Top 10 Most Developed Countries in Africa

Africa is the continent where humanity started, and it has seen powerful kingdoms like Ancient Egypt and the Mali Empire. But in recent centuries, as Western nations gained power, they started colonizing African countries which stopped the improvement of African people.

After the colonization era came to an end in Africa, all the African nations started improving and becoming more advance, but each country had its own pace. Some of the African nations are still in need of international help to stand on their own feet, while some of them could rise at a faster rate and build developed cities in Africa.

Human Development Index is a project by the United Nations that reports the development of 189 countries in the world, choosing three key components of human development, longevity (later changed to “Long and healthy life”), knowledge, and decent living standards. After considering all of the factors and comparing them all with each other, they give each country a value. A value above 0.800 is classified as very high, between 0.700 and 0.799 high, 0.550 to 0.699 as medium, and anything below 0.550 as low.

In this post, we’ll talk about the top 10 most developed countries in Africa.

1- Mauritius

Human Development Index: 0.804

Mauritius is an island country in East Africa that gained its independence in 1968 from the United Kingdom. Ever since, the Mauritian economy has been expanding every year, making Mauritius the most stable and safest economy in Africa.

One of the key challenges of Mauritius is reducing income-based inequality, which has been on the rise as the economy progresses. However, Mauritius is the most developed country in Africa

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2- Seychelles

Human Development Index: 0.796

Being only a 2.5 hours flight away from Mauritius, Seychelles is another island country in East Africa. It gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1976 and followed the same pattern as Mauritius.

Having one of the most stable economies in Africa, Seychellois’s only issue is that the country’s economy relies heavily on tourism. The government is trying to take this burden off of its economy’s shoulders by creating new kinds of foreign investments in Seychelles.

Seychelles is recognized as the second-most developed country in Africa.

3- Tunisia

Human Development Index: 0.740

Being the only democratic Arab country in the world, Tunisia is an African country located in North Africa. Tunisia had a turbulent recent history, but it started recovering in recent years which has helped its economy tremendously. Tunisia’s economy mostly relies on tourism, agriculture, and electrical and mechanical exports.

The main challenge for Tunisia’s economy is dealing with about 30% of the population leaving under the poverty line.

Tunisia is the third-most developed country in Africa.

4- Botswana

Human Development Index: 0.735

Botswana is a role model for other African nations, because of its success of rising from the ashes of the colonial era after gaining its independence from Britain in 1966. Botswana is known as the “Switzerland of Africa” because of its stability and democratic governing system. It is the second-most democratic country in Africa after Mauritius and is proudly thriving more every single year.

The main challenge that Botswana has to deal with is its relatively high percentage of unemployment.

Thanks to its democracy, Botswana is one of the most developed countries in Africa.

5- Libya

Human Development Index: 0.724

Libya was on a fast track to becoming a large oil exporter in the world. The government’s international relations were improving as well, but since the Arab uprising, Libya has been dealing with a civil crisis. Over the past years, cumulative inflation has pushed a good number of Libyan households into poverty, as many lost almost 80 percent of their purchasing power.

But all of these problems didn’t stop Libya to make its way to the list of top most developed countries in Africa.

6- South Africa

Human Development Index: 0.709

South Africa has a mature highly developed economy and infrastructure. This nation has developed cities, democratic rules, and a fabulous transportation system. But in recent years, the economic growth has slowed down and the government is trying to find a solution for income inequality in South Africa because this country has one of the highest inequality rates in the world.

7- Gabon

Human Development Index: 0.703

Gabon is one of the most educated and most urbanized countries in Africa. This country is the fifth-largest oil producer in Africa which makes about half of its GDP, but since there’s a decline in its oil industry, the Gabonese government has started making progress in its private sector as an alternative for oil. And the process has been successful so far. Gabon is the seventh-most developed country in Africa.

8- Morocco

Human Development Index: 0.686

Morocco is a North African country with a solid and versatile economy. This country has had massive booming in different sections of its economy. Morocco has some of the most developed and charming cities in Africa that attract millions of tourists to themselves each year.

Morocco is one of the most developed countries in Africa.

9- Cape Verde

Human Development Index: 0.665

Cape Verde is an island country in the central Atlantic Ocean, which still classifies it as an African nation. Cape Verde is one of the few countries in the world that has had no indigenous residents. The country was discovered by Europeans and has been inhabited by both Europeans (mostly Portuguese) and Africans. Cape Verde is a major tourist hub for winter sun holidaymakers from Europe and is considered one of the most developed countries in Africa.

10- Namibia

Human Development Index: 0.646

Being the only German-speaking country in Africa, Namibia is located on South West side of the continent, featuring some of the most beautiful natural views in the world. Namibia has gained its independence in 1990 from South Africa and has been on the railway of improvement ever since. Some parts of Namibian cities look like Germany because it was a German colony. Namibia is the tenth-most developed country in Africa.