Research Wonk Travel: The Best and Worst of Africa

October 7, 2008 at 11:05 AM | by pbb | 0 Comments

In light of last week's field trip to South Africa, we were interested to see the Index of African Governance from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

The annual report ranks 48 sub-Saharan countries on safety and security, rule of law, corruption, economic opportunity and access to education; this year's study used data from 2006. Topping the chart this time around were Mauritius, the Seychelles and Cape Verde. South Africa came in fifth.

That the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius came in first was no surprise after seeing the Amazing Racers drop in back in 2006. But more encouraging for both Africans and tourists alike is the recovery of two post-conflict countries: Liberia and Burundi were the most improved governments in this year's rankings.

There were fewer surprises at the other end of the report. Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad were the bottom three, and the government of Sudan was ranked fourth worst. As of now, the US State Department has out ominous travel warnings on all four.

Related Stories:
· Index of African Governance [Official Site]
· Harvard's Announcement of Strengthening African Governance [Official Site]
· Sophistonauts Travel: Western Africa Heating up for Jet Setters [Jaunted]

[Photo of Mauritius: KhayaL]

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