Member States
On May 25 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the 32 African states that had achieved independence at that time agreed to establish the Organization of African Unity (OAU). A further 21 members joined gradually, reaching a total of 53 by the time of the AU’s creation in 2002.
There are 55 Member States. The following list shows all members, in alphabetical order, and their date of joining the AU or its predecessor the OAU
- Some Member State names have changed since joining the OAU or AU.
- Morocco left the AU’s predecessor, the OAU, in 1984. In September 2016, Morocco officially submitted a request to accede tothe AU Constitutive Act and become a member of the Union. The AU Assembly decided at its 28th Ordinary Session in January 2017 to admit Morocco as a new Member State (Assembly/AU/Dec.639(XXVIII)). Morocco deposited its instrument of accession to the Constitutive Act on 31 January 2017.
