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Indicators · Governance

Voice and accountability

Perceptions of how far citizens can choose their government, and of freedom of expression, association and the media, as a score from 0 (weakest) to 100 (strongest).

Why it matters

Tends to predict how peacefully power changes hands and how predictable policy is after elections.

Read with care

Perception-based. 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.

Voice: highest in South Africa, lowest in Eswatini

Voice and accountability, score (0 to 100). Latest year available, 2025. 16 of 16 countries have data.

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Source: World Bank· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

Ranked: voiceiWhy it mattersTends to predict how peacefully power changes hands and how predictable policy is after elections.

Click a country to highlight it.

020406080South Africa70Seychelles70Mauritius69Botswana65Namibia65Lesotho60Malawi58Zambia52Madagascar46Tanzania43Mozambique41Angola39Comoros38DRC36Zimbabwe34Eswatini31median 49
dotzedw Insights Centre
How spread out SADC is
Median 49Lowest: Eswatini 31Highest: South Africa 70

Over time

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Voice and accountability 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.

020406080$1,000$3,000$10kGDP per person, US$ (log scale)VoiceDRCTanzaniaSouth AfricaAngolaMadagascarMalawiZambiaZimbabwe
Source: World Bank, World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Table

The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.
RankCountryValueYearFive-year changeGradeDetails
1South Africa702025up 2 since 2020A
2Seychelles702025up 1 since 2020A
3Mauritius692025up 1 since 2020A
4Botswana652025little changed since 2020A
5Namibia652025down 2 since 2020A
6Lesotho602025up 3 since 2020A
7Malawi582025little changed since 2020A
8Zambia522025up 3 since 2020A
9Madagascar462025down 5 since 2020A
10Tanzania432025down 2 since 2020A
11Mozambique412025down 7 since 2020A
12Angola392025down 3 since 2020A
13Comoros382025little changed since 2020A
14DRC362025little changed since 2020A
15Zimbabwe342025down 3 since 2020A
16Eswatini312025down 2 since 2020A