Morocco tops Africa’s industrialization ranking for first time

Abidjan, Ivory Coast – Morocco has topped the African industrialization index for the first time, dethroning South Africa—the previous leader since 2010—according to a new report by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The AfDB’s 2025 African Industrialization Index ranked Morocco at 0.8415 points, just ahead of South Africa’s 0.8396. The bank attributed Morocco’s rise to sustained industrial upgrades, export diversification, and effective implementation of strategic industrial policies.

South Africa remains one of the continent’s leading industrial economies, but its score has gradually declined over the long term, from 0.8819 in 2010 to 0.8396 in 2024.

The index measures industrialization across three dimensions: industrial performance; direct drivers such as investment, infrastructure, education, and access to finance; and indirect factors including the business environment, rule of law, public debt, and inflation.

Arab nations dominate the top ranks

Egypt ranked third in Africa with 0.7827 points, followed by Tunisia with 0.7760. Algeria came sixth with 0.6661, bringing the total number of Arab countries in the top six to four.

The report describes Morocco, South Africa, Egypt, and Tunisia as Africa’s industrial “big four,” maintaining a significant gap over most other economies on the continent. Mauritius placed fifth, followed by Algeria, Eswatini, Senegal, Namibia, and Ivory Coast to complete the top ten.

North Africa remained the most industrialized region in 2024 with a score of 0.6891, surpassing Southern Africa’s 0.5850. Central, West, and East Africa followed in order.

Most North African countries scored above the continental average, except Libya and Mauritania, which fall into the medium and low-medium industrialization groups, respectively.

Uneven industrial progress

Despite Morocco’s rise and improvements recorded in many countries, the report says industrialization across Africa continues to progress slowly and unevenly.

Forty-one of 54 African countries improved their scores between 2010 and 2024, but only 24 improved their rankings, while five held steady.

The continental average industrialization score rose from 0.5134 in 2010 to 0.5445 in 2024—a 6% increase. The country-level average score rose 6.4% over the same period.

Africa’s manufacturing value added (MVA) increased from $285 billion in 2020 to $351 billion in 2025. However, the continent still accounts for less than 2% of global manufacturing output and only 1.4% of global manufactured exports.

Per capita MVA in Africa reached $226.7 in 2025, still below the 2014 peak of $254.9.

Weak regional integration

The report links Africa’s weak industrial growth to fragmented markets and limited regional integration.

Intra-African trade accounted for only 14.4% of the continent’s total trade from 2022 to 2024, compared with 60% in Asia and 57% in Europe.

According to the AfDB, challenges go beyond tariffs to include non-tariff barriers, poor infrastructure, differences in technical standards and regulations, and underdeveloped regional value chains—all of which limit African firms’ ability to scale production across borders.

The bank argues that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could become a major driver of regional industrialization if the continent shifts from “integrating to trade” to “integrating to produce” by linking infrastructure, industrial policy, investment, and regional value chains.

The AfDB estimates that effective implementation of the AfCFTA could increase Africa’s income by about 7% by 2035 and generate up to $450 billion in additional value added.

Intra-African trade is also forecast to rise by 60% for agricultural and food products, 48% for manufactured goods, and 34% for services by 2045.