The Ibrahim Index of African Governance has just been announced. It records the scores for 2010. The index is similar to others, such as the Freedom House and Polity indices. The Ibrahim Index goes from 0-100, with 100 being the best score. Here are the rankings:

The index only goes back to 2000, but it has the potential to be a useful time-series resource.

In terms of major semi-presidential changes from 2009, São Tomé & Príncipe has improved from 15th, Senegal has declined from 13th (having been 10th until 2006), Madagascar has declined again from 28th, and Togo has improved slightly from 38th.

In addition, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation awards the Ibrahim Prize “to a democratically elected former African Executive Head of State or Government who has served their term in office within the limits set by the country’s constitution, has left office in the last three years, and has demonstrated excellence in office.” The prize is worth of US$ 5 million over 10 years and US$ 200,000 annually for life thereafter. No prize was awarded in either 2009 or 2010. However, this year it was won by the former President of Cape Verde, Pedro Pires.