By Abigail Philip David
Transparency International has ranked Nigeria as the 36th most corrupt country in the world, according to the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on Tuesday.
Nigeria shares the spot with Uganda, Mexico, Madagascar, Iraq, and Cameroon, each scoring 26 points on the index. The ranking assesses 180 countries based on perceived levels of public sector corruption, scored from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Denmark topped the list as the least corrupt nation with 90 points, followed by Finland (88 points) and Singapore (84 points). No African country made it into the top 10 least corrupt nations, which were predominantly European. However, Cape Verde emerged as the least corrupt country in Africa, ranking 35th globally with 62 points.
At the bottom of the list, South Sudan, Somalia, and Venezuela were identified as the most corrupt countries in the world for 2024.
Transparency International’s chair, Francois Valeria, emphasized that while 32 countries have made significant progress in reducing corruption since 2012, 148 nations have either remained stagnant or worsened. Valeria also highlighted corruption as a major obstacle to climate action, hindering efforts to curb emissions and adapt to global warming.
“The global average score remains at 43, with over two-thirds of countries scoring below 50. Billions of people continue to suffer as corruption undermines lives and human rights,” Valeria noted.
