15 Most Competitive Economies In Africa: A Reality Check

June 5, 2015

Despite outwardly healthy-looking growth rates in many parts of Africa, African countries are not becoming more competitive.

They’re stagnating when it comes to inclusive and sustained growth, according to the World Economic Forum’s African Competitiveness Report, published Thursday at the World Economic Forum Africa in Cape Town.

African countries overall are improving their efficiency in goods and labor markets, but not in quality institutions, infrastructure, health and education.

Further regulatory reforms are needed to support Africa’s structural transformation with comprehensive policies that prioritize transport and ICT infrastructure, education and trade, the WEF analysts said in a prepared statement.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index studied three main areas of economic activity — agricultural productivity, services sector growth and global and regional value chains.

Data pointed to low and stagnating productivity across all sectors, partly as a result of ongoing weakness in the basic drivers of competitiveness: institutions, infrastructure, health and education.

Too many people in Africa are employed in low productivity services, the report said.

Economist Caroline Galvan co-authored the report for the World Economic Forum. “In recent years we have seen some of Africa’s leading economies make very promising progress in terms of driving growth through the enabling of markets,” she said. “However, sustainable growth must be built on a solid foundation, and this means strong institutions, good infrastructure and targeted investments in health, education and skills.”

Report highlights areas that require policy action and investment to ensure Africa’s sustained growth.

We’ve listed the 15 most competitive African countries from least to most, along with their position in the global rankings of 144 countries. The top three in the World Economic Forum’s global list were, in order, Switzerland, Singapore and the U.S. The bottom five included Yemen and four African countries — Angola, Mauritania, Chad and Guinea.

Here’s who’s not on this list: Egypt. Nigeria. Ethiopia. Mozambique. This is a reality check: 15 Most Competitive Economies In Africa.