Ibrahim Index of African Governance

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) is a key initiative of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation that was first published in 2007. The most recent iteration, the 2022 IIAG, was published in January 2023 and covers the period 2012-2021.^[9][10]

The index was initially produced in association with Harvard University; academic and technical assistance has subsequently been provided by a range of African academics and research bodies.^[11]

The IIAG is published every two years and receives extensive media attention from across the African continent and in the international media.^[12][13] The Ibrahim Index has been used by civil society and government bodies across the continent to monitor governance. One example is in, where political opponents of President Uhuru Kenyatta used the 2022 IIAG to challenge his administration’s record on governance.^[14]

In 2007, critics suggested that the IIAG was limited by its focus on the 48 Sub-Saharan African countries, ignoring Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Aside from these five additions, the IIAG first included South Sudan, which became a separate country in 2011, in its 2015 iteration.^[15]

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) is a composite Index that is published every two years and provides a statistical measure of governance performance in 54 African countries.^[16]

The IIAG governance framework comprises four dimensions (categories):^[17]

• Security & Rule of Law^[18]
• Participation, Rights & Inclusion^[6]
• Foundations for Economic Opportunity^[2]
• Human Development^[19]

These categories are made up of 16 sub-categories, consisting of 81 indicators.^[20] For the latest IIAG, 265 variables have been collected from 47 independent sources.^[10]

The IIAG is refined and revised on a biannual basis to continually improve its measurement of governance. Improvements are a result of either methodological changes, or based on the inclusion of new data. Equally, if previously included measures undergo fundamental methodological changes or do not meet the criteria for inclusion anymore, it may be necessary to exclude them from future iterations. It is also necessary to update previously published data if retrospective revisions are made to data at source.^[21]

As a result of these changes, the entire IIAG dataset is re-calculated with each new iteration, in accordance with best practices. The retrospective revision means that score and rank comparisons between years should be made entirely within the latest available IIAG iteration.

Ahead of the 2020 IIAG, the structure of the Index was changed so that the vast majority of indicators are now composed of more than one single variable collected from source.^[22]  This is based on the understanding that composite scores constitute the key value added of the IIAG dataset, and aims to provide a clearer, more complete and more stable framework.

Furthermore, since the 2020 iteration, the IIAG is also accompanied by the Citizens’ Voices dataset. All variables collected for this complementary dataset are sourced from Afrobarometer, the leading pan-African research institution conducting public opinion surveys. Even though Citizens’ Voices is calculated as a separate index and its scores are not counted in the calculation of IIAG scores, this dataset mirrors the IIAG framework and helps contextualise the official and expert assessment data in the IIAG with the reality on the ground as perceived by citizens.

The IIAG provides score, rank and 10-year trends for all governance measures included in the dataset, and these are available for each country, as well as for multinational groupings such as the continent, African geographical regions and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).^[23]

Each governance measure is given a score out of 100.0 to quantify a country’s performance for each data year. Scores are rounded to one decimal point and show each country’s performance in relation to the other 54 African countries.

The 54 countries represented in the IIAG are ranked for each governance measure based on their respective scores and countries are sorted by performance. If two or more countries share the same score, they are given the same place in the ranking table.

10-year trends offer additional insights into the scores and ranks by showing the change in score between the last and the first data years of the given period. For example, the 2022 IIAG 10-year trends compare each country’s performance for each governance measure in 2021 and 2012.

The latest IIAG comprises 81 indicators, grouped into four broad categories: Security & Rule of Law, Participation, Rights & Inclusion, Foundations for Economic Opportunity, and Human Development.^[24] The Overall Governance score is arrived at by calculating the unweighted average of the four IIAG categories.

 

The 21 indicators in the Security & Rule of Law category are divided into four sub-categories: Security & Safety, Rule of Law & Justice, Accountability & Transparency and Anti-Corruption.^[22]

The Security & Safety sub-category includes five indicators measuring Absence of Armed Conflict,^[10] Absence of Violence against Civilians, Absence of Forced Migration, Absence of Human Trafficking & Forced Labour and Absence of Crime.

