The Global Economy platform, drawing on data from the Heritage Foundation, a US conservative think tank that develops and promotes right-wing public policies, has published its 2026 global ranking for the Investment Freedom Index.
With a global average of 53 points across 175 countries, the indicator assesses restrictions on investment, including burdensome bureaucracy, restrictions on land ownership, expropriation of investments without fair compensation, foreign exchange controls, capital controls, security problems, and a lack of basic infrastructure for investment.
Luxembourg, Bahrain and Denmark top the global ranking with 95, 90 and 90 points, respectively, while the five lowest-ranked countries worldwide are Iran, Sudan, Eritrea, North Korea and Venezuela. Iran and Sudan each score 5 points, while Eritrea, North Korea and Venezuela score 0. For Africa, we take a closer look at the continental top 20.
Morocco leads a fragmented field
| African rank | Global rank | Country | 2026 Index | Historical average | Recent trend (2019-2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 17th | Morocco | 80 | 68 | Up (65 → 80) |
| 2nd | 36th | Mauritius | 70 | 72 | Down (80 → 70) |
| 3rd | 51st | Burkina Faso | 65 | 61 | Stable (65) |
| 4th | 52nd | Egypt | 65 | 55 | Stable (60 → 65) |
| 5th | 54th | Mali | 65 | 60 | Stable (65) |
| 6th | 62nd | Cape Verde | 60 | 67 | Sharp decline (80 → 60) |
| 7th | 63rd | Chad | 60 | 48 | Stable (60) |
| 8th | 69th | Gabon | 60 | 55 | Stable (60) |
| 9th | 72nd | Ghana | 60 | 58 | Down (70 → 60) |
| 10th | 83rd | Rwanda | 60 | 48 | Stable (60) |
| 11th | 84th | Senegal | 60 | 53 | Stable (60) |
| 12th | 87th | Togo | 60 | 43 | Down (65 → 60) |
| 13th | 93rd | Kenya | 55 | 52 | Stable (55) |
| 14th | 94th | Lesotho | 55 | 45 | Stable (55) |
| 15th | 95th | Liberia | 55 | 43 | Stable (55) |
| 16th | 97th | Niger | 55 | 48 | Stable (55) |
| 17th | 98th | Tanzania | 55 | 54 | Stable (55) |
| 18th | 102nd | Benin | 50 | 54 | Sharp decline (70 → 50) |
| 19th | 103rd | Botswana | 50 | 64 | Sharp decline (65 → 50) |
| 20th | 104th | Burundi | 50 | 47 | Stable (50) |
Sources: The Global Economy and Heritage Foundation.
Morocco ranks 17th worldwide and first in Africa, with an index of 80 points, a historic high for the kingdom. The country profile states: “the latest value for 2026 is 80 points, up from 75 points in 2025.” This progress is all the more notable given that the country scored 65 points between 2019 and 2024. With a historical average of 68 points, Morocco is well above the global average.
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Yet related indicators reveal weaknesses: property rights score just 55 points, the freedom from corruption score stands at 36, and labor freedom at 46. In other words, high investment freedom coexists with an institutional environment that still has room for improvement.
As the Heritage Foundation points out in its definition, “points are deducted from an ideal score of 100 for each restriction found in a country’s investment regime.” Morocco has therefore succeeded in reducing some barriers, but not all of them.
Mauritius ranks 36th worldwide and second in Africa with 70 points. The platform notes that the “latest value for 2026 is 70 points, unchanged from 70 points in 2025,” but the country had scored 80 points between 2019 and 2023. Its historical average of 72 points points to a slight decline.
Yet Mauritius has strong fundamentals: property rights at 84, business freedom at 82, and trade freedom at 87. Its overall economic freedom index stands at 73 points, the highest among the African top 20. This paradox, with investment freedom declining despite a favorable overall environment, suggests that specific restrictions on land, foreign exchange or bureaucracy may have tightened recently.
The AES trio
Burkina Faso (51st worldwide, 65 points), Mali (54th, 65 points) and Niger (97th, 55 points), the three founding members of the Alliance of Sahel States, present worrying profiles. Their investment freedom scores are relatively respectable at 65, 65 and 55, respectively, but their related indicators are alarming.
In Burkina Faso, property rights fall to 18 points, tax freedom to 13, and business freedom to 38. Mali scores 14 points for property rights and 23 for freedom from corruption. Niger, meanwhile, scores just 17 points for property rights and 32 for business freedom.
Investment Freedom vs. Property Rights
| Country | 2026 Investment Index | Property Rights | Freedom from Corruption | Business Freedom | Overall Economic Freedom Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 80 | 55 | 36 | 72 | 62 |
| Mauritius | 70 | 84 | 53 | 82 | 73 |
| Burkina Faso | 65 | 18 | 40 | 38 | 49 |
| Egypt | 65 | 36 | 27 | 51 | 50 |
| Mali | 65 | 14 | 23 | 41 | 52 |
| Cape Verde | 60 | 55 | 63 | 79 | 71 |
| Chad | 60 | 17 | 15 | 27 | 51 |
| Gabon | 60 | 30 | 23 | 64 | 57 |
| Ghana | 60 | 50 | 45 | 65 | 57 |
| Rwanda | 60 | 60 | 54 | 60 | 57 |
Sources: The Global Economy and Heritage Foundation.
These countries have left ECOWAS but remain in the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) and use the CFA franc managed by the BCEAO, which ensures monetary stability. Their monetary freedom scores are also relatively strong, at 71.9 for Burkina Faso, 78.2 for Mali and 67.9 for Niger. However, weak property rights and governance significantly limit their actual attractiveness despite respectable investment freedom scores.
