IGAD: Intergovernmental Authority on Development

IGAD assembles eight countries that range from the economically small Somalia to Kenya, a continental powerhouse.

On overall regional integration, IGAD reaches a little under half of its potential. IGAD’s scores highest on the free movement of people dimension, as most of its members have committed to liberalising mobility on the continent. The productive dimension is where it has most to improve.

Uganda leads IGAD on integrated production and integrated trade. It has the highest score for the export of intermediate goods in the region. It also has the best trade share in the region, and the second-best share of exports. 

Ethiopia leads comfortably on macroeconomic integration. Its currency is easily convertible, and with Sudan, it is one of the two countries in IGAD that has a bilateral investment treaty in force. 

Kenya is first in integrated infrastructure, topping its peers both on the AfDB’s Infrastructure Development Index and in terms of flight connections. 

As for the free movement of people, Djibouti and Somalia are the top performers. As noted in the discussion of COMESA, these countries achieve a perfect score


IGAD’s Scores on Each Dimension

ARII measures regional integration in IGAD along five dimensions. These dimensions use sixteen indicators to determine the extent to which IGAD members are integrated within their region.

The more outward a dimension stretches, the more integrated IGAD is on that dimension. Scores are calculated on a scale of 0 (not at all integrated) to 1 (entirely integrated). 

Trade Integration
Productive Integration
Macroeconomic Integration
Infrastructural Integration
Free Movement of People

IGAD Members’ Scores and Rankings

Country is a high performer – it scores higher than the average
Country is an average performer – it scores within the average
Country is a low performer – it scores below the average
Average score across REC member countries

IGAD Members’ Performance by Dimension

This chart shows how each country in IGAD performs on the five dimensions of regional integration. Click the inner segments of the bars to see each country’s score.

Trade Integration
Productive Integration
Macroeconomic Integration
Infrastructural Integration
Free Movement of People