Libya witnesses largest deterioration in governance in Africa over a decade, report

Libya is reported among the worst countries in Africa in 2022 in terms of governance, and ranked at 45 the 2022 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which examined the status of governance across 54 countries in the continent over the past ten years.

The latest report on African governance by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation rates the continent as less secure than it was a decade ago. Africa is considered more vulnerable to the effects of the war in Ukraine.

According to the report, Libya is the African country that witnessed the largest deterioration in governance during the last ten years.

As per the 2022 Ibrahim Index, the country witnessed deterioration across four main categories. In terms of ‘Foundations for Economic Opportunity’, Libya scored 35.7 out of 100, indicating ‘Increasing Deterioration’ as per the the report’s metrics.

For the ‘Human Development’ and ‘Participation, Rights & Inclusion’ categories, Libya scored 45.2 and 29.9 respectively. Both scores indicate ‘Slowing Deterioration’, according to the report’s metrics.

Nevertheless, the 2022 Ibrahim Index reported that security in Libya is improving. The country scored 31.8 out of 100, which is an increase from the last ten years. Therefore, the 2022 Ibrahim Index reported that Libya is ‘Bouncing Back’ when it comes to ‘Security & Rule of Law’.

The index report also stated that job opportunities for young people in Africa are scarce. A total of 12.9% of 15-24-year-olds in Africa are unemployed, almost twice the unemployment rate among those 25 or older (6.7%).

When it comes to Libya, the unemployment rate is 50.0% for young people between the age of 15-24, and 17.1% for people above 25 years of age.

The 2022 Ibrahim Index also measured African countries’s performance in preserving and maintaining sustainable environment. Of the 11 countries deteriorating in sustainable environment over the decade, 3 have declined at a quicker pace since 2017. These include Libya, Burkina Faso and Namibia.

Regarding the urbanization in the continent, despite Libya having the second highest urbanization levels in Africa, it is ranked 51st for affordable urban housing.

Despite often being used as a proxy for development or prosperity, the 2022 Ibrahim Index did not include GDP figures in its assessment.

According to the 2022 Ibrahim Index, the GDP “does not encompass elements of governance such as human rights and civil liberties, key goods citizens demand from governments.”

“Beyond this, it does not always even capture the standards of living as is often assumed because it does not measure patterns of distribution,” according to the index, which cited Libya as an example of this since it’s one of the highest GDP per capita in Africa, but it ranked in the bottom ten in Overall Governance.

“In 2019, 43.9% of Libya’s GDP came from oil rents, more than in any other country globally. More than one quarter of Equatorial Guinea’s GDP came from oil and gas rents in the same year. Oil and gas extraction is often capital intensive, creating few jobs, and is often associated with the so-called ‘resource curse’,” reads the report.

“Both Equatorial Guinea and Libya are among the most corrupt countries in Africa, with the most opaque governments and serious human rights issues,” according to the report. “Both countries also have some of the continent’s weakest public administrations, and poorest business environments.