Rwanda jumps to top ten on African Prosperity Index

Rwanda improves in the African Prosperity Index ranking

The latest Legatum Institute Prosperity index shows that Rwanda has jumped to the top ten in the Prosperity Index, making it the only one in the East African Region to grace the lineup.

The Special Report titled Insight on Africa indicates that Rwanda has experienced a jump from 13th to 9th in the rankings this year.

The jump according to the study was brought about by strong scores in Entrepreneurship and Opportunity, Governance and Health.

In East Africa, Uganda has also improved two places, ranking 16 out of the 38 countries surveyed. Kenya, East African’s largest economy dropped one place to rank 18 in the region while Tanzania had the biggest fall, ranking of 19 from 11 last year.

An analysis of Africa’s best 10 countries reveals a continent on the right path to prosperity. The special report shows that economic growth, improving health standards and greater foreign and domestic investment are having a positive impact on prosperity in Africa.

According to Nathan Gamester, Programme Director for the Legatum Prosperity Index, the latest report shows that there is reason for cautious optimism in Africa.

“The potential for development and growth across the world’s most dynamic continent is enormous.”

However, to continue their progress the report indicates that African states need to undertake further reforms, build better institutions, and improve education and infrastructure.

It warns that the fact that 40 per cent of the continent’s population being youth possess both a risk and opportunity for development.

“But the effects of this ‘youth bulge’ will not all be positive. There is a danger that young Africans will become frustrated at the limited economic opportunities available to them,” reads the report in part.

The Index further reveals cause for concern for Mali which fell from 8 to 13 in ranking. The path to prosperity also remains long for Malawi, which has seen a huge fall from 9 to 21 this year.

The report ranks 38 countries in the continent based on their overall level of prosperity according to national wealth and wellbeing in eight sub-categories.

It investigates changing demographics, safety, and corruption in the continent, as well as assessing Africa’s performance against the Millennium Development Goals.

With the exceptions of Botswana, Rwanda and Angola, the report notes that a vast majority of sub-Saharan African citizens, in particular in West Africa, feel their country is not doing enough to address poverty.

For example, according to Prosperity Index data, 92 per cent feel this way in Cote d’Ivoire, while the figure is nearly 90 percent in both Guinea and Togo.

The London-based public policy Institute projects that the competition over land and natural resources will most commonly spill over into conflict due to mismanagement.

On average, according to the 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index, three-quarters of the African population perceive their environment as being good for entrepreneurs.

The report will be launched today at the African Leadership Network’s annual conference “The Gathering” in Mauritius.

 

Rwanda jumps to top ten on African Prosperity Index