The Rule of Law & Justice sub-category includes six indicators measuring Executive Compliance with the Rule of Law, Impartiality of the Judicial System, Judicial Process, Equality before the Law, Law Enforcement and Property Rights.^[22]

The Accountability & Transparency sub-category includes five indicators measuring Institutional Checks & Balances, Absence of Undue Influence on Government, Civic Checks & Balances, Disclosure of Public Records and Accessibility of Public Records.^[25]

The Anti-Corruption sub-category includes five indicators measuring Anti-Corruption Mechanisms, Absence of Corruption in State Institutions, Absence of Corruption in the Public Sector, Public Procurement Procedures and Absence of Corruption in the Private Sector.^[26]

 

The 19 indicators in the Participation, Rights & Inclusion category are divided into four sub-categories: Participation, Rights, Inclusion & Equality and Women’s Equality.^[22]

The Participation sub-category includes four indicators measuring Freedom of Association & Assembly, Political Pluralism, Civil Society Space and Democratic Elections.^[22]

The Rights sub-category includes five indicators measuring Personal Liberties, Freedom of Expression & Belief, Media Freedom, Digital Rights and Protection against Discrimination.^[27]

The Inclusion & Equality sub-category includes five indicators measuring Equal Political Power, Equal Political Representation, Equal Civil Liberties, Equal Socioeconomic Opportunity and Equal Access to Public Services.^[25]

The Women’s Equality sub-category includes five indicators measuring Political Power & Representation of Women, Equal Rights & Civil Liberties for Women, Socioeconomic Opportunity for Women, Equal Access to Public Services for Women and Laws on Violence against Women.^[6]

 

The 20 indicators in the Foundations for Economic Opportunity category are divided into four sub-categories: Public Administration, Business & Labour Environment, Infrastructure and Rural Economy.^[22]

The Public Administration sub-category includes five indicators measuring Civil registration, Capacity of the Statistical System, Tax & Revenue Mobilisation, Budgetary & Financial Management and Effective Administration.^[2]

The Business & Labour Environment sub-category includes six indicators measuring Regional Integration, Economic Diversification, Business & Competition Regulations, Access to Banking Services, Labour Relations and Secure Employment Opportunities.^[25]

The Infrastructure sub-category includes five indicators measuring Transport Network, Access to Energy, Mobile Communications, Internet & Computers and Shipping & Postal Network.^[22]

The Rural Economy sub-category includes four indicators measuring Rural Land & Water Access, Rural Market Access, Rural Economy Support and Rural Representation & Participation.^[26]

 

The 21 indicators in the Human Development category are divided into four sub-categories: Health, Education, Social Protection & Welfare and Sustainable Environment.^[26]

The Health sub-category includes six indicators measuring Access to Healthcare, Access to Water & Sanitation, Control of Communicable Diseases, Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, Child & Maternal Health and Compliance with International Health Regulations.^[28]

The Education sub-category includes five indicators measuring Equality in Education, Education Enrolment, Education Completion, Human Resources in Education and Education Quality.^[29]

The Social Protection & Welfare sub-category includes five indicators measuring Social Safety Nets, Poverty Reduction Policies, Socioeconomic Inequality Mitigation, Decent Housing and Food Security.^[25]

The Sustainable Environment sub-category includes five indicators measuring Promotion of Environmental Sustainability, Enforcement of Environmental Policies, Air Quality, Sustainable Use of Land & Forests and Land & Water Biodiversity Protection.^[26]

Some scholars have questioned the effectiveness of the Index and particularly the need for civil society to engage with its results, pointing out that there does not often exist in Africa a strong and effective civil society.^[30]

