Namibia has been ranked the 5th best governed African country on the 2016 Ibrahim Index of African Governance – IIAG. The governance index was launched in London, United Kingdom on Monday. It marks ten years since billionaire Mo Ibrahim initiated the annual surveys that measure the level of governance in African countries. Mauritius again tops the list as the best-governed country in Africa, followed by Botswana, Cape Verde, the Seychelles, Namibia and South Africa. The index noted that improvement in the overall governance on the continent over the past decade, has been held back by a widespread deterioration in the category Safety and Rule of Law. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation said in a statement published on its website that the IIAG was the most comprehensive survey of its kind on the continent. It rates 54 African nations against criteria such as security, human rights, economic stability, just laws, free elections, corruption, infrastructure, poverty, health and education. It also observed that almost two-thirds of African citizens live in a country in which safety and rule of law has deteriorated over the past ten years. The survey captures Africans’ perceptions of governance, which provides a fresh perspective on the results registered by other data, expert assessment and official data. The Foundation said all countries that have deteriorated at the overall governance level have also deteriorated in safety and rule of law.