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.
It may be surprising to find this immense desert nation, one of the world’s poorest countries, on our list. Despite being under a constant security threat, this country bordering Mali and Burkina Faso (the infamous "three borders" region) is the last truly civilian regime in the G5 Sahel.
Wedged between Togo and Nigeria and led by a "boss-president", Benin has set the bar high. Despite the Covid 19 pandemic, it has maintained brisk growth rates and a genuine desire to modernize its economy.
To exist you must seduce! Which African countries project soft power, generate a positive, attractive image or position themselves as key players? Here is our, admittedly, subjective and evolving list of the top 15.
It may be surprising to see Tunisia in our ranking. The political and economic crisis is now coupled with a migratory one with the brutal rejection of sub-Saharan migrants who are in the country illegally. The official image of Tunisia, the cradle of the Arab Spring, is deteriorating.
