The African Continental Free Trade Area and Migration Patterns

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to create a single liberalised market for goods, services, and capital, with arrangements to ease the movement of persons, deepen integration, and propel economic transformation. Africa's trade and migration are closely related, often having mutually reinforcing effects on each other and a strong implication for development. The AfCFTA is crucial in enhancing the level of intra-Africa trade and can affect the continent's migration patterns. This chapter draws on the similarities between trade and migration within the ECOWAS region and outside the region to project the possible effect that the implementation of the AfCFTA will have on Africa's migration patterns. Key lessons from trade agreements and migration are also discussed.