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Indicators · Governance

Government effectiveness

Perceptions of the quality of public services, the civil service and policy delivery, as a score from 0 (weakest) to 100 (strongest).

Why it matters

Weak delivery shows up as slow permits, unreliable utilities and policy reversals that delay projects.

Read with care

Perception-based and updated yearly with a lag. The World Bank now publishes these indicators as a 0 to 100 score rather than a percentile rank, so compare scores with scores.

Source

World Bank

score (0 to 100). 54 African countries, 1996 to 2025.

Gov. effectiveness: highest in Mauritius, lowest in DRC

Government effectiveness, score (0 to 100). Latest year available, 2025. 16 of 16 countries have data.

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No data
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Source: World Bank· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

Ranked: gov. effectivenessiWhy it mattersWeak delivery shows up as slow permits, unreliable utilities and policy reversals that delay projects.

Click a country to highlight it.

0204060Mauritius70Seychelles68Botswana61Namibia54South Africa52Tanzania47Zambia44Malawi40Lesotho39Angola38Mozambique36Eswatini35Madagascar34Zimbabwe34Comoros29DRC18median 40
dotzedw Insights Centre
How spread out SADC is
Median 40Lowest: DRC 18Highest: Mauritius 70

Over time

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Government effectiveness against income per person

Each bubble is a SADC country, sized by population. Dashed lines mark the SADC medians. Countries far from the pattern are worth a closer look.

010203040506070$1,000$3,000$10kGDP per person, US$ (log scale)Gov. effectivenessDRCTanzaniaSouth AfricaAngolaMozambiqueMalawiZambiaZimbabwe
Source: World Bank, World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Table

The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.
RankCountryValueYearFive-year changeGradeDetails
1Mauritius702025down 2 since 2020A
2Seychelles682025up 5 since 2020A
3Botswana612025little changed since 2020A
4Namibia542025little changed since 2020A
5South Africa522025down 4 since 2020A
6Tanzania472025up 4 since 2020A
7Zambia442025up 7 since 2020A
8Malawi402025little changed since 2020A
9Lesotho392025little changed since 2020A
10Angola382025up 5 since 2020A
11Mozambique362025little changed since 2020A
12Eswatini352025down 4 since 2020A
13Madagascar342025little changed since 2020A
14Zimbabwe342025up 4 since 2020A
15Comoros292025up 3 since 2020A
16DRC182025up 1 since 2020A