African Union is an organization that works to achieve greater political, social, and economic cooperation among African governments and peoples. The membership of the organization consists of 52 independent countries and a government-in-exile. The African Union, often called the AU, replaced a previous group, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in 2002 (see Organization of African Unity (OAU)). The structure of the AU is similar to that of the European Union (see European Union (EU)).