Absell-Federico-Tena World Trade Historical Database for Africa, 1948-2020

Historical trade data for Africa from 1948 to 2020. The dataset was developed by researchers Christopher Absell, Giovanni Federico, and Antonio Tena Junguito. It was last updated on the platform in October 2025.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term trends in African trade based on the 72-year historical coverage.
• Model economic development and integration based on historical trade flows.
• Study the impact of historical events on African trade patterns based on the temporal scope.
• Compare pre- and post-independence trade structures for African nations.

Strengths

• Covers a long historical period of 72 years (1948-2020).
• Focuses on a specific geographic region (Africa).
• Developed by named academic researchers from multiple institutions.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Project by Christopher Absell (University of Gothenburg and Instituto Figuerola), Giovanni Federico (New York University Abu Dhabi), and Antonio Tena Junguito (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and Instituto Figuerola).

Collection Method

Likely compiled from historical trade records and national accounts.

Time Range

1948-2020

Freshness

Last updated 2025-10-14 21:54:27; freshness should be verified

Geography

Africa