E-Business
The Hanke’s Misery Index: How Africa’s Economic Challenges Are Holding Back the Continent
By Evans Woherem, Ph.D
Introduction
Unleashing the economic potential of any nation requires unwavering commitment and a clear vision. However, Africa, a diverse continent abundant in resources and human capital, faces numerous challenges that impede its development and progress. Political unrest, corruption, poverty, human rights violations, and economic instability cast a dark shadow over many African nations, intertwining to create pervasive challenges that foster instability, hamper development efforts, and uproot countless lives.
These claims are supported by numerous studies, reports, and data. Indices such as the Ibrahim Index of African Governance and the Global Corruption Barometer by Transparency International shed light on governance and corruption levels, revealing systemic issues that contribute to overall distress. Reports from esteemed international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank offer in-depth analysis, highlighting the multidimensional nature of the problems, including the impact of political instability and human rights violations on societal well-being.
To gain a clearer understanding of the economic challenges faced by African nations, we can look at the 2022 Hanke’s Annual Misery Index. This index provides insight into the economic hardships experienced by countries by considering various indicators. It is a composite measure that takes into account the year-end unemployment rate (multiplied by two), inflation rate, bank-lending rates, and the annual percentage change in real GDP per capita. The index combines these elements to yield the Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI) score, with higher scores indicating greater economic misery.
According to the 2022 HAMI scores, several African countries ranked among the 50 most severely afflicted nations. Zimbabwe claimed the unfortunate title of the world’s most miserable country with a score of 414.7, followed by Sudan (176.1) and Angola (93.518). Other countries on the list included Ghana (86.8), South Africa (83.492), Rwanda (69.192), Botswana (64.023), Madagascar (63.6), Malawi (63.5), Eswatini (63.1), Gabon (62.4), Sao Tome and Principe (62.3), Congo (Brazzaville) (61.5), Ethiopia (61), Libya (60.3), Namibia (55.7), Lesotho (51.6), Algeria (50.2), Nigeria (47.2), Tunisia (46.905), and Mauritania (45.4).
These nations confront profound challenges and overwhelming hardships, with their misery index scores reflecting the weight of inflation, unemployment, and burdensome lending rates.
The consequences of these elevated misery index scores extend widely within the affected countries. Scarce resources that could otherwise be invested in infrastructure, education, and healthcare are diverted towards addressing immediate needs, impeding long-term development efforts.
Additionally, political instability and human rights abuses erode social cohesion, intensify societal divisions, and constrain opportunities for dialogue and progress. Also, the displacement of millions of people places added strain on already fragile systems, burdening host communities and affecting regional stability.
Furthermore, these consequences transcend national boundaries. The high misery index scores contribute to a negative portrayal of the continent, potentially dissuading foreign investment and impeding economic cooperation. Consequently, the perpetuation of stagnation and economic hardships fosters a cycle of poverty, constraining opportunities for future generations and impeding the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Addressing the complex challenges facing Africa necessitates a comprehensive approach involving good governance, anti-corruption measures, poverty reduction strategies, human rights protection, economic stability, regional cooperation, and technological innovation.
By confronting political unrest, corruption, poverty, and economic instability while drawing inspiration from successful models, African nations can pave the path toward sustainable economic development, social stability, and improved livelihoods.
The following sections will delve deeper into each challenge, exploring their root causes, examining their implications, and discussing potential strategies and solutions.
By recognizing and understanding the hurdles faced by African nations, we can foster informed discussions and contribute to the formulation of effective policies that foster inclusive growth, shared prosperity, and the safeguarding of human rights, thereby transforming Africa’s economic landscape.
Economic Challenges in African Countries
The economic challenges faced by African countries are a matter of concern, with various nations experiencing significant difficulties. This section explores the economic struggles of Zimbabwe, Sudan, Angola, Ghana, and other African nations, shedding light on their specific challenges and rankings on the Misery Index.
This index, developed by Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, takes into account both the economic performance and the socioeconomic conditions of countries’ populations. Additionally, it highlights the contrast between countries facing misery and those achieving greater happiness, underscoring the uneven progress across the continent.
- Zimbabwe’s economic challenges and unfortunate ranking
Zimbabwe’s economic challenges have led to an unfortunate ranking as the most miserable country in the world for the second consecutive year, according to the 2022 Hanke’s Annual Misery Index. Several factors contribute to this ranking, notably the country’s staggering inflation rate, which reached 243.8% in 2022. Such high inflation erodes the value of the local currency, making it increasingly challenging for individuals to afford basic necessities and maintain a stable standard of living.
