Morocco Surpasses South Africa in Industrialisation Ranking
In a groundbreaking development for the continent, Morocco has achieved the top position in Africa's Industrialisation Index for the first time, surpassing South Africa, which had maintained this leading role since 2010. This significant change is detailed in a recent report published by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The 2025 Africa Industrialisation Index awarded Morocco a score of 0.8415 points, closely followed by South Africa with a score of 0.8396 points. The AfDB attributes Morocco's rise to a combination of sustained industrial enhancements, diversification of exports, and the effective execution of strategic industrial policies. South Africa, despite its robust industrial economy, has experienced a gradual decline in industrial competitiveness over the years, with its score dropping from 0.8819 points in 2010 to 0.8396 points in 2024.
The index evaluates industrialisation based on three core aspects: industrial performance, direct contributors such as investment, infrastructure, education, and access to finance, as well as indirect factors that encompass the business environment, rule of law, public debt, and inflation. Following Morocco and South Africa, Egypt secured the third position in the rankings with a score of 0.7827, while Tunisia followed closely with a score of 0.7760. Algeria, with a score of 0.6661, rounded off the top six, highlighting the strong industrial presence of four Arab countries within this elite group.
Continued Challenges in Africa's Industrial Growth
The report further emphasizes the distinction of Morocco, South Africa, Egypt, and Tunisia as Africa's leading industrial quartet, significantly outpacing most other economies on the continent. Mauritius, Algeria, Eswatini, Senegal, Namibia, and Ivory Coast complete the top ten industrial economies in Africa. Notably, North Africa retained its status as the most industrialised region in 2024, with a score of 0.6891, outperforming Southern Africa, which scored 0.5850. However, despite Morocco's ascent and various improvements across several nations, the report paints a sobering picture of the overall pace of industrialisation across Africa, noting that it remains slow and inconsistent.
While 41 out of the 54 African countries reported an improvement in their scores between 2010 and 2024, only 24 saw an advancement in their rankings, with five countries maintaining their positions. The continental average industrialisation score has increased from 0.5134 in 2010 to 0.5445 in 2024, marking a modest 6 percent rise. Furthermore, Africa's manufacturing value added (MVA) has escalated from $285 billion in 2020 to $351 billion by 2025. Nevertheless, the continent still contributes less than 2 percent to the global manufacturing output and only 1.4 percent of global manufactured exports, underscoring the challenges it faces in the industrial sector.
The report attributes Africa's lethargic industrial growth to fragmented markets and limited regional integration. Intra-African trade constituted merely 14.4 percent of the continent's total trade between 2022 and 2024, starkly contrasting with 60 percent in Asia and 57 percent in Europe. The AfDB highlights that the challenges extend beyond mere tariff barriers to encompass non-tariff barriers, inadequate infrastructure, varying technical and regulatory standards, and underdeveloped regional value chains, all of which inhibit African firms from scaling production across borders effectively.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is posited as a potential catalyst for regional industrialisation, provided that the continent transitions from 'integration for trade' to 'integration for production.' This shift would entail the linking of infrastructure, industrial policy, investment, and regional value chains. The AfDB projects that effective implementation of the AfCFTA could uplift African incomes by approximately 7 percent by 2035 and generate an additional $450 billion in value. Additionally, intra-African trade is anticipated to surge by 60 percent in agricultural and food products, 48 percent in manufacturing, and 34 percent in services by 2045.
As reported by aljazeera.com.
