ECA launches second generation of its Country Profiles

Abstract

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) today launched the second generation of its Country Profiles, on the margins of the African Development Week which is underway in Dakar. The Country Profiles, which offer a snapshot of economic and social development in African countries, identify policy challenges and provide recommendations to decision-makers, national and regional institutions to address those challenges, this year cover 21 countries. The Country Profiles are based on data provided by member States and they complement ongoing ECA efforts to improve the collection and use of statistical data in Africa. They include various innovations such as: the African Social Development Index (ASDI), which measures human exclusion in six key dimensions of wellbeing throughout the life cycle (survival, health, education, employment, means of subsistence and the capacity to live a decent life after the age of 60), the AGDI (African Gender and Development Index) and the African Regional Integration Index, based on the five pillars of regional integration (trade integration, regional infrastructure, productive integration, free movement of people & financial and macroeconomic integration).