Ibrahim Index of African Governance

The African cell-phone mogul Mo Ibrahim pinpointed a simple fact about African leaders: Many of them use their power to enrich themselves rather than their impoverished countries. To rectify this, he now offers an annual prize that gives $5 million (plus $200,000 per year after that) to an exemplary African head of state. Do a good job as president and you might be set for life without skimming from your country’s foreign aid. But how to measure which leaders have done the best? Enter the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which evaluates each country on criteria such as human-rights reports and economic opportunity.

The small island nations of Mauritius and Seychelles top the list—Somalia is last. Joaquim Chissano (left), the former president of Mozambique (currently number 23), took home the first prize last October for his steady rule, and for leaving office after his second term was over.