Transparency International (TI) has once again ranked Nigeria as the 36th most corrupt country in the world in its 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on Tuesday.
In the latest report, Nigeria placed 142nd out of 182 countries assessed, a drop from 140th in the 2024 ranking. Although the country slipped two places globally, it retained the same position as the 36th most corrupt nation, similar to the previous year.
Nigeria scored 26 out of 100 in the index, sharing the same score with Cameroon, Guatemala, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan and Papua New Guinea. The CPI measures perceived levels of public-sector corruption using assessments from experts and business leaders, with scores ranging from 0, considered highly corrupt, to 100, regarded as very clean.
Denmark emerged as the least corrupt country in the world with a score of 89, followed by Finland with 88, Singapore with 84, and New Zealand with 81.
No African country made the top 10 in the global ranking. Within the continent, Seychelles scored 68 points, Cabo Verde 62, and Botswana 58, making them the least corrupt African countries in the 2025 index. At the bottom of the global ranking were South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela, which were named the most corrupt countries in the world.
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According to the Cable, Nigeria’s strongest performance in the last decade was recorded in 2016, when it ranked 136th with a score of 28.
Reacting to the report, Paul Banoba, regional advisor for Africa at TI, said public sector corruption continues to affect vulnerable groups the most.
“African governments need to urgently translate anti-corruption commitments into decisive action by further strengthening accountability institutions and increasing transparency, protecting civic space and supporting the public,” Banoba said.
Recall that in 2024, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) controversially named Tinubu a finalist for its ‘Corrupt Person of the Year’ award.