The British think tank Legatum Institute has published its annual report on the world’s most prosperous countries. Based on a battery of indicators, this ranking reviews the prosperity of 167 countries. Only 10 African countries are in the top 100, including two North African countries. Here are the 10 most prosperous countries in Africa: Details.
Legatum Institute has published its annual report on the world’s most prosperous countries. For this 2023 edition, the London-based think tank combed through 167 countries and territories, including 53 African countries, representing 99.4% of the world’s population, to establish its prosperity index The 2023 Lagatum Prosperity Index. According to the report, “the Prosperity Index was developed as a practical tool to help identify specific actions that need to be taken to help strengthen the pathways from poverty to prosperity and to provide a roadmap for nations that are facing increasing economic and political shocks.
This 16th edition of the report is based on 12 pillars of prosperity: “Security and Safety,” “Individual Freedom,” “Governance,” “Social Capital,” “Business Climate,” “Entrepreneurial Conditions,” “Infrastructure and Market Access,” “Quality of the Economy,” “Living Conditions,” “Health,” “Education” and “Natural Environment. Each of these pillars includes indicators and sub-indicators. In total, 300 elements are analyzed, providing an exhaustive picture of the prosperity of each of the 167 countries and territories studied.
According to this ranking, and not surprisingly, it is the Nordic countries that occupy the top positions worldwide. Denmark is ranked first, ahead of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Switzerland.
Here are the 10 most prosperous countries in Africa
Very logically, African countries are not well represented. The continent even continues to fall back in terms of prosperity. Indeed, the top-ranked African country in the Lagatum Prosperity Index 2023, Mauritius, is ranked 47th in the world. Mauritius owes its ranking to its performance on the indicators of Governance (36th in the world), Social Capital (37th), Business Climate (41st), Health and Safety (42nd), and Individual Freedom (52nd). However, this island country scores relatively low on the criteria of Economic Quality (72nd in the world), Health (81st) and especially Natural Environment (122nd).
| Country | Rank Africa | Rank World |
|---|---|---|
| Mauritius | 1 | 47 |
| Seychelles | 2 | 51 |
| South Africa | 3 | 75 |
| Cape Verde | 4 | 80 |
| Botswana | 5 | 83 |
| Sao Tome & Principe | 6 | 87 |
| Namibia | 7 | 90 |
| Ghana | 8 | 96 |
| Morocco | 9 | 98 |
| Tunisia | 10 | 99 |
South Africa, which ranks 75th in the world and 3rd in Africa, performs well on the indicators of Individual Freedom (38th in the world), Social Capital (40th), Business Climate (48th) and Governance (49th). However, the rainbow country is weighed down by its poor performance in the criteria of Living Conditions (102nd in the world), Education (102nd), Health (129th), Safety and Security (136th) and Natural Environment (140th).
Morocco, the highest-ranked country in the Maghreb, achieved its best performance in the areas of Business Climate (55th in the world), Infrastructure and Market Access (57th), and Safety and Security (62nd). However, individual freedom (114th in the world), education (122nd), the natural environment (132nd), and social capital have weighed down its ranking.