By Ilyes Zouari, President of CERMF (Circle of Study and Reflection on the Francophone World).
According to the latest ranking by the African Development Bank, Senegal and Ivory Coast are the most industrialized countries in the ECOWAS region, and the only representatives of West Africa in the top 10 in Africa. They surpass Nigeria and Ghana by a wide margin, and also outperform all countries in continental East Africa. This performance is the result of a more favorable business, investment, and industrialization environment.
In its latest report on industrialization in Africa, published on May 24 and entitled “Industrialization Index in Africa, 2025,” the African Development Bank (AfDB) ranks Senegal and Ivory Coast in eighth and tenth place, respectively, in the continental ranking with scores of 0.6368 and 0.6173 points.
Senegal and Ivory Coast, West African champions of industrialization
These two countries are the only representatives of West Africa among the ten most industrialized countries on the continent. They significantly surpass Nigeria and Ghana, which rank third and fourth regionally, respectively, but are 14th and 18th on the continental level. Furthermore, they also surpass all countries in East Africa, excluding island states, by ranking ahead of Kenya (11th), the most industrialized country in the region, and far ahead of Tanzania (23rd), Ethiopia (31st), or Rwanda (32nd).
Nigeria and Ghana are followed by Benin and Togo, two other UEMOA member countries, ranked 24th and 25th on the continental level (roughly at the same level as Tanzania, and also ahead of Ethiopia). Non-members of ECOWAS, Mauritania, Mali, and Burkina Faso follow at 34th, 35th, and 36th continental positions. They precede Cape Verde (37th) and Niger (40th), which has also recently left ECOWAS.
The five lowest West African positions are occupied by Guinea (41st), Liberia (42nd), Sierra Leone (45th), Gambia (50th), and Guinea-Bissau (51st). Therefore, no French-speaking country is among the four least industrialized countries in ECOWAS and West Africa.
At the continental level, North Africa remains the most industrialized region (with four representatives in the top 10, including three Francophone countries), ahead of Southern Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, and finally East Africa. The latter alone concentrates five of the ten least industrialized countries on the continent, such as South Sudan, a country producing a significant amount of oil and ranked 53rd and second to last in the ranking (just ahead of Sao Tome and Principe, a tiny Lusophone island state in Central Africa).
East Africa also remains the poorest part of the continent, continuing to display the lowest levels of GDP per capita. For example, only two countries in continental East Africa exceed the $1,500 per capita mark (Djibouti and Kenya), compared to no less than six in continental West Africa (including five Francophone countries). This makes it all the more remarkable that Francophone West Africa is regularly the most dynamic region on the continent, with an annual growth rate of 5.6% over the 12-year period from 2014 to 2025, compared to only 4.1% for Anglophone East Africa, which is less developed.
Furthermore, the ranking also shows the presence of three non-Francophone countries in West Africa among the ten least industrialized countries on the continent, namely Sierra Leone (45th), Gambia (50th), and Guinea-Bissau (51st). Gambia once again finds itself at the very bottom of the continental ranking, far behind Senegal, which is consistently among the top five in sub-Saharan Africa. The question of the viability of this extremely poor Anglophone country, whose landlocked territory constitutes the largest territorial anomaly on the continent, can therefore be legitimately raised.
A more favorable environment for business and industrial investment
The industrial superiority of Senegal and Ivory Coast in West Africa, as well as compared to countries in East Africa, results from a generally more favorable environment for business and investments, especially industrial. The various economic and monetary policies pursued in recent years have significantly facilitated procedures related to business creation and investment, while controlling inflation and paying particular attention to local processing of raw materials, notably through the multiplication of industrial zones.
For example, Senegal and Ivory Coast are also among the top ten African countries in terms of ease of doing business, according to the latest annual ranking published by the World Bank in December 2025. They are also among the four Francophone West African countries in the top 10, along with Benin and Togo. As for inflation control, Senegal and Ivory Coast have experienced an annual rate of around 2% only over the twelve-year period from 2014 to 2025 (2.2% and 2.1%, respectively), compared to as much as 17.2% and 16.6% for Ghana and Nigeria, which have also suffered significant currency depreciations.
Furthermore, Ivory Coast and Senegal stand out in the fight against corruption. Indeed, according to the latest annual ranking published by Transparency International and considered authoritative in this field, Senegal is the least affected by corruption in continental West Africa (65th globally), ahead of Benin (70th) and Ivory Coast (76th). Ghana also shows a good score by ranking at the same level as Ivory Coast (76th as well), while Nigeria is far behind, at the 142nd global position (similar to Kenya, 130th).
The various policies and reforms implemented by Senegal and Ivory Coast have therefore created a generally more favorable environment for economic development. This reality has been reflected in the fact that these two countries achieved an annual growth rate of 6.3% and 5.5%, respectively, over the period 2014-2025, compared to 4.3% for Ghana and only 1.9% for Nigeria.
It is worth noting that sub-Saharan Francophone Africa is generally the most dynamic part of the continent, achieving the highest economic growth rate in 2025 for the twelfth consecutive year, with an annual progression of 4.1% over the period 2014-2025, compared to only 2.1% for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, it recorded an annual inflation rate of only 4.2% (and even 2.3% in the CFA zone), compared to as much as 19.8%.
Additionally, Francophone Africa, including the Maghreb, is generally the most industrialized part of the continent, with six Francophone countries among the ten most industrialized countries according to the latest AfDB ranking. The ranking is dominated by Francophone Morocco, with only one Francophone country among the six least well-ranked countries.
However, while significant progress has been made, there is still a long way to go to catch up with the economic and industrial lag of the continent compared to the rest of the world. Today, according to the AfDB, Africa accounts for only 2% of global manufacturing production and 1.4% of exports in this area. However, the gradual implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to accelerate the industrialization of the continent. Furthermore, the considerable increase in Asian production costs in recent years is likely to greatly enhance Africa’s competitiveness and attractiveness as a supplier of manufactured products, especially towards the huge European market.
This evolution will soon offer great opportunities to the continent, as already seen with Benin, which is beginning to compete with China and Bangladesh in the textile sector. African countries will therefore need to continue their efforts in good governance, improving the business climate, developing infrastructure, and human resources to be able to seize the many and enormous opportunities that will arise.
