Mauritius has been ranked the best-governed country in Africa in the 2025 Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI), maintaining its top spot for the fifth consecutive year.
Rwanda and Botswana followed in second and third place, respectively. The ranking was announced by Dinesh Naidu, Director (Knowledge) at the Chandler Institute of Governance, during the regional launch of the Index in Pretoria, South Africa.
The CGGI is one of the most comprehensive global measures of government capability and effectiveness, assessing 120 countries across seven pillars, including leadership, institutions, financial stewardship, and service delivery.
According to Naidu, Africa’s overall performance remains the lowest globally, but notable progress has been recorded in some countries. “Even in a challenging global environment, high-performance African countries are making governance advances that can inspire peers across the continent,” he said.
In the 2025 rankings, Mauritius (51), Rwanda (59), Botswana (61), Morocco (75), and South Africa (77) emerged as Africa’s top five performers. Rwanda was recognized as the world’s best-performing low-income country, showing that national wealth is not a prerequisite for effective governance.
Botswana was praised for recent judicial digitalisation reforms, Morocco for improvements in data transparency and digital infrastructure, while South Africa remains a continental reference point for institutional capacity despite fiscal pressures.
