Top 10 African countries leading in attracting and retaining talents

Mauritius, South Africa and Botswana are Sub-Saharan Africa's top three talent-competitive countries.
Mauritius (51) is the only Sub-Saharan African country to make it this year's upper half of the GTCI rankings.
Cabo Verde, Namibia, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Eswatini and Zambia make up the rest of the Top 10.

Mauritius, South Africa and Botswana have emerged as Sub-Saharan Africa’s most talent-competitive countries, according to the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2023. Cabo Verde, Namibia, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Eswatini and Zambia make up the rest of the Top 10.

The GTCI 2023 measures how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent. It also provides a unique resource for decision-makers to understand the global talent competitiveness picture and develop strategies to boost their economies.

Titled “What a difference ten years make - and what to expect for the next decade”, the report revealed Sub-Saharan Africa lags behind all other regions as the weakest pillar in the region has frequently been the ability to Retain talent.

On a positive note, the report notes that eight Sub-Saharan African countries are ranked in the third quartile globally, while one country—Mauritius (49th)—makes it into the second quartile.

Mauritius has consistently ranked above the GTCI median since its first inclusion in 2017. The country’s best performances are in the pillars of enabling and attracting talent.

South Africa, the next best performer in the region at 68th, performs particularly well in the Attract and Enable pillars, but faces significant challenges around skills gaps and strengthening its performance in the Vocational and Technical Skills pillar.

Botswana (73rd) is the region’s third-best performer and has improved over the first decade of the GTCI, although the country’s relative position has slipped slightly in the past three years.

Globally, Switzerland, Singapore and the United States firmly retain their leading positions as the world’s most talent competitive countries as well as offering Career Guide. Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom make up the rest of the Top 10.