Rank/54	Country	Score/100	Change 2012-2021
1	Mauritius	74.9	-2.2
2	Seychelles	73.4	+9.3
3	Tunisia	70.9	+3.1
4	Cape Verde	70.7	-1.2
5	Botswana	68.1	+0.8
6	South Africa	67.7	+0.9
7	Ghana	64.8	+1.1
8	Namibia	64.1	+1.0
9	Senegal	62.4	+1.5
10	Morocco	61.5	+4.9
11	São Tomé and Príncipe	59.5	+1.6
12	Rwanda	59.1	+2.0
13	Kenya	58.7	+3.1
14	Benin	56.1	-0.3
15	Algeria	55.6	+2.1
16	Gambia	55.3	+9.5
17	Lesotho	54.9	-0.5
18	Burkina Faso	54.6	+0.2
19	Malawi	54.6	+1.4
20	Côte d'Ivoire	54.3	+5.4
21	Tanzania	53.4	+0.6
22	Sierra Leone	52.2	+4.3
23	Togo	50.5	+3.8
24	Zambia	50.0	-3.1
25	Liberia	48.8	+1.7
26	Mozambique	48.6	-0.8
27	Egypt	48.4	-1.5
28	Gabon	48.4	+2.1
29	Zimbabwe	48.1	+3.1
30	Nigeria	47.7	-0.5
31	Uganda	47.5	-2.2
31	Ethiopia	46.0	+5.1
33	Niger	46.0	-2.6
34	Madagascar	44.2	+3.0
35	Eswatini	43.9	+0.9
36	Cameroon	43.2	-0.7
37	Mali	43.1	-3.3
38	Comoros	42.5	-4.9
39	Djibouti	42.2	+3.3
40	Angola	41.5	+5.4
41	Mauritania	41.3	+2.2
42	Guinea	41.2	+0.1
43	Burundi	40.4	-1.3
44	Guinea-Bissau	40.2	+1.7
45	Libya	35.7	-8.5
46	Republic of the Congo	35.1	-1.8
47	Chad	34.5	+2.8
48	Sudan	34.5	+5.1
49	Democratic Republic of the Congo	32.7	-0.7
50	Central African Republic	30.6	-2.0
51	Equatorial Guinea	27.3	+1.2
52	Eritrea	25.9	+1.9
53	Somalia	23.2	+5.3
54	South Sudan	18.5	-5.7

^[23]

Rank/54	Country	Score/100	Change 2010-2019
1	Mauritius	77.2	-0.5
2	Cape Verde	73.1	+0.2
3	Seychelles	72.3	+7.8
4	Tunisia	70.4	+8.2
5	Botswana	66.9	+0.8
6	South Africa	65.8	-0.9
7	Namibia	65.1	+3.4
8	Ghana	64.3	+0.1
9	Senegal	63.2	+3.3
10	Morocco	61.0	+5.3
11	Rwanda	60.5	+3.7
12	São Tomé and Príncipe	60.4	+2.8
13	Benin	58.6	+1.1
14	Kenya	58.5	+3.7
15	Algeria	56.2	+3.3
16	Gambia	55.9	+9.2
17	Burkina Faso	54.0	+1.0
18	Côte d'Ivoire	53.9	+9.0
19	Tanzania	53.0	+0.2
20	Lesotho	52.3	-0.5
21	Zambia	52.0	-0.8
22	Uganda	51.8	+0.7
23	Malawi	51.5	-1.3
24	Sierra Leone	51.0	+4.8
25	Togo	50.1	+4.8
26	Mozambique	49.0	-0.2
27	Liberia	47.9	+1.2
28	Niger	47.8	+0.4
29	Gabon	47.7	+1.0
30	Egypt	47.4	+0.5
31	Ethiopia	46.6	+6.7
31	Mali	46.6	-2.5
33	Zimbabwe	46.1	+7.4
34	Nigeria	45.5	-1.6
35	Madagascar	44.4	+1.7
36	Eswatini	43.8	+2.5
37	Cameroon	43.5	-0.6
38	Comoros	43.2	-2.6
39	Guinea	42.5	+1.3
40	Mauritania	41.6	+2.0
41	Guinea-Bissau	41.4	+2.8
42	Djibouti	41.3	+2.0
43	Angola	40.0	+5.4
44	Burundi	36.9	-3.6
45	Republic of the Congo	36.1	-0.2
46	Libya	35.2	-5.5
47	Chad	33.9	+3.7
48	Sudan	32.5	+2.5
49	Democratic Republic of the Congo	31.7	-2.8
50	Central African Republic	30.7	-0.9
51	Equatorial Guinea	28.7	-0.3
52	Eritrea	25.8	-0.8
53	South Sudan*	20.7	0.0
54	Somalia	19.2	+5.7
x	Average	48.8	+1.2

