Which are the Best Countries in Africa?

Africa is a huge continent with over 50 independent states, making up 23% of the Earth's land surface. There are large differences, both economic and social, between its various regions, but bodies such as the African Union have shown signs of effectively curbing biases by bringing nations together economically, and resisting dictators whilst encouraging better governance; nonetheless, the AU itself is the least democratic of all regional unions₁. High birth rates contribute heavily to Africa's problems₂, but still, its people are amongst the most charitable in the world₃ and its economy is expected to quadruple over the next 30 years₄. It is highly susceptible to climate change; the effects are already impacting the continent in serious ways₅.

There are 61 locations that fall within this category. By adding up all the known populations that fall within these locations, and summing their physical land areas, we can calculate population densities. Some islands and territories can end up being counted twice depending on how they are classified and divided up politically, but, mostly such errors involve only small populations. So, some data on this collection of countries in total:

• Population: 1.3b
• Land Area: 29 378 401km² (23% of Earth's land)
• Independent States: 54
• Other Territories: 7
• Compare to other regions of the world

1. Summary Data
2. Social and Moral Development
3. Demographics and Migration
4. Responsibility Towards The Environment
5. National Culture
6. Peace Versus Instability
   1. Are Borders in Africa Problematic?
7. Economic Inequality and Poverty
8. Modernity and Learning
9. Health
10. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance
11. Religion and Beliefs
    1. The Rise of Christianity in Africa
12. Links

1. Summary Data

#economics #human_development #population #wealth

Not showing due to lack of data: Mayotte.

This page only shows places where the database has enough data to be able to come to reasonable conclusions about each place. The main focus is on nation states, but, some distinct external territories may be listed if the database has enough information about them. Averages are calculated from as many valid data points as possible, meaning, that some territories and locations that are not listed above may still be used to calculate some of the average values. Some calculations only use Independent State data - hover the cursor over values to see hints.

Links:

• Compare to other regions of the world
• What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life
• The Population of the Earth
• Homosexuality in Animals and Humans

2. Social and Moral Development

#climate_change #education #equality #freedom #gender_equality #health #human_development #human_rights #modernity #morals #politics #prejudice #technology #the_environment #the_internet #tolerance

Here are each country's overall scores across the categories that make up the Social and Moral Development Index. This is followed by lists of how each country scores in each individual data set.

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

For more, see:

• "What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

3. Demographics and Migration

#africa #birth_control #demographics #emigration #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population #remittances

Population:

Migration:

In 2015, an estimated 30 million Africans lived outside Africa₁₈; their work abroad allows them to send home money to support their families₁₈. This simple economic gesture is powerful enough to slow migration, reduce poverty and prevent some crime throughout the poorest parts of Africa. Internal migration is much greater: The countries in Africa with the highest percent of immigrants in their populations are Equatorial Guinea (17.5%), Gabon (13.8%) and Seychelles (13.6%), although the average for Africa is 4%. And which countries are seeing most people emigrate? Cape Verde (37.6%), Sao Tome & Principe (21.9%) and Lesotho (20.5%). The continental average is 6% who have gone to live elsewhere from their home countries.

For full commentary and data, see:

• Which Country in Africa Has the Most Immigrants Or Emigrants?

4. Responsibility Towards The Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #energy #food #meat #over-exploitation #sustainability #the_environment #veganism #vegetarianism

5. National Culture

#charity #corruption #happiness #morals #politics

The 3 unhappiest countries every year in the 2010s were in Africa (except for 2019, which was Afghanistan)₂₈. But through adversity, many positive social attitudes thrive.

“Six of the 10 countries where people are most likely to help a stranger are located in Africa. This is likely to be as a result of ubuntu which exists, although referred to differently, across almost all of Africa and is a philosophy by which people live. Ubuntu can be described as the capacity in an African culture to express compassion, reciprocity, dignity, humanity and mutuality in the interests of building and maintaining communities with justice and mutual caring.”

"World Giving Index" by Charities Aid Foundation₂₉ (2021)

On the other hand, African nations are let down by many of their top-level institutions, who are prone to losing portions of their countries' resources to corruption, with complicit politicians enabling organized crime, violent groups and multinationals to evade the law through bribes, embezzlement, and other corrupt behaviours. The worst countries in Africa for this are Somalia and South Sudan. Corruption is best combatted in the Seychelles, Cape Verde and Botswana, who outperform even some of the world's advanced economies.

6. Peace Versus Instability

#extremism #human_development #peace #politics #religious_violence #terrorism

Even though Africa has some of the most violent countries, "sub-Saharan Africa's levels of peacefulness have increased steadily since 2007"₃₁, although by 2021 increasing population and competition for resources caused relations between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to deteriorate 'due to disagreements over water rights, the Blue Nile, and the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam'₃₂.

11.1. Are Borders in Africa Problematic? ₃₆

#borders #colonialism #human_development #religion #sectarianism #south_sudan #sudan #violence #war

Despite ongoing comments by some leaders such as Robert Mugabe and the occasional political theorist that Africa´s conflicts today are a result of historical colonial empires drawing arbitrary borders, it is in general not true. Europe´s own post-independence borders have just the same arbitrariness, as do many in the world, and yet exist in a settled and peaceful manner₃₇. Many borders, such as in the Balkans, were never set by colonial powers and yet have enduring conflicts. Religious groups and some ethnic groups are simply determined to fight; if there´s a border, they fight over the border. If there is no border, they fight within a single country. The borders themselves are rarely the actual cause of the conflict, nor the solution to it. Also, borders that were set by indigenous processes suffer violence too - for example, the new (2011) border between Sudan and South Sudan remains the most problematic and dangerously violent region in the world_38,39, despite the fact that it was defined locally.₃₇.

