The intra-continental trade share in Africa is only 12%, compared to 47% in North America, 53% in Asia, and 69% in Europe. This paper shows that the lack of intra-African exports cannot simply be explained by standard gravity equation terms. The analysis investigates possible explanations and identifies factors that promote trade between African countries. Intra-African exports are found to disproportionately increase with road infrastructure, trade agreements, and declining trade costs. Diversifying the domestic economy away from natural resources and towards services is also associated with more intra-African trade. These results can guide efforts to promote African economic integration.

非洲的洲际贸易份额仅为 12%，而北美为 47%，亚洲为 53%，欧洲为 69%。本文表明，非洲内部出口的缺乏不能简单地用标准重力方程术语来解释。该分析调查了可能的解释并确定了促进非洲国家之间贸易的因素。发现非洲内部的出口随着道路基础设施、贸易协定和贸易成本的下降而不成比例地增加。国内经济多样化，从自然资源转向服务业也与更多的非洲内部贸易有关。这些结果可以指导促进非洲经济一体化的努力。