Mapped: Which Countries Are Perceived as the Most Corrupt?

Kayla Zhu
2025-03-02 08:08:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

Corruption Perceptions Index 2024

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Across the globe, striking disparities exist in government corruption levels, from transparent nations with strong institutional safeguards to countries where endemic official misconduct undermines public trust, economic progress, and even enables serious human rights abuses.

This map visualizes the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of 180 countries and territories.

The CPI ranks countries and territories worldwide by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.

The data is for 2024 and comes from Transparency International.

Corruption Perceptions Around the World

Below, we show the 2024 CPI scores of 180 countries and territories.

Note that a higher score means less perceived corruption.

Country/Territory	Corruption Perception Index 2024 score
Denmark	90
Finland	88
Singapore	84
New Zealand	83
Luxembourg	81
Norway	81
Switzerland	81
Sweden	80
Netherlands	78
Australia	77
Iceland	77
Ireland	77
Estonia	76
Uruguay	76
Canada	75
Germany	75
Hong Kong	74
Bhutan	72
Seychelles	72
Japan	71
United Kingdom	71
Belgium	69
Barbados	68
United Arab Emirates	68
Austria	67
France	67
Taiwan	67
Bahamas	65
United States	65
Israel	64
South Korea	64
Chile	63
Lithuania	63
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	63
Cabo Verde	62
Dominica	60
Slovenia	60
Latvia	59
Qatar	59
Saint Lucia	59
Saudi Arabia	59
Costa Rica	58
Botswana	57
Portugal	57
Rwanda	57
Cyprus	56
Czechia	56
Grenada	56
Spain	56
Fiji	55
Oman	55
Italy	54
Bahrain	53
Georgia	53
Poland	53
Mauritius	51
Malaysia	50
Vanuatu	50
Greece	49
Jordan	49
Namibia	49
Slovakia	49
Armenia	47
Croatia	47
Kuwait	46
Malta	46
Montenegro	46
Romania	46
Benin	45
Côte d’Ivoire	45
São Tomé and Príncipe	45
Senegal	45
Jamaica	44
Kosovo	44
Timor-Leste	44
Bulgaria	43
China	43
Moldova	43
Solomon Islands	43
Albania	42
Ghana	42
Burkina Faso	41
Cuba	41
Hungary	41
South Africa	41
Tanzania	41
Trinidad and Tobago	41
Kazakhstan	40
North Macedonia	40
Suriname	40
Vietnam	40
Colombia	39
Guyana	39
Tunisia	39
Zambia	39
Gambia	38
India	38
Maldives	38
Argentina	37
Ethiopia	37
Indonesia	37
Lesotho	37
Morocco	37
Dominican Republic	36
Serbia	35
Ukraine	35
Algeria	34
Brazil	34
Malawi	34
Nepal	34
Niger	34
Thailand	34
Turkey	34
Belarus	33
Bosnia and Herzegovina	33
Laos	33
Mongolia	33
Panama	33
Philippines	33
Sierra Leone	33
Angola	32
Ecuador	32
Kenya	32
Sri Lanka	32
Togo	32
Uzbekistan	32
Djibouti	31
Papua New Guinea	31
Peru	31
Egypt	30
El Salvador	30
Mauritania	30
Bolivia	28
Guinea	28
Eswatini	27
Gabon	27
Liberia	27
Mali	27
Pakistan	27
Cameroon	26
Iraq	26
Madagascar	26
Mexico	26
Nigeria	26
Uganda	26
Guatemala	25
Kyrgyzstan	25
Mozambique	25
Central African Republic	24
Paraguay	24
Bangladesh	23
Congo	23
Iran	23
Azerbaijan	22
Honduras	22
Lebanon	22
Russia	22
Cambodia	21
Chad	21
Comoros	21
Guinea-Bissau	21
Zimbabwe	21
Democratic Republic of the Congo	20
Tajikistan	19
Afghanistan	17
Burundi	17
Turkmenistan	17
Haiti	16
Myanmar	16
North Korea	15
Sudan	15
Nicaragua	14
Equatorial Guinea	13
Eritrea	13
Libya	13
Yemen	13
Syria	12
Venezuela	10
Somalia	9
South Sudan	8

Nordic countries lead in perceived transparency, with Denmark securing the top spot in the 2024 Corruption Perception Index—its seventh consecutive year—followed closely by Finland.

Nordic countries typically record lower perceived corruption due to strong institutions that promote transparency and accountability, extensive welfare benefits, and well-functioning democracies. These countries also consistently rank among the happiest countries in the world.

The United States and Canada landed at 65 and 75, respectively, reflecting moderate corruption concerns compared to top-ranking peers. Both saw slight dips to their CPI scores from 2023, with the U.S. dropping by 4 points and Canada by 1.

Meanwhile, Sub-Saharan Africa had the lowest regional scores, with an average of 33. South Sudan ranked as the most corrupt country in 2024, with a score of 8.

A recent UN Commission report found that South Sudan’s political leaders are fueling violence, obstructing peace, and perpetuating gross human rights violations through impunity and corruption. The report highlights pervasive issues such as systematic sexual violence, forced child recruitment, and numerous incidents of human rights abuses perpetrated by government and military officials.

Corruption remains a persistent issue in fragile states, where weak enforcement and political instability allow it to thrive.

Measuring Corruption

CPI scores are calculated through a combination of at least three data sources drawn from 13 different corruption surveys and assessments, answered by experts and business executives.

The data sources used to compile the CPI covers corruption types such as:

• Bribery
• Diversion of public funds
• Officials using their public office for private gain without facing consequences
• Nepotistic appointments in the civil service
• Legal protection for people who report cases of bribery and corruption
• And more

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about government trust around the world, check out this graphic that visualizes the Edelman Trust Index in 2024, which scores countries based on their average percent trust in NGOs, business, and government.

The post Mapped: Which Countries Are Perceived as the Most Corrupt? appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

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