Most and Least Corrupt Countries in Africa 2019: Only Two African Countries Improve

Megan Trimble, Editor of the Digital News, when writing about corruption said “it is often in the eye of the beholder, largely tied to individual beliefs about right and wrong.” I cannot agree more.

Corruption is the deadliest epidemic in the world today and has claimed more lives than all the world wars put together. World corruption has experienced a massive increase especially in the last three decades. African countries continue to compete for the highest laurels on the list of the most corrupt nations on the globe.

Most sad is the fact that corruption which used to be seen as a vice that is propagated as a result of poverty, has proven the books wrong. In recent times, we have seen that corruption is more a result of greed and selfishness than it is poverty. This is because statistics have revealed that those who engage more in corruption are the high and mighty in society, those whom one will vow will have nothing to do with such an attribute owning to their status, wealth and religious affiliation.

Yearly, Transparency International ranks countries based on Corruption Perceptions Index. To achieve this, the organization employs a methodology based on assessment and comparison using various benchmarks such as monitoring public procurement processes, creating concrete guidance for companies on avoiding extortion and curtailing bribery, and accessing reliable diagnostics for measuring and mapping corruption.

For the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index, Transparency International carried out 13 different surveys and expert assessments on 180 countries and territories to measure their public and private sectors using the aforementioned parameters. Each country was given a score from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Part of the highlight of the report was the most improved countries, decliners and countries to watch out for. This was in juxtaposition to the 2017 and 2016 reports. Africans countries did not record any decline, neither did any country from the continent make the ‘countries to watch out for’ list, but two African nations, Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire, made the ‘improved’ list.

Senegal has maintained a CPI score of 45 for the last three years and is currently ranked 67 on the global rankings, while Cote d'Ivoire rose one spot up from a CPI score of 36 in 2017 to 35 in 2018, the country sits 105 on the global rankings.

Seychelles with a CPI score of 66 and sits 28 on the global rankings is the least corrupt country in Africa, while Somalia with a CPI score of 10 and sits 180 on the global ranking is the most corrupt country on the continent.

Below are the 10 least corrupt countries in Africa: 

Below are the 10 most corrupt countries in Africa:

Header Image Credit: Answers Africa