Key findings
Insights from LEAD
Seven data-driven findings from LEAD's 14,848 recorded engagements by African leaders, 1990–2025.
Finding 1
Most trips stay in Africa
In every decade, between 55.0% and 60.9% of the countries visited or called were African. 49.1% of the engagements with an African destination were multilateral summits.
Finding 2
The Gulf, Türkiye and Russia gained ground
Between the 1990s and 2020–25 the Gulf states' share of destinations rose from 1.9% to 7.8%, Türkiye's rose from 0.1% to 2.1% and Russia's rose from 0.1% to 1.6%. China's share stayed close to 2.1% over the whole period, North America's fell from 15.6% to 9.1% and Europe's rose from 12.0% to 16.4%.
| Partner | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020–25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 59.9% | 60.9% | 57.0% | 55.0% |
| Europe | 12.0% | 14.8% | 14.6% | 16.4% |
| North America | 15.6% | 10.9% | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| Gulf states | 1.9% | 2.3% | 5.9% | 7.8% |
| China | 1.9% | 2.0% | 2.4% | 2.3% |
| Türkiye | 0.1% | 0.3% | 1.6% | 2.1% |
| Russia | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.0% | 1.6% |
Shares, not counts: the number of recorded engagements differs by decade (1990s: 2,180, 2000s: 4,148, 2010s: 5,031, 2020–25: 3,490).
Finding 3
Most trips to the United States are trips to the UN
The United States is the most frequent single destination (1,574 engagements), but 1,182 of them (75.1%) were in New York, and 1,093 of those were multilateral summits — above all the UN General Assembly.
Finding 4
Agreements are signed most often with newer partners
Across all engagements, 7.3% ended with a signed agreement. The rate was highest with China (18.7%), Türkiye (17.1%), Russia (14.0%), and lowest with North America (2.0%).
Partner groups with fewer than 100 engagements are not ranked.
Finding 5
2020: the year diplomacy went online — briefly
Visits fell from 615 in 2019 to 241 in 2020, when 41 video conferences and 5 phone calls were recorded. By 2022 visits were back to 677, and video conferences returned to a handful a year.
Finding 6
The most-travelled leaders
Paul Kagame of Rwanda leads the dataset with 543 recorded engagements. These ten leaders together account for 24.9% of all engagements.
- Paul Kagame Rwanda · 543 engagements
- Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Uganda · 541 engagements
- Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe · 490 engagements
- Abdoulaye Wade Senegal · 337 engagements
- Macky Sall Senegal · 336 engagements
- Olusegun Obasanjo Nigeria · 324 engagements
- Faure Gnassingbé Togo · 320 engagements
- Alassane Ouattara Ivory Coast · 274 engagements
- Blaise Compaoré Burkina Faso · 267 engagements
- Thomas Boni Yayi Benin · 262 engagements
Finding 7
Eastern and Western Africa: similar partners, different emphasis
France accounts for 6.8% of Western African leaders' destinations but 3.2% of Eastern African leaders'; the Gulf states for 5.1% of Eastern African destinations and 4.4% of Western African ones.
| Partner | Eastern Africa | Western Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 57.4% | 58.7% |
| Europe | 13.4% | 16.1% |
| France | 3.2% | 6.8% |
| North America | 11.2% | 10.7% |
| Gulf states | 5.1% | 4.4% |
| China | 2.6% | 1.9% |
| Türkiye | 1.2% | 1.1% |
| Russia | 0.8% | 0.7% |
How these figures are counted
How these figures are counted: each destination of an engagement counts once (as on the Map). Partner groups: Africa = the 54 African states and Somaliland; Europe = the EU, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway and the other European states; the Gulf states = the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Figures were generated from the dataset on 26 September 2026; see Data & Methods for the coding rules and coverage.
Cite this page
Ozturk, Y., Atabas, H., Guler, E., Duyar, B., & Yucel, R. (2026). Leaders' Visits & Agreements Database [Data set]. Africa Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22898778 [Insights. Accessed 26 September 2026. https://lead-database.netlify.app/insights.html]