Morocco Strengthens Its Position as an Economic and Logistical Power in Africa
The French magazine “Jeune Afrique” has revealed a ranking of the top 20 performing African countries, with Morocco coming in third after South Africa and Egypt. The ranking employed an innovative methodology focusing on three main pillars: governance (accounting for 50% of the score), influence, and innovation, moving beyond traditional approaches that rely solely on GDP or human development indices.
The report clarified that Morocco’s third-place ranking was not surprising, highlighting the transformation the kingdom has undergone over recent decades to become a commercial, logistical, and financial hub. This transformation has been supported by factors such as the Tangier-Mediterranean Port, one of the largest ports in Africa and the Mediterranean. The report emphasized that the monarchy endows Morocco with legitimacy and stability, enabling long-term reform planning despite existing social challenges.
The report spotlighted Morocco’s advanced infrastructure, including high-speed rail, airports, and tram networks in major cities. It noted that leading Moroccan companies like the OCP Group, Attijariwafa Bank, Bank of Africa, and Maroc Telecom benefit from ambitious economic and political diplomacy, allowing them to expand both south of the Sahara and beyond.
The OCP Group was cited as a prominent example of a successful public company that has transformed Morocco’s phosphate reserves into an integrated system, which includes Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, with expansions into areas such as artificial intelligence, hospitality, and football, making it a key player in the national development strategy.
Morocco was listed among countries that have improved their macroeconomic frameworks, alongside Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Rwanda, which have seen sustainable growth supported by above-average institutions.
The report affirmed that South Africa topped the ranking due to its superiority in innovation and influence, despite its relative weaknesses in governance. Egypt came in second, closely following Morocco, benefiting from its strengths in influence and innovation, even amid economic and administrative challenges affecting its governance evaluation.
The report explained that the governance pillar encompasses the monitoring of democratic standards, respect for the rule of law, and the effectiveness of economic policies, constituting 50% of the overall evaluation. It relies on data such as GDP per capita growth, foreign direct investment flows, the rule of law index, and the corruption perception index.
The influence pillar includes diplomatic indicators like the number of embassies and troops in peacekeeping missions, along with cultural and sporting prestige such as the number of prominent African artists and instances of hosting the Africa Cup of Nations, in addition to tourist numbers.
The innovation pillar measures education quality according to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, the number of patents, and the funding received by entrepreneurs and national startups.
