Global Talent Ranking 2025: African Countries Make a Mark
The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Center has released its Global Talent Ranking 2025, which measures the ability of 69 countries to attract, develop, and retain the skills necessary for sustainable growth. While Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Iceland top the ranking, six African countries are also featured: Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.
Methodology
The report is based on three main criteria:
- Investment and Development: measures the quality of local education and training
- Attractiveness: evaluates a country's ability to attract both national and foreign talent
- Readiness: analyzes the availability of skills needed to meet labor market demands
African Countries' Performance Overview
- Botswana (48th globally): the top African country in the ranking, with a strong participation of women in the workforce and a competitive cost of living. However, it struggles with a low quality of life and brain drain.
- Namibia (52nd): performs well in attractiveness and is the world leader in public education expenditure as a percentage of GDP. However, it needs to improve worker motivation and the availability of qualified managers.
- Kenya (55th): has a balanced profile, with good results in education and executive compensation, but weaknesses in management training and university efficiency.
- Nigeria (56th): is strong in investment and development, with rapid growth in the active population. However, it faces challenges related to low female participation and brain drain.
- Ghana (61st): has a good student-teacher ratio and high female participation, but very low public education expenditure and high exposure to pollution.
- South Africa (62nd): has strengths in infrastructure and prioritizes talent attraction, but faces challenges related to brain drain and quality of life.
These six countries illustrate the diversity of strengths and weaknesses in Africa when it comes to talent competitiveness. Nigeria stands out for its investments, Namibia and Botswana for their attractiveness, while Ghana and Kenya show educational potential.