Moreover, Zimbabwe faces the hurdle of high lending rates, standing at 131.8%. These elevated borrowing costs make it difficult for businesses and individuals to access affordable credit, hindering investment and impeding economic growth. The lack of adequate financing opportunities stunts the economy’s expansion, resulting in stagnant development.
Trade integration, or rather the lack thereof, is another critical aspect impacting Zimbabwe’s economic situation. The decline in trade integration has restricted the country’s ability to acquire new technologies and attract investment. Trade integration plays a vital role in facilitating the sharing of knowledge, resources, and innovation among countries, which significantly contributes to economic growth. Without this avenue for collaboration and access to new opportunities, Zimbabwe finds it challenging to develop and improve its economic prospects.
The burden of debt and arrears to international financial institutions (IFIs) further exacerbates Zimbabwe’s challenges. The country’s substantial level of debt, coupled with its inability to make timely payments to IFIs, hampers its capacity for investment and development.
Instead of directing resources towards productive sectors and infrastructure, Zimbabwe must allocate a significant portion of its income to debt repayments. Furthermore, the accumulation of arrears makes it increasingly difficult for the country to obtain new loans, thereby limiting its potential for growth.
Consequently, a considerable portion of the Zimbabwean population is grappling with severe financial difficulties, struggling to meet their basic needs. The combination of high inflation, exorbitant lending rates, limited trade integration, and a significant debt burden has created a challenging environment for individuals and businesses alike. Addressing these issues through effective economic policies and reforms becomes crucial to alleviate the financial hardships faced by Zimbabweans and foster sustainable development.
- Sudan’s Economic Challenges and Political Instability
Sudan has been grappling with a range of significant economic challenges that have had a substantial impact on the country. One of the primary concerns is the soaring inflation rate, which reached a peak of 220.71% in April 2022.
However, according to projections by the African Development Bank, there is hope for improvement, with inflation expected to moderate to 83.2% in 2023 and further decrease to 75.5% in 2024.
Simultaneously, Sudan has witnessed a rise in the poverty rate, which reached 66.1% in 2022. This increase is partly attributed to the high unemployment rate of 20.6% during the same year. The economic hardships faced by the Sudanese population are further exacerbated by political instability.
In addition to these challenges, Sudan has been grappling with an ongoing armed conflict since 2011. This protracted conflict has resulted in significant human casualties, with over 500 lives lost, and has displaced more than 1 million individuals.
Furthermore, Sudan is confronted with environmental challenges, including land degradation, temperature increases, droughts, floods, erratic rainfall, and locust invasions. These environmental factors have had a detrimental impact on agricultural output, impeded GDP growth, and destroyed livelihoods.
Despite these formidable challenges, Sudan boasts abundant natural resources, such as arable land, livestock, and minerals. However, the full utilization of these resources has been hindered by financing deficiencies.
Effectively addressing the economic challenges faced by Sudan and overcoming political instability are pivotal steps towards improving the country’s economic prospects and enhancing the well-being of its citizens.
To be Continued …….
Federal government has announced its plans to achieve 95 per cent digital literacy among Nigerians by 2030, with a specific target of training and empowering at least 30 million citizens by 2027.
The announcement was made on Thursday at the grand finale of the Digital for All Challenge 2.0, an initiative of Tech4Dev funded by the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme and implemented in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Kashifu Abdullahi, director-general, NITDA, represented by Aristotle Onumo, director of Stakeholder Management at the agency, said that over 30 million Nigerians, particularly in rural areas, are being targeted for training, with digital champions deployed nationwide to facilitate the programme.
“We are integrating digital literacy into school curricula nationwide, from primary to university level, and partnering with the Head of Civil Service to make digital skills a requirement for civil service progression,” Onumo said.
He added that NITDA aims to achieve 70 percent digital literacy by 2027 as a foundation for reaching 95 percent by 2030.
Onumo called on stakeholders to work together, stressing that digital literacy is for everyone — the young, the old, the employed, job seekers, traders, civil servants, and others.
In her welcome remarks, Mrs. Oladiwura Oladepo, Co-Founder of Tech4Dev, described the initiative as a national movement to deepen digital knowledge and inclusion across all levels of society.
She noted that the programme has already impacted over one million Nigerians drawn from all six geopolitical zones.
Oladepo said the Digital for All Challenge 2.0 is not just a competition but a movement to unlock opportunities and close the digital divide for individuals, families, and the nation.
Representing the British High Commission, Mr. Idongesit Udo, Digital Access Programme Adviser, praised the initiative for creating opportunities for young Nigerians to compete globally, enabling civil servants to deliver better services, and helping children begin their digital journey early.
