National incomes are up. Democracy, life expectancies and social equality are slumping. Next continent! :^)

More in this BBC story:

After a decade of triumphs for Africa's democrats - the ending of apartheid in South Africa, the ousting of Congolese tyrant Mobutu Sese Seko and free multiparty elections in Ghana, Kenya and Senegal - several regimes have reverted to violent repression and election-rigging to cling to power.

Despite this, African economies are growing on average at 5 per cent a year, better than they have since the 1970s, say the IMF and the World Bank. National incomes may be rising but so is social inequality, fuelling political tensions.

The UN's Human Development index says incomes per head are stagnating and life expectancy rates are falling.

The fruits of higher growth are not going on social development.

Security rules

That raises more awkward questions as 2005, which UK Prime Minister Tony Blair had said would be the year of Africa, draws to a close.

The campaigners in Africa and the West who called for more aid, less debt and fairer trade for Africa and bolstered British government efforts to negotiate a better deal for Africa from the rich countries' G8 club have won important concessions.

But in most states, regime security trumps the development imperative.