African Industrialization Index (AII) 2023: South Africa leads the index

The African Industrialization Index (AII) is an AfDB initiative to strengthen data on Africa’s industrial development.

The AII, which covers 52 of 54 African countries over the 2010-2021 period, reviews each country’s industrial development across three dimensions: manufacturing sector performance, direct determinants of manufacturing output (capital and labor), and indirect determinants or the enabling environment, including macroeconomic stability and the quality of policies and institutions.

According to the report, South Africa, which ranks first in the Index, has maintained a very high ranking throughout the 2010-2021 period, followed closely by Morocco, which ranks second. Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritius, and Eswatini round out the top six over the period.

The report also notes that many countries have made significant progress in industrial development during the period under review (2010-2021). 37 of the 52 African countries have seen their level of industrialization increase over the past 11 years.