Shock as Uganda misses out on List of 10 African countries with the worst road infrastructure

 

Business Insider Africa previously highlighted the pivotal role that well-constructed roads play as vital conduits for the economic bloodstream. The focus was directed towards identifying the ten African nations boasting top-notch road infrastructure. However, despite the economic significance, certain African countries grapple with challenges related to their road networks. This predicament, prevalent across diverse regions, casts a looming shadow over both economic potential and societal well-being.

In an effort to gauge the extent of road infrastructure challenges faced by some African nations, insights from an International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper on road quality and mean speed score have emerged. The IMF devised a unique metric for assessing cross-country road quality, relying on the mean speed observed between major cities using data from Google Maps. This Mean Speed (MS) score serves as a pragmatic proxy for evaluating the overall quality and accessibility of roads.

The MS score exhibits a correlation with established metrics such as the World Bank's Rural Access Index and the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Quality of Road Infrastructure score. The following list unveils the ten African countries grappling with the most severe road infrastructure issues based on this comprehensive assessment.

Below are 10 African countries with the worst road infrastructure:

Rank	Country	Mean score
1	Rwanda	47
2	Guinea	50
3	Burundi	51
4	Madagascar	51
5	Gambia	53
6	Nigeria	55
7	Ghana	56
8	Cameroon	56
9	Tanzania	57
10	Kenya	57