The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), which measures the progress of African countries on a number of pillars, showed that the continent’s overall performance in governing declined for the first time in 2019.
The IIAG, which measures African governance on four pillars – security and rule of law; participation, rights, and inclusion; foundations for economic opportunity; and human development – has been released annually since 2007.
It was founded by Sudanese telecoms magnate Mo Ibrahim as a tool to help monitor and improve African governance.
Raking overall African governance out of 100, the index gave the continent a score of 47.6 in 2010. This improved every year until 2018, when it scored 49. However, in 2019 the continent’s governance score was 48.8, the first decline in the index’s history.
South Africa has the sixth-highest ranking on the index, but the country has been flagged as showing a worrying and accelerating decline since 2015.
Mauritius is ranked as the continent’s best-governed country.