South Africa’s governance performance has continued its troubling decline, dropping to 77th place globally in the latest Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI), as new research reveals Africa remains the worst-performing region worldwide for government effectiveness.
The 2025 CGGI, now in its fifth year, showed South Africa has fallen nine places since 2021 when it ranked 68th, highlighting ongoing challenges in areas such as healthcare, public safety, and unemployment that are preventing citizens from improving their lives.
The comprehensive study, which measures government capabilities across 34 indicators, found that Africa’s average governance score was the lowest among all global regions, painting a stark picture of leadership challenges across the continent.
“As a region, Africa still has significant work to do in improving the quality of governance,” said Dinesh Naidu, a director at the Chandler Institute of Governance.
Despite the continent’s overall poor showing, Mauritius maintained its position as Africa’s top-performing government for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Rwanda and Botswana. Morocco claimed fourth place, pushing South Africa to fifth among African nations.
As a region, Africa still has significant work to do in improving the quality of governance.
Rwanda emerged as a standout performer, earning recognition as the world’s best-performing low-income country, while Botswana has improved its judicial system through digitalisation reforms. Morocco has made significant progress in data transparency and digital infrastructure development.
Only two African countries – Tanzania and Rwanda – managed to improve their governance rankings between 2021 and 2025, underscoring the widespread challenges facing governments across the region.
The index revealed that South Africa’s poorest performance lies in “helping citizens rise,” with the country struggling particularly with healthcare delivery, personal safety, and persistent high unemployment rates.
Income inequality and discrimination against certain groups also continue to drag down the nation’s scores, reflecting ongoing social and economic challenges that have plagued the country for decades.
Financial stewardship emerged as a continent-wide concern, with fiscal constraints and mounting government debt burdens weighing heavily across African nations.
Despite the governance challenges, researchers identified significant opportunities across Africa, particularly given the continent’s demographic advantages.
With 70% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population under 30 years old, governments that can successfully deliver on job creation, education, and inclusive economic growth are positioned to unlock substantial benefits from this youth dividend.
The CGGI adopts a non-ideological approach to measuring governance, focusing on state capabilities and performance across seven key pillars: leadership and foresight, laws and policies, strong institutions, financial stewardship, attractive marketplace, global influence and reputation, and helping people rise.
The findings highlight the urgent need for African governments, including South Africa, to address fundamental governance challenges to improve citizens’ quality of life and unlock the continent’s economic potential.
