Now that the world has been seemingly on the brink of a new World War, it can probably never hurt to look away from the conflict for a while and see what’s going on in other parts of the globe. Africa for example is one of the continents that’s been notably absent from the Ukraine-Russia conflict and in recent decades the Africans have made great progress in their development.
This is measured by the Human Development Index, which basically looks at things like the economy, the stability of government, job opportunities, human rights, … Many things we didn’t really associate with Africa until only recent times. Let’s take a look at some African countries that are scoring amazingly well on the HDI – and why.
Tunisia
When we talk about African countries that feel pretty “western”, Tunisia is one that always pops up pretty quickly. It’s not as much of a culture shock to go to Tunisia as a non-African and its HDI of .74 is mostly backed up by its booming economy due to being a very popular tourist destination.
Libya
Libya has never really been seen as one of the more developed countries in Africa, mostly because of their severe history with war. Back in the 1950’s their average life expectancy was only slightly over 50 years old, but this has now steadily increased to more normal numbers. Their economy has also been steadily growing over the years, leading to a HDI of .724.
Mauritius
Mauritius is the highest scoring country in Africa with a HDI of .804. Despite this number being pretty high and the highest in the continent, the country only ranks 66th globally. One of the biggest reasons for its high development index are the literacy rate of over 90% and the fact that they have free education and healthcare.
Algeria
Algeria is scoring pretty high on the HDI with a score of .748, which is mostly due to its life expectancy. At a whopping 76,3 years old on average, this is the highest number in the entire continent.
Seychelles
This group of islands is mostly known for being a true tax paradise for the mega rich. Their HDI lands at .796 which makes it the second most developed country in Africa, only slightly behind Mauritius. Naturally due to how nice it is if you’re rich, the economy in this country is an amazingly high factor in their HDI score.
South Africa
Birthplace of the lovely Charlize Theron, South Africa is also a country on this list that’s mostly known as a very popular tourist spot. Their HDI of .709 can mostly be found there. Have you tried booking one of those trips to South-Africa? They’re ridiculously expensive!
Botswana
Botswana boasts a somewhat surprising HDI of .735, putting them right in the top 5 of the African continent. Their population and economy are steadily growing, and they have one of the least densily populated countries in the world. Botswana is still heavily hit by the HIV/AIDS disease and currently about a quarter of their population is estimated to be infected by the virus. The country is the most developed one of the sub-sahara countries though.
Egypt
The last one on this list is Egypt, which has a pretty similar pattern to all the other countries on this list. The HDI is .707, but both their economy and population are steadily rising. Their life expectancy is slightly over 73 years old, but they still only have a 72% literacy rate. If they improve on that, certainly their HDI can increase even more!
