A regional initiative to strengthen international tax co-operation across Africa is contributing to ongoing efforts to tackle tax evasion and other illicit financial flows, with increased revenue identification and improved compliance across participating countries in 2024, according to the new progress report on tax transparency in Africa.
The 7th edition of Tax Transparency in Africa: Africa Initiative Progress Report, launched today by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) and the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) during the 17th meeting of the Africa Initiative in the Seychelles, shows how the Initiative is promoting the effective implementation and use of the tax transparency standards across the region and contributing to mobilising domestic resources and fighting illicit financial flows.
The report highlights the progress in tax transparency achieved by the 39 African members of the Global Forum, showing the commitment of African countries to the tax transparency agenda is paying off: in 2024, African countries sent 1 756 exchange of information (EOI) requests – almost doubling the number of requests recorded in 2023 – and the number of African countries actively sending requests increased to 23.
African members reported the identification of around EUR 123 million through exchange of information on request (EOIR) and offshore investigations, and over EUR 275 million from automatic exchange of financial account information, including related voluntary disclosure programmes. In total, since 2009, at least EUR 4.2 billion in additional revenue (tax, interest and penalties) have been identified in Africa through the implementation and use of the EOI, with further progress expected to continue in the years ahead.
“The Tax Transparency in Africa report highlights how far the continent has come in building stronger, more transparent tax systems. Though progress remains uneven, it reflects the deepening political commitment and collective determination to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and financial resilience across Africa. We must continue to work together to ensure that all countries, regardless of where they are on this journey, can benefit from the transparency agenda and its role in driving sustainable development.” said Ms Varsha Singh, Commissioner General of the Seychelles Revenue Commission and Co-Chair of the Africa Initiative.
Mr Nicolas Yenoussi, Director General of Taxes of Benin and Co-Chair of the Africa Initiative, stated that “The positive results of the implementation of the tax transparency standards on the mobilisation of domestic resources in Africa are a direct consequence of the ever-increasing political commitment and the massive capacity building received by African countries in this field. I call upon African countries that are not yet participating in the tax transparency work to join us on this groundbreaking journey which contributes to the financial sovereignty of the continent”.
Major recent advances set out in the report include:
- Through the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC), African jurisdictions have entered into more than 3 300 bilateral relationships for EOI to foster tax co-operation and most of them have an EOI network covering over 140 jurisdictions.
- 12 African countries are committed to start automatically exchanging financial account information by 2026, and 6 are already exchanging.
- 14 African countries have been fully reviewed under the Second Round of peer reviews on the EOIR Standard, out of which 10 obtained a satisfactory rating (“Compliant” or “Largely compliant”).
- 5 African countries are committed to implementing the Crypto-Assets Reporting Framework (CARF) by 2027 or by 2028.
Tax Transparency in Africa: Africa Initiative Progress Report is a flagship publication of the Africa Initiative, a regional effort launched in 2014 to promote the implementation and effective use of tax transparency standards by African countries, through African-specific approaches, and supported by a ministerial call for action, the Yaoundé Declaration. The release of the 7th edition of the report marks a key outcome of the 17th Africa Initiative Meeting, held from 1-2 July 2025 in the Seychelles, and co-organised by the Seychelles Revenue Commission and the Global Forum Secretariat.
With 172 members, the Global Forum is the leading multilateral body mandated to ensure that jurisdictions around the world adhere to and effectively implement both the exchange of information on request standard and the standard of automatic exchange of information. These objectives are achieved through a robust monitoring and peer review process. The Global Forum also runs an extensive capacity-building programme to support its members in implementing the standards and help tax authorities make the best use of cross-border information sharing channels.
For more information and to access the full report, visit: https://www.oecd.org/en/networks/global-forum-tax-transparency/news-events/2025/tax-transparency-in-africa-2025.html
For more information, please contact Ms Zayda Manatta, Head of the Global Forum Secretariat, zayda.manatta@oecd.org or ctp.communications@oecd.org.
The Global Forum’s worldwide capacity-building programme is supported by the following development partners: