Ethiopia ranks joint 30th among Africa’s 54 countries in the 2026 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, with improvements in economic opportunity and human development partly offset by a deterioration in security and the rule of law.
The country scored 48.4 out of 100 for Overall Governance in 2025, below the continental average of 50.1 but above the East African average of 47.5. Its overall score improved by 1.8 points between 2016 and 2025, according to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s country profile.
Despite that decade-long improvement, the foundation placed Ethiopia in its “Warning Signs” trend category. Ethiopia shares 30th place with Zimbabwe, which follows a different trajectory classified as “Increasing Improvement”.
Released on October 31, the 2026 index assesses governance performance over the decade from 2016 to 2025 across four categories: Security & Rule of Law; Participation, Rights & Inclusion; Foundations for Economic Opportunity; and Human Development.
Foundations for Economic Opportunity was Ethiopia’s strongest-performing category, scoring 54.5 out of 100 in 2025 after gaining 4.8 points over the decade. Human Development scored 53.6, an improvement of 1.8 points.
Participation, Rights & Inclusion also improved over the full period, rising by 2.7 points to 41.5. It nevertheless remained Ethiopia’s lowest-scoring category.
Security & Rule of Law moved in the opposite direction, falling by 2.4 points to 43.8. The decline constrained the country’s overall progress, illustrating the uneven performance behind its aggregate score.
The findings distinguish between Ethiopia’s position in 2025 and its progress over the preceding decade: the country recorded a net improvement in Overall Governance, but its score remained below the African average and its trend carried the foundation’s warning classification.
Within East Africa, Ethiopia ranked below Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, which placed 10th, 14th, 18th and 28th respectively. It ranked above Djibouti in 35th place, Eritrea in 51st, Sudan in 52nd, Somalia in 53rd and South Sudan in 54th.
The rankings also show that a country’s current position does not necessarily reflect the direction of its governance performance. South Sudan, despite ranking last, was classified as showing “Increasing Improvement”, while fifth-ranked South Africa was classified as experiencing “Increasing Deterioration”.
Across Africa, the foundation reported slight improvement in Overall Governance over the decade, driven primarily by economic opportunity and human development. Foundations for Economic Opportunity improved in 44 countries, home to 68 per cent of the continent’s population.
Infrastructure recorded the largest improvement among the index’s 16 subcategories, advancing in 52 countries—all except Nigeria and Gambia. The gains were led by mobile connectivity and improved access to energy and the internet.
However, Security & Rule of Law deteriorated in 34 countries, while Participation, Rights & Inclusion declined in 31 countries. These countries account for 78 per cent and 60 per cent of Africa’s population respectively.
Mo Ibrahim, the foundation’s founder and chair, warned that economic and social progress could not sustainably substitute for stronger institutions and security.
“Economic and social gains will not last, and will anyway always be weaker, without progress in security, rule of law and participation,” he said.
The index draws on 96 indicators using data from 51 African and international sources. The foundation cautions against comparing results directly across different editions because its datasets are continually updated; historical changes should instead be assessed within the same edition.
