Transparency International, TI, a global coalition against corruption, has again ranked Nigeria as the 36th most corrupt country in the world, retrogressing from 140th in 2024 to 142nd in 2025.

While number one represents the cleanest country in the world, which is Denmark, 182 represents the most corrupt country in the world.

Despite the downward ranking, the country retained the same position as the 36th most corrupt country as in 2024.

Nigeria was joined by Cameroon, Guatemala, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan and Papua New Guinea, which shared the same position with a total score of 26 points.

The ranking, released via TI’s website yesterday, highlighted the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Denmark maintained its position as the least corrupt country with 89 points, followed by Finland with 88 points, Singapore with 84 points, and New Zealand with 81 points.

No African country made the top 10 list of the cleanest countries, as it was dominated largely by European nations.

Seychelles, Cabo Verde and Botswana topped the list of the least corrupt African countries, with scores of 68, 62 and 58 points, respectively.

South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela emerged as the most corrupt countries in the world for the year under review.

Explaining the basis of the ranking, the Chief Executive Officer of Transparency International, Maíra Martini, said the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked 182 countries and territories worldwide by their perceived levels of public-sector corruption.

“The results are given on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). While 31 countries have significantly reduced their corruption levels since 2012, the rest are failing to tackle the problem — they have stayed stagnant or got worse during the same period.

“The global average has fallen to a new low of 42, while more than two-thirds of countries score below 50. And people are paying the price, as corruption leads to under-funded hospitals, unbuilt flood defences, and blights the hopes and dreams of young people,” Martini said.

She warned that corruption remained a serious threat in every part of the world, but noted that there were limited signs of progress.

She said: “We’re seeing a concerning picture of long-term decline in leadership to tackle corruption. Even established democracies, like the US, UK and New Zealand, are experiencing a drop in performance.

“The absence of bold leadership is leading to weaker standards and enforcement, lowering ambition on anti-corruption efforts around the world.

“At the same time, many states are increasing restrictions on civic space. By making it hard or dangerous for citizens, NGOs and journalists to challenge abuses of power, they are reducing transparency and accountability. This allows corruption to flourish.”

Martini urged that “leaders must act to tackle abuses of power and the wider factors driving this decline, such as the roll-back of democratic checks and balances, and attacks on independent civil society.

“Anti-government protests in many parts of the world show that people are fed up with unaccountable leadership and are demanding reform.” (Vanguard)

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