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Members of the GAFTA:
Greater Arab Free Trade Area

The Greater Arab Free Trade Area is a regional agreement established in 1997 between 18 Arab countries in North Africa and the Middle East. It also has close ties to the Arab League.

The member states have a total population of 466.40 million in an area of 11.46 million km². The economic output is currently equivalent to 3.702 trillion U.S. dollars. Worldwide, this is only about 3.3 percent, but in the region the free trade zone has an enormous influence. The export performance was most recently 1.741 trillion US dollars.

GAFTA's main goal is to promote trade among member countries. Its tasks focus on creating a common market in which trade barriers such as tariffs are reduced. In addition, GAFTA aims to promote economic integration and cooperation in various economic sectors such as agriculture, industry, and services.

Map of member countries: GAFTA - Greater Arab Free Trade Area
CountryCommencementPopulationAreaGDP
Algeria200946.81 M2,382,000 km²269.32 bn US$
Bahrain19971.59 M778 km²47.11 bn US$
Egypt1997116.54 M1,001,000 km²389.06 bn US$
Iraq199746.04 M435,000 km²279.64 bn US$
Jordan200411.55 M89,000 km²53.35 bn US$
Kuwait19974.90 M18,000 km²160.23 bn US$
Lebanon19975.81 M10,000 km²20.08 bn US$
Libya19977.38 M1,760,000 km²48.49 bn US$
Morocco199738.08 M447,000 km²160.61 bn US$
Oman19975.28 M310,000 km²107.14 bn US$
Palestine20055.29 M6,020 km²13.71 bn US$
Qatar19972.86 M12,000 km²219.16 bn US$
Saudi Arabia199735.30 M2,150,000 km²1.240 tn US$
Sudan199750.45 M1,879,000 km²49.67 bn US$
Syria199724.67 M185,000 km²19.99 bn US$
Tunisia199712.28 M164,000 km²51.33 bn US$
United Arab Emirates199710.99 M84,000 km²552.32 bn US$
Yemen200540.58 M528,000 km²21.06 bn US$



Differences between the Arab Free Trade Area and the Arab League

GAFTA and the Arab League are two different organizations with different focuses and missions. GAFTA focuses mainly on economic affairs and the creation of a regional free trade area, while the Arab League is a political organization that deals with political and regional affairs. Both are committed to promoting economic cooperation in the Arab world. Thus, it was only logical that the Arab League advocated the creation of GAFTA.

All members of the GAFTA agreement are also members of the Arab League. Conversely, the only countries missing from GAFTA are the Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania and Somalia. However, all 4 countries are already considered candidates for membership.