IBRAHIM INDEX OF AFRICAN GOVERNANCE (IIAG)

Overview

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) provides a yearly valuation of the quality of governance in 54 African countries. This index is a laudable effort, as it provides a statistical means to measure performance of African countries in governance. IIAG is divided into 4 categories, such as (a) Safety & Rule of Law, (b) Participation & Human Rights, (c) Sustainable Economic Opportunity, and (d) Human Development. These 4 categories are further divided into 14 sub-categories, which comprise of 95 indicators. All these categories, sub-categories and indicators measure one overall governance performance in all African countries. The index covers from 2000 till date.

The data for the index include various sources, such as official data, expert assessments and citizen surveys, provided by over 30 independent global data institutions. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has claimed that IIAG is “the most comprehensive collection of data on African governance.” This claim is yet to be confirmed by experts and researchers.

However, IIAG is an open source index, which means that it is available for download and use free. This is great news, isn’t it? With this index citizens of Africa will be able to see how well or poorly their countries perform in terms of governance indicators; hence will be better equipped to engage the government and politicians, particularly during elections. Thus this will mean better transparency and accountability. Also researchers and policy makers in Africa, and perhaps outside Africa, will have alternative sets of data on African governance that will serve as instruments for decision-making; hence providing governments with better options with which to govern. This will mean better policy-making.

For further information on IIAG, click here.

To download IIAG, click here.