Botswana has been ranked as the most prosperous economy in Africa for the second year in a row in the 2013 Legatum Institute Prosperity Index
According to a report Insight on Africa prepared by the Legatum Institute, South Africa and Morocco occupy the first and second runners up positions, respectively. South Africa moved up one notch from last year’s rankings displacing Morocco to the third spot.
The prosperity index report on Africa ranked 38 countries in the continent based on their overall level of prosperity according to national wealth and wellbeing in eight sub-categories. It investigated changing demographics, safety, and corruption in the continent, among other parameters.
The report revealed that only 26 per cent of the people in Botswana felt that their government was not doing enough to address the poverty crisis. It is the least when compared with the other African countries. Botswana scored well in both the governance and the entrepreneurship and opportunity sub-indices, the report stated.
In Rwanda, about 34 per cent of the general masses felt that the government was not doing enough to address poverty in the country. This year Senegal and Rwanda have risen up in rankings and come into the top ten, occupying the eighth and ninth positions, respectively, while Zambia moves into the 10th position from 12th last year.
Legatum Institute member Professor Daniel Chirot said, “Countries like Botswana have small populations and low population densities, which could be part of the reason why they have proved to be more politically stable states. In parallel, people are competing for space in countries like Rwanda, Nigeria and Uganda.”
Legatum Prosperity Index programme director Nathan Gamester said, “High growth rates, declining poverty, substantial improvements in health, educational enrolment and attainment, a reduction in internal and cross-border conflicts, and an increase in the number of democracies over the past 20 years all point towards a continent that has reached a tipping point.”
He added, however, that to continue their progress, African states need to undertake further reforms, build better institutions, and improve education and infrastructure.
“Good governance and a supportive business environment remain crucial for building a prosperous country. As such, our hope is that growing prosperity across the region will empower the people of Africa to demand more from their governments and institutions, enabling them to progress yet further on the path to prosperity,” Gamester said.
