly, notes the study, Assessing Regional Integration in Africa 2004 *, released in July. Since 1994, when Africa began implementing a treaty to establish a continent-wide economic community, integration has proceeded weakly and irregularly across countries, sectors and regional economic communities.

Regional economic blocs