NIGERIA has crawled to the 140 spot in Transparency International’s global corruption ranking in 2024 with 26 scores from its position at 25 in 2023.
The chair of Transparency International (TI), Francois Valeria presented the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index and the latest global rankings on Tuesday.
TI on Tuesday ranked the countries based on perceived levels of public sector corruption, using data from various reputable sources, including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
Valeria said that while 32 countries have reduced their corruption levels since 2012, 148 countries have stayed stagnant or gotten worse during the same period.
“The global average of 43 has also stood still for years, while over two-thirds of countries score below 50” he said.
Despite slight improvements in 2024, Nigeria still trails behind several African nations in tackling corruption. Countries like Seychelles that have strengthened their anti-corruption measures, enhanced accountability, and implemented governance reforms, is leading with a score of 72, followed by Cabo Verde (62), Namibia (59), Mauritius (56), Rwanda (57), and Botswana (57).
The latest ranking came weeks after the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project’s (OCCRP) named President Bola Tinubu among the five most corrupt persons worldwide.
Nigeria’s Historical Performance
The global anti-corruption coalition ranks countries based on data from reputable sources, like the World Bank and the bank of Africa. The scale ranges from 0 to 100, where 100 represents a corruption-free country, and 0 indicates a highly corrupt system.
The global coalition against corruption uses organizations and institutions as sources for its ranking. A score of 100 indicates a corruption-free country, while 0 signifies a highly corrupt system.
Nigeria has consistently ranked low on the Corruption Perceptions Index, by attaining an all-time low in 1996 with an average score of 21.48 since 1996 and the highest recorded score was 28 in 2016, reflecting ongoing challenges in tackling corruption.
According to The ICIR, Nigeria ranked 144th and 148th respectively in 2017 and 2018, maintaining a score of 27 despite the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s efforts to combat corruption, even though Nigeria ranked 136th in 2014, one year before Buhari was elected.
In 2019 and 2020, Nigeria was ranked 146th and 49th which places Nigeria as West Africa’s most corrupt country after Guinea-Bissau.
The ICIR reports that Nigeria dropped in 2021from 149th to 154th place among 180 countries
Since 2012, Nigeria has maintained a dangling average score of 26.6 on the Corruption Perceptions Index.
Uganda, Mexico, Madagascar, Iraq, and Cameroon share the same ranking as Nigeria, each scoring 26 points in 2024.
The latest ranking makes Denmark the least corrupt country with 90 points, Finland as second with 88 points, and Singapore as third with 84 points.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.