The practical importance of the subject of 'The External Debt' in contemporary international life goes without saying. On the analytical level, the interest and indeed the difficulty of the subject lies in the need for a multidisciplinary approach, where political, financial and legal aspects are closely linked and require a clear understanding. From the purely legal point of view, the traditional and largely artificial boundaries between private and public law, between private international law and public international law and even, more generally, between municipal and international law are clearly marked here. In this respect any analyst has to be a complete jurist, and this collection of essays (in English and French) is an illustration of this fact.

The African Statistical Yearbook is a publication jointly produced by Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Commission (AUC), presenting time-series data over the latest nine years for which data are available, showing how African countries performed in several economic and social thematic areas. The summary tables present selected standardized indicators for all African countries to enable comparisons between countries and the country profiles present indicators grouped into nine thematic areas: these are not necessarily used for comparison between countries.

The Yearbook series is a result of collaborative efforts by major African regional organizations to set up a joint data collection mechanism of socioeconomic data on African countries, as well as the development of a harmonized database. It seeks to promote wider use of country data, reduce costs, significantly improve the availability and quality of the data, and lead to better monitoring of development initiatives on the continent. The data in this issue of the Yearbook are arranged generally for the years 2006-2014, or for the last eight years for which data are available. It is published in a single volume consisting of two parts: a set of summary tables followed by country profiles.

The African Statistical Yearbook 2016 is the eighth edition jointly produced by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). As with the previous seven editions, this 2016 edition presents a time series showing how African countries performed on several economic and social indicators over the period 2007-2015. It is published consisting of two parts: a set of summary tables followed by country tables. The yearbook continues to serve the intended purpose of bringing together, in one volume, data on African countries for policy-makers, researchers and other users.

This publication provides users with quality statistical information to enhance Africa’s development initiatives. It aims to break with past practices, whereby each regional/subregional organization published their own statistical data on African countries. It is expected that the joint collection and sharing of data between regional institutions will promote a wider use of country data, reduce costs and significantly improve the quality of the data, leading to better monitoring of development initiatives on the continent. The data contained in this publication are arranged generally for the years 2002 to 2010 or for the last eight years.