^[31]

Rank	Country	Overall	12 Year Change
1	Mauritius	82.9	7.3
2	Botswana	77.6	5.6
3	Cape Verde	76.7	6.0
4	Seychelles	75.0	5.5
5	South Africa	71.3	0.6
6	Namibia	69.5	2.3
7	Ghana	66.8	5.3
8	Tunisia	66.0	4.4
9	Lesotho	61.9	7.7
10	Senegal	61.0	4.3
11	São Tomé and Príncipe	59.9	3.2
12	Zambia	59.6	8.6
13	Benin	58.7	2.5
14	Morocco	58.0	5.1
15	Rwanda	57.8	10.9
16	Malawi	56.9	5.2
17	Tanzania	56.9	1.4
18	Uganda	56.0	5.5
19	Egypt	55.0	0.4
20	Mozambique	54.8	2.3
21	Kenya	53.6	1.5
22	The Gambia	53.6	4.0
23	Burkina Faso	53.0	1.2
24	Gabon	52.8	6.4
25	Algeria	52.5	1.3
26	Eswatini	50.8	4.3
27	Mali	50.7	0.0
28	Niger	50.4	7.6
29	Liberia	50.3	24.8
30	Djibouti	48.2	1.7
31	Sierra Leone	48.0	14.8
32	Comoros	47.8	6.9
33	Ethiopia	47.6	5.1
34	Mauritania	47.3	0.7
35	Cameroon	47.0	5.2
36	Togo	45.8	8.2
37	Madagascar	45.7	-11.7
38	Libya	45.3	-0.4
39	Angola	44.5	18.1
40	Burundi	43.8	8.8
41	Nigeria	43.4	0.8
42	Guinea	43.2	6.2
43	Republic of the Congo	43.0	8.0
44	Ivory Coast	40.9	1.8
45	Equatorial Guinea	40.9	8.8
46	Guinea-Bissau	37.1	-1.8
47	Zimbabwe	35.4	1.5
48	Chad	33.0	1.2
49	Central African Republic	32.7	3.8
50	Eritrea	31.9	-5.5
51	Democratic Republic of the Congo	31.3	7.3
52	Somalia	8.0	-1.7

*Sudan and South Sudan are not included in the IIAG.

Rank	Country	Overall	5 Year Change
1	Mauritius	81.7	1.3
2	Cape Verde	76.6	1.3
3	Botswana	76.2	1.3
4	South Africa	73.3	0.5
5	Seychelles	73.2	2.7
6	Namibia	70.3	1.1
7	Ghana	68.2	1.6
8	Tunisia	66.0	2.2
9	Senegal	64.3	4.6
10	Lesotho	62.3	3.8

Rank	Country	Overall	Change since 2011
1	Mauritius	79.9	0.7
2	Cape Verde	74.5	1.9
3	Botswana	74.2	1.8
4	South Africa	73.0	0.9
5	Namibia	70.4	2.0
6	Seychelles	70.3	0.8
7	Ghana	67.3	1.6
8	Tunisia	66.9	2.6
9	Senegal	62.4	4.5
10	Lesotho	61.1	2.2

• IIAG online data portal
• 2022 Index Report