“After independence, leaders across the continent initially sought to preserve their countries' borders unchanged. The fear was that any effort to completely redraw them from scratch would be far more disruptive than accepting the status quo. Of course, this consensus itself met with violent opposition, replicating the conflicts that would likely have accompanied a purely indigenous border-drawing process. To take one discouraging example, Sudan's government fought for half a century to defend the generous borders it inherited from the British before South Sudan gained its independence in 2011. Subsequently, clashes have continued across this newly formed border, as well as between rival groups within each of the two Sudanese states.”

"Stop Blaming Colonial Borders for the Middle East's Problems"
Nick Danforth (2013)₃₇

7. Economic Inequality and Poverty

#capitalism #economics #health #inequality #life_expectancy #poverty #social_development

High birth rates are contributing heavily to Africa's problems; the population of some of the poorest countries is set to triple by 2045₄₀.

“Whilst the African economy is expected to grow out to 2045, wealth will continue to be unevenly distributed and millions are likely to remain in extreme poverty; in some countries the proportion could even increase. Although the proportion of the population living in absolute poverty has declined from around 57% in 1990 to 43% in 2012, rapid population growth means that the number of people still living in absolute poverty has increased.”

"Africa Out to 2045" by DCDC (2016)₂

“The 2013 report of the African Progress Panel concluded that while resource-derived rents have driven up average incomes in the 20 African states classified as resource-dependent, they have by and large not resulted in the widespread reduction of poverty. Rather, they have increased inequality and benefitted the elites at the expense of the majority of the population.”

Transparency International (2017)₄₁

8. Modernity and Learning

#education #english #intelligence #it_security #maths #modernity #politics #religion #religiosity #research #science #secularisation #technology #the_internet

Modernity and Education:

Technology and Information:

9. Health

#alcohol #birth_control #demographics #health #life_expectancy #longevity #mental_health #obesity #overpopulation #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Liechtenstein and The Isle of Man₇₆. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are S. Sudan, Angola and Nigeria₇₆.

21 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Europe and The Balkans₇₆, whereas the worst are Africa, Micronesia and Melanesia₇₆.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Health:

“Africa's birthrate [...] has fallen by about 38 percent over the past 60 years. That is largely because of education, economics and shifting attitudes toward family size on display in conversations prompted by shows like Gidan Badamasi, one of the biggest hits of recent years on the leading Hausa-language television channel.”

NY Times (2024)₈₂

Children's Health:

10. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#Africa #equality #freedom #gender_equality #human_rights #ICC #morals #politics #prejudice #tolerance

Human Rights struggle in much of Africa. The best countries in Africa at protecting human rights, engendering tolerance and supporting equality, are Mauritius, S. Africa and Cape Verde but the continent as a whole does poorly compared to the global average. The worst countries are Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. Things are getting better. There is a rising expectation amongst Africans that governance must be fairer and less corrupt although this will cause more conflict for at least a generation₈₅. In the last decade, a series of murderous dictators have been brought to justice₈₆, and the developing courts of Africa have found themselves empowered to seek out human rights abusers at the highest levels. Although many countries are steeped in conflict, a message is being sent that war crimes and abusers cannot operate with immunity. When multiple rulers threatened to cease support for the International Criminal Court, an "an outpouring of popular support... helped to persuade most African governments to continue to stand behind the court₈₇". In sub-Saharan Africa, a decrease in violence and increase in the rule of law and protections of human rights have led to a steady increase in peaceability since 2007₃₃.

For full commentary and data, see:

• Human Rights, Freedom, Tolerance and Equality in Africa: Statistical Comparisons

11. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #folk_religion #god #hinduism #human_development #islam #judaism #no_religion #religion #religiosity #secularisation

“The vast majority of North Africa is Muslim, whilst sub-Saharan African is split between Islam in the North and Christianity in the south, but with considerable overlap. Christianity is likely to remain the majority religion on the continent out to 2045, but the proportion of the population who are Muslim will increase (mainly due to higher fertility rates). Indigenous beliefs are also practised in many parts of Africa, and in many cases have become entwined with Christianity and Islam”

"Africa Out to 2045" by DCDC (2016)₈₈

Wars Between Believers: Africa has suffered from a long history of religious conflict, not only between Christians and Muslims, but between both of those new faiths and traditional culture, and internal battles between different denominations.

"Chad has experienced some tensions between fundamentalist and moderate Muslims, Guinea has strong social pressure discouraging conversion from Islam, Mali experienced violence in 2003 between traditional Sunni practitioners and Wahhabi Sunnis, and Niger similarly saw mainstream Sunni youths demonstrating against the Wahhabist Izalay sect.₈₉ [...] The most lethal religion-related armed conflict in recent decades occurred during the Sudanese civil war, which resulted in more than six million people being killed or displaced between 1989 and 2005. Religion played a central role in splitting the country into warring sides, primarily pitting government forces from the Muslim-majority north against an array of opposition forces from the south, which is largely Christian"₉₀. Although, because of the prevalence of Sufi Islam (a kinder branch of Islam), sub-Saharan Africa does better.

Africa is seeing the growth of less tolerant religion in the form of Salafism and evangelical Pentecostalism, both of which use their influence to encourage conflict between communities. The UK Ministry of Defence's strategic analysis is that religion-inspired conflicts will increase.₉₁

Some in the West argue against non-believers, stating that religion is required for morals. Guy Harrison uses Africa as an example of how religion fosters war.

“There are very few atheists in sub-Saharan Africa yet that region is plagued with numerous wars decade after decade. Who can be blamed but believers?”

"50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God" by Guy Harrison (2008)₉₂