Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) has improved its ranking in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIGA) for 2014 and regained took second place from Botswana, second only to Mauritius, according to information released Monday.

Cabo Verde totalled 76.6 points in the overall evaluation of different criteria, which are grouped into four categories: Safety and Rule of Law, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development.

In the assessment of 52 African countries, Cabo Verde remains the best among the Portuguese-speaking countries, ahead of Sao Tome and Principe (12), Mozambique (22), Angola (44) and Guinea Bissau (48).

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, named after the Sudanese billionaire who created it in 2006, supports good governance and leadership in Africa and has drawn up the Ibrahim Index annually since 2007, which aims to inform and assist citizens, civil society, parliaments and governments in measuring progress.

Angola reversed the trend of recent years of rising in the ranking and fell to 44nd in the table of 52 countries, losing five points and five places in the overall assessment to 40.9 points due to the decreases in the areas of gender equality, civil participation and human rights, and economic climate.

Mozambique also fell two positions and was ranked 22nd, mainly due to greater insecurity in the country.

Sao Tome and Principe continues to make progress in the assessment, but fell back one place in the table to 12th place, with 59.7 points and Guinea-Bissau is a country that has seen its ranking fall and currently has just 33.2 points.

The index’s top five countries are Mauritius (81.7 points), Cabo Verde (76.6), Botswana (76.2), South Africa (73.3) and the Seychelles (73.2) and the last places are Guinea-Bissau (33.2), Chad (31.2), Eritrea (29.8), the Central African Republic (24.8) and Somalia (8.6). (macauhub/AO/CV/GW/MZ/ST)