AFRICA has significantly improved its trade facilitation measures despite mounting global trade tensions and supply chain disruptions, according to a United Nations survey.
The continent recorded a 6.8 percentage point increase in trade facilitation implementation, rising from 55.6% in 2023 to 62.4% in 2025, according to the sixth edition of the UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation launched in Addis Ababa.
The improvement comes as African policymakers push for stronger support of small and medium-sized enterprises and agricultural trade, which form the backbone of most African economies, UN officials said.
“Enhanced efforts in implementing specific trade facilitation measures, particularly trade facilitation measures for SMEs and agricultural trade facilitation, are crucial,” said Melaku Desta, Acting Director of the UN Economic Commission for Africa’s Regional Integration and Trade Division.
The gains are particularly significant as global trade faces unprecedented challenges. Extensive tariff measures have increased trade costs and uncertainty, while broader supply chain disruptions have exposed vulnerabilities in international trade systems, according to Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Southern and Eastern Africa led the continent’s improvements, reflecting ongoing regional efforts to streamline and digitize trade processes. The progress supports implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which aims to boost intra-African trade.
However, the survey found that progress on sustainable trade facilitation measures—including those targeting women traders, SMEs, and agricultural sectors—remains limited globally despite overall implementation rising to 70%.
Developed economies recorded the highest implementation rates at 86%, followed by South-East and East Asia at 81%. Pacific region countries had the lowest rate at 45%.
The survey highlighted significant improvements in cross-border paperless trade, legal frameworks for electronic transactions, and digital authentication, signalling growing momentum toward digitised trade worldwide.
This year’s survey introduced new measures on cross-border e-commerce and green trade facilitation, reflecting the need to align trade with environmental goals amid escalating climate challenges.
The comprehensive study, covering 180 countries and 62 trade facilitation measures, was conducted jointly by five UN Regional Commissions alongside UN Trade and Development. It aims to help countries identify implementation gaps and set policy priorities.
