This year again, Mauritius ranks first in Africa in the Ibrahim Index of Africa Governance, which was published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation on 29th October 2018. A total of 54 African countries took part in the index.

The Ibrahim Index of Africa Governance measures and monitors governance performance in African countries. It defines governance as “the provision of the political, social and economic public goods and services that every citizen has the right to expect from their state, and that a state has the responsibility to deliver to its citizens". Participating countries are assessed over four key categories, namely Safety & Rule of Law, Participation & Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development.

Mauritius ranks first across all the four key categories, with a global score of 79.5 points out of 100 which is a marked improvement on last year’s score of 77.54. Nevertheless, Mauritius is also one of the three countries that belong to the top five but have also seen a decrease in their overall scores over the past decade – Mauritius’ score receded by 0.7 points, while Cape Verde and Botswana lost 0.8 and 3.7 points respectively.

Overall, the report notes that global governance in Africa has been improving. Thirty four countries, i.e. 71.6% or roughly three out of four African countries, have improved in global governance in the last decade. While the difference between the top ranked country (Mauritius) and the lowest ranked (Somalia) is the narrowest recorded in the past ten years, it is noted that the overall disparity between countries has been widening. However, the report reckons that the improvements may not be sufficiently fast and need to be accelerated, particularly at a time when the African continent is facing unprecedented demographic growth.