The December 2022 World Cup in Qatar had a major impact on Morocco’s global image after it became the first African country to qualify for the semi-finals. From Africa to the Arab world, France, Europe, the United States, Latin America, Australia and Japan, the global media cast a spotlight on the courageous and talented underdog team that knocked heavyweights like Spain and Portugal out of the competition.
Nearly 30 years after the genocide, the “land of a thousand hills” is almost everywhere, including on the Arsenal and PSG clubs’ jerseys emblazoned with the slogan “Visit Rwanda”. The country has rolled out its communication and development model even with modest means. Under the iron-fisted leadership of Paul Kagame, the former military leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, the tiny, overcrowded nation (13.5 million people, 26,300 km2) has become a tech hub by luring investors, entrepreneurs and start-ups with administrative incentives, tax breaks and five-year plans. “Work hard until it hurts, because poverty hurts even more,” the president likes to say.
Three decades after the end of apartheid, South Africa is in deep crisis, plagued by power outages, corruption, poor governance, crime and other scourges. And yet the African National Congress (ANC), which will almost certainly remain in power for the foreseeable future because of demographics and the fragmentation of the opposition, seems frozen in time.
With its oceanfront capital, mild climate and friendly people, Senegal is the land of teranga, the land of welcome, open to the world. Its enormous historical and cultural assets range from the island of Gorée embodying the poignant, universal memory of slavery to the aura of statesman, poet and writer Léopold Sédar Senghor.
Kenya is a vibrant democracy, a technological powerhouse, a tourist destination, and a diplomatic force. Like Djibouti, it seeks to become a rock of stability in a turbulent region by adopting a good neighbor policy. The country has had no major armed conflicts since independence.
Egypt’s banknotes proudly display it dual heritage: one side pictures a mosque and the other an ancient monument. Cairo has been a beacon in the Arab world for a thousand years, notably thanks to Al-Azhar University. Despite security issues, Egypt, also known as Oum El Dounia, “the mother of the world”, and its pharaonic heritage remain a tourism powerhouse (over 10 million visitors in 2022).
With 219 million people, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country. And the leading economic power in volume, just ahead of South Africa and Egypt. The continent’s second-largest oil producer, with 36 states, 250 ethnic groups and an infinite underground wealth.
It all starts with Abidjan, one of the continent’s few Afro-global cities and a crossroads of different cultures. A melting pot of Ivorians themselves, of emigrants coming from the neighboring countries and also further away, Europe, Middle East, Asia…
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the continent’s second largest country and the most populous in the French-speaking world. Often described as a geological scandal, its soil is bursting with under- or poorly exploited precious minerals.
Ethiopia, the only African country that was never subjugated to colonial rule, is a “free land” with a very long history. It ranks among the oldest continuously operating states in the world. Its emperors saw themselves as the descendants of the Bible’s King David (which led to their deification by the Rastafarians) until the last one, Haile Selassie, who was toppled in 1974.
At 67 kilometers long and 46 wide, Mauritius is one of Africa’s smallest states. And one of the richest. Praised for its successful response to Covid 19, which came at the cost of severe lockdowns and a temporary scuttling of the tourist industry, the island nation can consider itself miraculous. Visitors are flocking back to its awe-inspiring landscapes and high-end hotels.
