Mauritius Leads Africa in Global Capitalism Index

Mauritius has emerged as Africa’s highest-ranked country in the Global Capitalism Index, placing 48th globally in a study of market systems across 161 countries.

Seychelles ranked 50th worldwide, while Botswana took 52nd place, making the three countries the leading African performers in the index.

Assessment of market systems

The index was developed by researchers at the University of Virginia in the United States. It examines economic and institutional conditions and uses data covering the period from 2009 to 2025.

Researchers assess factors including the strength of banking sectors, competition within markets and the extent to which capital and goods can move freely. The index’s approach considers capitalism as an economic system centred on the ability to deploy capital in open markets with limited public and private restrictions.

Other African countries in the top 10

Namibia was ranked 59th globally and was listed among the 10 highest-ranked countries in Africa. Cape-Verde followed in 66th place, while Rwanda ranked 74th and Morocco 85th.

The rankings place Mauritius, Seychelles and Botswana ahead of the other African countries identified among the continent’s top 10.

Global leaders

Switzerland occupied first place in the global ranking. The United States was second and Hong Kong third.

The index is intended to compare the quality of countries’ market systems through a range of economic and institutional indicators, rather than focusing on a single measure of economic performance.