Jeune Afrique, publishers of The Africa Report has unveiled a new exclusive ranking: the 20 best-performing countries in Africa.To develop this strategic overview, Jeune Afrique created a unique methodology combining three key dimensions: governance, innovation, and influence.
South Africa tops the ranking with a comfortable lead, driven by its industrial power, active diplomacy, high-quality infrastructure, innovation capacity, and internationally recognised education system. The country ranks first in two of the three analysed dimensions: influence, particularly diplomatic, and innovation. Egypt and Morocco complete the top three.
Beyond the leading trio, the vitality of the anglophone bloc is confirmed with Botswana (4th), Kenya (5th), Ethiopia (7th), Tanzania (8th), and Nigeria (9th). Mauritius ranks 6th. Some countries, like Kenya and Ethiopia, benefit from the performance of flagship companies (such as Safaricom and Ethiopian Airlines), a booming digital ecosystem, and a strong geostrategic role. Others, such as Mauritius and Botswana, capitalise on institutional stability and economic attractiveness.
“This ranking highlights countries that, beyond short-term crises, are successfully building resilient development trajectories,” said CEO of Jeune Afrique Media Group, Amir Ben Yahmed.
“It’s not just about measuring a country’s wealth or size, but its ability to achieve sustainable performance across all dimensions.” On the Francophone side, the ranking showed surprises by the low representation of several economically significant countries, such as Algeria, which only ranks 19th, and Mauritania, which does not appear in the top 20. After Mauritius, Côte d’Ivoire (10th), Tunisia (12th), and Senegal (13th) achieve the highest scores among francophone countries. While these nations show strong performance in governance and innovation, their international influence still needs to be strengthened.
The ranking also gives prominence to island nations and low-population countries such as Namibia (15th), Cape Verde (16th), and Seychelles (17th). These relatively stable, democratic, and well-governed states leverage their image, diplomacy, and roles as tourism and financial hubs to maximise their influence.
Departing from traditional GDP-centric approaches, Jeune Afrique’s ranking offers a renewed analytical framework of the continent by deploying a broader methodology. This approach is structured around 25 indicators, grouped into three dimensions, each scored out of 100, namely: Governance (50 per cent of the overall score); Influence (25% of the overall score); Innovation (25% of the overall score).