West Africa is thus overrepresented in the top 20, but fortunes vary widely. Senegal (84th, 60 points) has remained at 60 since 2019, with a tax freedom score of 0, an extreme case. Togo (87th, 60) fell from 65 in 2019 to 60 in 2026. Benin (102nd, 50) dropped from 70 in 2019 to 50 in 2026, illustrating a marked deterioration.
By contrast, Ghana (72nd, 60) fell from 70 to 60, but retains property rights at 50 and business freedom at 65. Cape Verde (62nd, 60) suffered a sharp drop: 80 points from 2019 to 2024, followed by 60 in 2025 and 2026. The platform notes that “the minimum value of 50 points was reached in 2003, while the maximum value of 80 points was recorded in 2018.” This volatility raises questions about the sustainability of reforms.
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One of the region’s major absentees is Côte d’Ivoire. The country’s index fell from 75 points between 2019 and 2024 to 60 in 2025 and then 50 in 2026. A 25 point decline in two years pushed it down to 111th worldwide and 24th in Africa, well below its historical average of 55 points.
Yet business freedom remains at 68 and trade freedom at 74. But property rights (44) and freedom from corruption (39) weigh on the country, confirming that the investment index captures only part of the picture. Côte d’Ivoire thus joins the countries whose seemingly favorable investment scores mask institutional weaknesses.
Central and East Africa are also represented. Chad (63rd, 60) has maintained a score of 60 since 2019, but with property rights at 17 and freedom from corruption at 15. Gabon (69th, 60) has also remained stable, with tax freedom at 88, one of its few strengths, but property rights at 30. Rwanda (83rd, 60) has maintained 60 since 2019, supported by property rights at 60 and freedom from corruption at 54, making it an unusual case in the region.
Kenya (93rd, 55) has remained at 55, with low trade freedom (52) but relatively strong business freedom (62). Tanzania (98th, 55) has a more balanced profile: property rights at 45, labor freedom at 62 and monetary freedom at 73.4. Lesotho (94th, 55) and Liberia (95th, 55) bring up the rear, with historically low but stable scores since 2019.
Botswana (103rd, 50) is surprising: its historical average stands at 64 points, with a peak of 80 in 2010. The drop to 50 in 2025 and 2026, after 60 in 2024 and 65 between 2019 and 2023, signals a significant decline in investment freedom. Yet its property rights remain high at 72 and its trade freedom at 77.
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This gap could indicate new investment specific restrictions, such as those related to land or foreign exchange, despite a solid institutional foundation. By contrast, Burundi (104th, 50) has remained at 50 since 2019, with property rights at 27, freedom from corruption at 16 and an overall economic freedom index of 40, the lowest among Africa’s top 20. The country has never exceeded 60 points, reached in 2014.
A distorted mirror?
This overview reveals a central paradox: several African countries post respectable investment freedom scores of 60 or higher, while their property rights, freedom from corruption or business freedom scores are extremely low.
Take Burkina Faso: 65 for investment freedom, but 18 for property rights and 13 for tax freedom. Chad: 60 for investment freedom, 17 for property rights and 15 for freedom from corruption. Niger: 55 for investment freedom, 17 for property rights and 32 for business freedom.
The spectacular decline of Côte d’Ivoire, Botswana and Cape Verde
| Country | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Change in Investment Freedom Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 75 | 80 | +15 |
| Cape Verde | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 60 | 60 | -20 |
| Botswana | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 60 | 50 | 50 | -15 |
| Benin | 70 | 60 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | -20 |
| Côte d’Ivoire* | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 60 | 50 | -25 |
| Mauritius | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | -10 |
*Côte d’Ivoire, although outside Africa’s top 20 (24th), is included to illustrate one of the region’s sharpest declines.
Sources: The Global Economy and Heritage Foundation.
These gaps suggest that the Investment Freedom Index, as defined by the Heritage Foundation, primarily captures formal restrictions on capital flows and bureaucracy, but not necessarily investors’ actual legal security. A country can therefore appear “open” while being a graveyard for property rights.
The definition of the indicator itself confirms this: “the Investment Freedom Index assesses a variety of restrictions on investment (burdensome bureaucracy, restrictions on land ownership, expropriation of investments without fair compensation, foreign exchange controls, capital controls, security problems, lack of basic infrastructure for investment, etc.).”
Yet related data show that some of these factors, particularly security and land ownership, are not always reflected in the overall score. Morocco is a case in point: 80 for investment freedom, but 36 for freedom from corruption and 46 for labor freedom.
The monetary and regional factor
One element stands out: countries in the CFA franc zone (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Benin) post relatively high monetary freedom scores, often above 70, reflecting the stability of the CFA franc and management by the BCEAO.
This partially offsets their institutional weaknesses. By contrast, countries outside the CFA franc zone, such as Ghana and Kenya, show lower monetary freedom scores (56.7 for Ghana and 75.1 for Kenya, but with more volatile inflation). Membership in WAMU for the AES countries, despite their departure from ECOWAS, therefore provides a monetary safety net that indirectly supports their investment freedom scores.
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Thus, despite respectable scores, the countries of the central Sahel cannot conceal deteriorating legal and security environments. As the platform points out, “a higher score means fewer restrictions,” but this does not tell the whole story about the actual quality of the business environment.
For investors, these figures send a clear signal: Africa is not a homogeneous bloc, and behind every score lie sector specific and institutional realities that need to be examined closely. Investment freedom is a necessary condition for attracting sustainable capital, but it is not sufficient.
