Figure of the Week: AU grows closer as EU negotiates Brexit (Amy Copley, Brookings)

While the recent United Kingdom vote in favor of Brexit has prompted new debates on the sustainability of the European Union and created the potential foreconomic disruption in Africa, African Union (AU) leaders meet this week to discuss Africa’s progress toward greater continental integration. In the Brookings Africa Growth Initiative’s Foresight Africa 2016 report, we highlighted some of the key differences between the two unions. While the European Union far surpasses its African counterpart in terms of financial resources, with the AU’s budget amounting to less than 1 percent of the EU’s, what the AU lacks in funds it makes up for in demographic resources, with a population of 1,050 million people—more than double that of the EU. Africa also stands to benefit from a young and dynamic workforce, with youth (15-24 years of age) comprising nearly one-fifth of the region’s total population.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2016/07/14-african-union-brexit-copley