Businesses operating in Africa ‘are grappling with an unprecedented rise in disruption linked to protests, demonstrations and rioting’, according to research by Verisk Maplecroft. The situation is also expected to deteriorate through 2023.
Verisk Maplecroft’s Civil Unrest Index shows that 36 African countries saw an uptick in risk between 2022-Q2 and 2023-Q2, the largest annual increase seen in the region since the dataset launched in 2017. ‘This means that the number of African countries rated high or extreme risk for civil unrest now stands at 37, up from 28 six years ago’.
Political risks - including civil unrest, conflict intensity and government instability - reached record levels globally earlier this year says Verisk Maplecroft and in Africa ‘these global risk dynamics are placing further strain on countries that are already contending with some of the worst consequences of the war in Ukraine, including deteriorating food and energy security and spiralling living costs’.
