NIGERIA now ranks among the 15 worst countries across a range of metrics in the latest Legatum Prosperity Index.
The worst 15 on the list of 110 countries assessed included 12 African countries: Tanzania, Rwanda, Cameroon, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Central African Republic, which ranked last on the list.
On a positive note, however, the report says African citizens are among the most optimistic in the world for entrepreneurship. Yet, this resource remains underutilised because of various constraints, most notably poor infrastructure
The index ranks the world’s countries according to economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom and social capital.
Topping the list last year were Norway, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Switzerland, Netherlands and the United States.
In the rear, demarcated in red on the index, were mainly African countries.
The Prosperity Index finds that most African citizens believe they can get ahead by working hard, and that the area in which they live is good for starting anew.
In the Central African Republic, for example, less than one quarter of citizens have access to adequate food and shelter. But despite these difficult circumstances, 94 per cent of the citizens still express faith in the rewards of hard work.
However, despite ranking highly on some subjective variables, the majority of African countries rank at the bottom of the Entrepreneurship & Opportunity sub-index.
And while several countries in the region have shown robust per capita growth rates, the full potential of African entrepreneurs has yet to be unleashed.
Naturally, the world looks for exceptions to this rule, and in recent years, Botswana has emerged as a possible model of what sustained African prosperity might look like.
Botswana has a remarkably high penetration of mobile phones: over 96 per 100 persons, significantly more than the regional average of 41.
This report notes that this figure is striking because 21st-century economic growth is associated with improvements in communications infrastructure.
The Prosperity Index also shows that mobile phone ownership is linked to higher levels of entrepreneurship and opportunity.
Throughout the sub-Saharan region, cellular telephone subscriptions have skyrocketed from less than two per 100 people in 2000 to over 40 in 2009.
This upsurge has conferred many benefits on African citizens and businesses, from rural farmers being able to find commodity prices in different locations, to remote villagers becoming adept at ‘mobile banking.’
But this is not the whole picture. In the case of Botswana, the advantage conferred by widespread mobile usage is offset by the disadvantage imposed by high transportation costs: U.S.$3,200 is the average cost per shipping container, more than twice the Index average (U.S.$1,400).
Despite the headline-grabbing growth of Africa’s communications infrastructure, the less trendy physical infrastructure of roads, railways, airports, and harbours lag far behind.
Indeed, in some countries, there are fewer paved roads than there were 30 years ago. A World Bank study has also shown that a 10 per cent drop in transport costs could increase trade by 25 per cent.
For these reasons, Ghana may be better positioned than Botswana to provide a model of sustained economic growth in Africa.
According to the World Bank, Ghana is projected to be the fastest growing economy in sub-Saharan Africa, despite Ghana having only 63 mobile phones per 100 persons.
The cost of moving goods from point A to point B, however, is lower in Ghana than any other sub-Saharan African country, at a cost of U.S.$1,100 per container, which is below the global average.
The report concludes this may be why Ghana is the most optimistic about entrepreneurship of all 110 countries in the Index.