The 2025 Africa Organised Crime Index is out [November 2025]

Drawing on seven years of data and insights from over 160 experts, it shows that criminal markets continue to grow across the continent while resilience continues to weaken, with almost all African countries facing limited capacity to respond to these threats.
Financial crimes, human trafficking, non-renewable resource crimes, counterfeit goods and arms trafficking dominate, while state-embedded and foreign criminal actors have gained ground.

The Index also highlights the impact of digital expansion, conflict, governance and geopolitics in shaping illicit economies.
Produced by ENACT partners Institute for Security Studies, INTERPOL and GI-TOC, this fourth and final edition provides evidence to guide policy, research and civil society action.
Synopsis of the Africa Organised Crime Index 2025 Report

• The "Africa Organised Crime Index 2025: The Past, Present and Future of Organised Crime" is a 124-page report produced by the ENACT (Enhancing Africa's Response to Transnational Organised Crime) project, implemented by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), INTERPOL, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), and funded by the European Union.
• Released in 2025, it serves as the final standalone edition of the Africa-specific Index before integration into the broader Global Organised Crime Index.
• The report analyses organised crime dynamics across all 54 African countries, drawing on longitudinal data from 2019–2025, expert inputs, and a scoring system (1–10 scale, where 10 indicates the highest criminality or resilience).
• It emphasises the need for evidence-based responses to dismantle illicit economies, highlighting how organised crime intersects with geopolitics, conflict, governance, and digital advancements.

Core Purpose and Methodology

The Index measures three main components:

• Criminal Markets (15 types, e.g., human trafficking, arms trafficking, drug trade, cyber-dependent crimes, financial crimes, counterfeit goods, extortion, and illicit trade in excisable goods like tobacco/alcohol).
• Criminal Actors (5 typologies: mafia-style groups, criminal networks, state-embedded actors, foreign actors, and private sector actors).
• Resilience (12 indicators covering political leadership, governance transparency, law enforcement, judicial systems, economic regulations, civil society, and international cooperation).

Scoring is based on expert assessments, with criminality averaging higher than resilience across the continent. The report addresses debates on whether "organised crime" applies to Africa, arguing it does, as evidenced by coordinated illicit activities involving violence, corruption, and profit (e.g., Al-Shabaab's taxation in Somalia, gangs in South Africa, cocaine routes in West Africa). It positions Africa within the global context of transnational crime, noting the continent's integration through corruption and informal economies.

High-Level Findings (2019–2025)

• Rising Criminality: Criminal markets averaged 5.11 in 2025 (up from previous years), reflecting diversification and growth in 15 markets. Criminal actors scored 5.58, driven primarily by state-embedded actors who enable markets and erode governance.
• Resilience Lag: Resilience scores remain lower than criminality, showing inertia in responses despite some improvements in democratic states.
• Key Trends: Organised crime thrives in unstable environments, with state-embedded actors most prevalent. Governance structures influence the scope of crime (democracies respond better; authoritarians may suppress or embrace it). Geopolitics and crime are mutually reinforcing, conflicts fuel illicit economies, and digital expansion enables new threats like cyber fraud.
• Evolution: Crime grew in the 1970s–1980s, solidified in the 1990s, matured globally in the 2000s–2010s, and accelerated during COVID-19, outpacing resilience.

Key Sections and Insights

1. Overview of Organised Crime in Africa (2025): Details pervasive markets (e.g., human and arms trafficking), influential actors (state-embedded dominate), and weak resilience (e.g., compromised law enforcement).
2. Historical Development: Traces origins from the 1970s economic crises, enabling illicit trade, to the 1990s post-Cold War solidification, the 2000s globalisation (e.g., drug routes), and COVID-19 adaptations (e.g., increased online fraud amid lockdowns).
3. Africa's Role in Transnational Crime:
• Origin: Africa sources illicit goods like wildlife products, minerals, and drugs, which are exported globally.
• Transit: Serves as a hub for cocaine, heroin, and human smuggling routes.
• Destination: Attracts counterfeit goods, excisable items, and cyber-enabled crimes.
4. Geopolitics and Organised Crime: Explores how a divided world order, state-backed private military companies (e.g., in Sahel), strategic investments (e.g., infrastructure tied to illicit flows), and intra-African rivalries reinforce crime. Notes shift like Western withdrawals, creating vacuums filled by actors like Russia.
5. Conflict and Humanitarian Crises: Crime fuels conflicts (e.g., resource exploitation in DRC), enables economies (e.g., smuggling in Libya), heightens violence via arms trafficking, and reduces resilience in fragile states like Sudan and Somalia.
6. Governance, Corruption, and Organised Crime: Discusses the shift to "criminal governance" where states collude with criminals. Democracies show greater resilience, but corruption undermines efforts across the continent.
7. Emerging Threats of Africa's Digital Boom: Highlights cyber-dependent crimes (e.g., ransomware) and cyber-enabled financial crimes (e.g., online scams). Resilience is low due to rapid internet growth without adequate safeguards.
8. Conclusion and Action Points: Calls for targeted policies addressing root causes like poverty and instability. Recommends enhancing resilience through better governance, international cooperation, alternative livelihoods, and digital regulations. Emphasises the integration of African data into global frameworks post-ENACT.

Appendix and Additional Elements

• Ranking Tables: Country rankings by criminality, resilience, and specific markets/actors (e.g., top criminal markets: human trafficking, financial crimes).
• Notes and Acknowledgements: Over 100 references to sources, experts, and collaborators.

The report underscores organised crime's systemic threat to Africa's development and urges holistic, evidence-driven interventions. It positions the continent not just as a victim but as an active player in global illicit flows, with future risks amplified by digital and geopolitical shifts.

Source

https://africa.ocindex.net/assets/downloads/english/enact_report_2025.pdf

https://africa.ocindex.net/