Top 10 most developed countries in Africa based on latest stats

For a country to be classified as “developed”, it must meet certain standards and posses specific, necessary features. Chief among these features is obviously the availability of modern infrastructure such as good roads, housing, stable electricity, telecommunication infrastructure, hospitals etc.

Beyond these, other important factors are also considered. These include how highly functional and stable the government is, the availability of good jobs, accessibility of health and social services, personal freedom, highly effective educational system and more.

Over the years, the United Nation’s Human Development Index (HDI) has become the most widely used and universally agreed tool for measuring different countries’ developing status. According to the United Nations Development Programme, “the HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone.”

Some of the key indicators tracked by the HDI are: life expectancy rate, adult literacy rate, access to the internet and income inequality. According to World Population Review, these indicators are all compiled into a number between 0.00 and 1.00.

Countries that score very low on these indicators (0-0.55) are classified as having low human development ratio. The ones that score between 0.55 to 0.70 are classified as medium human development countries while those with scores of between 0.70 and 0.80 are classified to have high human development ratio. Meanwhile, countries with high human development ratios score between 0.80-1.0.

Based on the latest Human Development Index dated December 2020, these are the top 10 most developed African countries. Do note that African countries usually rank low, compared to the global average. For instance, Mauritius, which is ranked as the most development country in Africa, ranked 66 out of 189 countries in the world.

Mauritius: This island country has an HDI ranking of 0.804. .
Seychelles: This is yet another island African country with a high HDI ranking of 0..796.
Algeria: This Northern African country has an HDI of 0.748.
Tunisia: Tunisia has an HDI ranking of 0.740.
Botswana: The fifth most developed country in Africa is Botswana with an HDI ranking of 0.735.
Libya: Libya’s HDI stands at 0.724, according to UN’s latest HDI ranking.
South Africa: This country has an HDI ranking of 0.709, thus taking the position for the 7th most developed country in Africa.
Egypt: Egypt comes in at 8th position with an HDI ranking of 0.707.
Gabon: In the 9th position, we have Gabon with an HDI ranking of 0.703.
Morocco: Lastly, Morocco has an HDI ranking of 0.686.