Morocco, South Africa and Egypt remain Africa’s leading industrial economies, while DRC, Djibouti and Gabon recorded the largest gains in industrial competitiveness between 2010 and 2025.
Africa’s industrial landscape is becoming more differentiated, with a small group of economies continuing to anchor the continent’s manufacturing base while a second tier records rapid gains in industrial competitiveness.
Based on the 2025 edition of the African Development Bank’s Africa Industrialisation Index, Morocco ranked as Africa’s highest-performing industrial economy in 2025, overtaking South Africa for the first time, reflecting strengthening manufacturing capabilities, export integration and industrial diversification. South Africa and Egypt remained among the continent’s largest and most industrially developed economies, while Tunisia also continued to perform strongly relative to its economic size, followed by Mauritius and Algeria.
Several smaller and lower-ranked economies recorded some of the largest improvements in industrial competitiveness between 2010 and 2025. The DRC, Djibouti and Gabon posted the strongest ranking gains, supported by expanding infrastructure, industrial investment, trade integration and resource-linked industrial activity. Benin, Mauritania, Somalia, Senegal and Rwanda also continued to improve steadily, reflecting broader industrial and manufacturing development across parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.
These trends point to a more geographically diverse African industrial landscape, with new industrial hubs gradually emerging alongside the continent’s established manufacturing economies.
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