Since its creation in 1961, ENSEA has contributed to the training of more than 4,500 statisticians from African countries sharing French, English and Portuguese languages. Since 1990, ENSEA has strengthened its research activities.

The training quality and the density of studies have earned it successively in 2005, the WAEMU Regional Centre of Excellence label; and in 2015, that of the World Bank African Centre of Excellence (ACE) then from 2020, that of the Agence Française de Développement Centre of Excellence.

ISSEA in Yaoundé, ENSAE in Dakar and AFRISTAT were selected as partners by ENSEA because of their common experience in the field of higher statistical training. Other academic and professional partners, notably from the private sector and the research community, assist the implementation of the various activities.

The different action plans aim to build ENSEA’s capacities in the field of statistical training and research in order to perpetuate its position as a regional reference centre. In this context, the creation of a Doctoral School in applied statistics and the development of distance learning will significantly contribute to its influence. These plans also include governance reforms aimed at ensuring greater autonomy for the ACE.