The Senegalese rose from second place on the back of a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory in Equatorial Guinea during November.
Tunisia lost away to Egypt in the same competition, and were also beaten at home by Morocco in a friendly.
Only five African countries -- Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- were among the top 50 in the world.
African top 20
(world ranking in brackets)
Senegal (23), 2. Tunisia (26), 3. Morocco (40), 4. Nigeria (44), 5. DR Congo (49), 6. Ghana (51), 7. Cameroon (55), 8. Egypt (56), 9. Burkina Faso (61), 10. Mali (64), 11. Ivory Coast (65), 12. Guinea (66), 13. Algeria (67), 14. Cape Verde (72), 15. South Africa (72), 16. Uganda (75), 17. Zambia (82), 18. CongoBrazzaville (84), 19. Gabon (85), 20. Benin (94)
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Press), 2018