Pillar highlights
Sub-Saharan Africa performs most strongly relative to the rest of the world in the Natural Environment pillar. In particular, Sub-Saharan Africa is impacted less by Environmental Pressures than other regions of the world, comprising 10 of the 20 best performing countries in that sub-pillar.
The region is a long way behind others in both Education and Health. In Education, it is the weakest performing region in 10 out of 12 indicators. In Health, it is last in six out of 12 indicators.
Safety and Security is the pillar that has declined the most in the last year. This is led by Niger, South Africa and Congo, but 31 others have also seen a decline, due in part to increased battlefield deaths. For example, in Niger, there were an estimated 274 deaths caused by conflict with Islamic State.