In 2025, Tunisia climbed to 5th place among African countries in the Human Capital Index (HCI), scoring 0.48, according to World Bank data analyzed by The African Exponent.
The HCI, developed by the World Bank, measures a country’s ability to equip its population, from childhood, for productive lives by assessing progress in education, health, and skills development.
It reflects the quality of investments in citizens, who are considered the key driver of long-term growth.
The index (ranging from 0 to 1) estimates the productivity potential a child born today can achieve by age 18, accounting for risks of poor health and inadequate education in their country.
Tunisia has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, with around 87.3% of adults able to read and write.
Tunisia’s score means that the average child there will reach 48% of his or her full productive potential by the age of 18, taking into account the quality of health and education received.
In Africa, Kenya tops the 2025 Human Capital Index ranking with a score of 0.52, the highest on the continent.
Kenya is followed by Mauritius (0.50) and the Seychelles (0.49), two countries known for the quality of their education systems and wide access to health care.
Tunisia shares the same score with Algeria (0.48) and Botswana comes next with 0.47, followed by Egypt (also 0.47) and Namibia (0.46).
At the bottom of the table are South Africa and Gabon, with an identical score of 0.43.
It should be noted that only a few African nations breach 0.50 threshold, meaning the average child in these countries will develop more than half of his or her productive potential by adulthood.