He highlighted the UK’s broader partnership with Nigeria, which includes initiatives in cybersecurity (Africa Cyber Programme), standardization (British Standards Institute), and entrepreneurship (UK-Nigeria Tech Hub), all aimed at fostering a thriving digital economy.
At the event, participants from all six geopolitical zones competed in various categories.
The first prize winner, Miracle Michael, received N15 million. The second prize went to Chinedu Arisa, who received N12.5 million, while Ismail Adam and Uluchi Chibueze received N10 million and N7.5 million respectively.
Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, minister of State for Labour and Employment, who presented the awards, commended the initiative for equipping Nigerian youth with future-ready skills.
She emphasised that digital literacy is vital not only for job creation but also for national development, and encouraged more young people to take part in programmes of this nature.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued an urgent security advisory, warning Nigerians of critical vulnerabilities in Google Chrome that could expose users to severe cyber threats.
The alert, posted on the Commission’s official X handle, underscores the risks of these flaws and calls for immediate action to safeguard personal devices and data.
According to the NDPC, the vulnerabilities could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on a user’s system, potentially granting unauthorised access to computers.
This could enable cybercriminals to install malicious programs, view, alter, or delete sensitive data, and even create new user accounts with full administrative rights.
Such breaches could disrupt device functionality, compromise personal information, and lead to significant loss of control over affected systems.
“Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Google Chrome. The most severe of these could allow an attacker to take over a user’s system,” the NDPC stated, emphasising the urgency of addressing the issue.
To mitigate these risks, the Commission has advised Chrome users to apply the latest browser updates immediately.
It also recommends operating devices with standard user rights instead of administrative privileges to limit potential damage. Additionally, the NDPC urged Nigerians to exercise caution by avoiding suspicious links, unsolicited attachments, and untrusted websites.
The advisory comes as part of Nigeria’s broader efforts to strengthen data protection.
Microsoft said on Tuesday that it seized nearly 340 websites tied to a rapidly growing Nigerian-based service that allowed users to carry out phishing operations that stole at least 5,000 Microsoft user credentials.
Microsoft obtained an order from the U.S. District Court in Manhattan earlier this month to seize domains associated with Raccoon0365, the subscription service that allowed users to carry out massive phishing campaigns, which sometimes involved thousands of emails at a time, according to Steven Masada, assistant general counsel for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit.
Raccoon0365’s service, which operates through a private Telegram channel with more than 850 subscribers, enables users to impersonate trusted brands and get targets to enter Microsoft login credentials on phony Microsoft login pages, Masada said in a blog posted on Microsoft’s website.
The service has generated for its small group of operators at least $100,000 in cryptocurrency payments since launching in July 2024, Masada said in the blog. Microsoft said the seizure of the websites occurred over a period of days earlier this month.
Microsoft identified Nigeria-based Joshua Ogundipe as the leader and main operator of Raccoon0365.
Ogundipe did not immediately respond to an email request for comment sent to the email address identified by Microsoft in its court filing.
“Cybercriminals don’t need to be sophisticated to cause widespread harm,” Masada said. “Simple tools like Raccoon0365 make cybercrime accessible to virtually anyone, putting millions of users at risk.”
Raccoon0365 subscribers have targeted a wide swath of industries, Masada said, and separate court filings allege that “a significant portion” of Raccoon0365 activity targets organizations based in New York City.
Masada said Microsoft identified what it said was a Raccoon0365-related effort using tax-themed phishing emails to target more than 2,300 organizations, mostly in the U.S., between February 12 and February 28 this year, according to a company blog posted in April.
Errol Weiss, chief security officer of the Health Information Sharing & Analysis Center (Health-ISAC), which provides cybersecurity services to member health organizations and is a co-plaintiff alongside Microsoft, said Raccoon0365 has been linked to successful credential harvesting through phishing campaigns at at least five unnamed healthcare organizations, while targeting 25 health sector organizations overall. Once hackers gain that access, any number of things can happen, Weiss said.
“So many of the attacks start because somebody gave up their user name and password to a bad guy,” Weiss said in an interview. “Once that cybercriminal has access to the network, then it’s just up to the imagination in terms of what comes next and how they monetize it.”
The Raccoon0365 operators used services provided by Cloudflare to help hide the service’s backend infrastructure, the internet services firm said in its own blog post. Cloudflare worked with Microsoft and the U.S. Secret Service to disrupt Raccoon0365 operations on its platform and prevent the operators from establishing new accounts, the company said.
Blake Darché, the head of threat intelligence at Cloudflare, said in an interview that the Raccoon0365 operators made some key operational security mistakes but were highly effective.
“They’re in people’s accounts, they compromise lots of people, and it needs to obviously be stopped,” he said.
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