The University of Pennsylvania released on 29 January 2016 its "2015 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report" by James G. McGann. It ranks top think tanks in the world, top think tanks by region, top think tanks by area of research, and top think tanks by special achievement.
African countries with the largest number of think tanks are South Africa (86), Kenya (53), Nigeria (48), Ghana (37), and Egypt (35). The top ranked think tanks in Sub-Saharan Africa are:
1. Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA)
2. IMANI Center for Policy and Education (Ghana)
3. Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) (Senegal)
4. Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA)
5. African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) (South Africa)
In the Middle East and North Africa, only the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) in Egypt makes the top 10, although it comes in second. Four think tanks in Egypt and two in Morocco make the next ten best.