Morocco overtakes South Africa as Africa's top industrial economy

Morocco has overtaken South Africa as the continent's most industrialised economy, according to the African Development Bank's Africa Industrialisation Index, ending a lead South Africa had held since 2010.

Morocco ranked first with a score of 0.8415, narrowly ahead of South Africa's 0.8396. The index measures industrial competitiveness, sophistication, export diversification, infrastructure quality and participation in international production networks, rather than manufacturing scale alone.

Morocco's rise has been driven by sustained industrial upgrading, export diversification and consistent policy support. The country has become a major manufacturing base for European-bound vehicles, with Renault running one of its largest plants in Tangier and Stellantis expanding in Kenitra.

South Africa, while still a continental industrial powerhouse, has seen a steady slide in competitiveness. Years of Eskom power cuts and the breakdown of Transnet's freight rail have pushed manufacturers into costly self-generation and clogged the ports at Durban and Cape Town, raising costs for an export-heavy industry.

Analysts stressed the ranking does not mean Morocco has surpassed South Africa in overall manufacturing output or scale. But the symbolic shift underscores diverging trajectories, with Rabat building momentum as Pretoria struggles to fix the infrastructure underpinning its industry.