Addressing the dearth of data available on Africa, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) Data Portal provides an advanced and interactive tool for analysis of governance in Africa

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has launched a new IIAG Data Portal which provides unprecedented access to 15 years of data, crucial to assessing the quality of governance in African countries. Freely available online, the Data Portal will serve as an interactive platform for in-depth analysis and review of governance performance across Africa.

The Data Portal reinforces the Foundation’s commitment to strengthening the availability and use of data in Africa and, through its specially designed digital format, provides policymakers, businesses, academics and civil society with access to the most comprehensive collection of data on African governance.

The IIAG Data Portal contains several innovative features:

“The IIAG Data Portal is a powerful tool that allows anyone who is interested in African governance to make their own assessments using its 95 individual measures of governance,’ says Abdalla Hamdok, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Advisory Council and Acting Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

“With it, anyone can build on the analysis conducted by the Foundation and produce new and unique findings from the data. We hope that the ability to conduct research of this kind will be invaluable to those seeking to identify solutions to the challenges confronting African nations today.”

Data is Crucial to Unlocking Africa’s Potential

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established in 2006 with a focus on the critical importance of leadership and governance in Africa, by providing tools to assess and support progress in leadership and governance. The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) provides an annual assessment of the quality of governance in African countries and is the most comprehensive collection of data on African governance. The 2016 IIAG combines 95 indicators from 34 independent African and global data institutions.

We hope that the ability to conduct research of this kind will be invaluable to those seeking to identify solutions to the challenges confronting African nations today.”

“Strengthening the African national statistical offices and the robustness and availability of data is crucial to unlocking the continent’s potential,’ says Mo Ibrahim, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. “It is a matter of ownership, of identity and of sovereignty. Without sound national data, there is no way you can define adequate public policies nor measure their outcomes.”

Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) Data Portal

The IIAG data portal was launched to coincide with African Statistics Day, initiated in 1990 by the Subsidiary Body of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Joint African Conference of Planners, Statisticians, and Demographers. African Statistics Day seeks to increase public awareness of the role that statistics plays in all aspects of social and economic life in Africa and in preserving the environment in which people live.

The Portal will serve as the home of the IIAG’s extensive governance data for all (16 years of data, 237 different measures of governance, 95 indicators, 34 sources, for 54 countries). It allows analysis, comparison and interaction with each of the indicators included in the IIAG.

Giving free access to data is about empowering people, says Mo Ibrahim. “It is less eye-catching than building a hospital or a school but it is a smart way to ensure that more hospitals and schools are delivered more effectively and efficiently. I’m delighted that the Foundation can play its part in taking forward Africa’s data revolution, and I hope that our new Data Portal will support efforts to improve governance on the continent.”

The IIAG data portal can be accessed online via desktop and mobile at: http://iiag.online/