Nigeria remains one of the most corrupt nations in the world, according to the latest report by Transparency International.
The annual Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.
A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 – 100, where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 100 means it is perceived as very clean. A country’s rank indicates its position relative to the other countries and territories included in the index. This year’s index includes 177 countries and territories (see the map below).
This year Nigeria is ranked 144th, scoring 25 / 100. This result is worse as compared to the year 2012, when Nigeria scored 27 points and was placed 139th out of 176 countries.
In 2013 corruption level in Nigeria is equal with crisis-torn Central African Republic, neighbour, Cameroon, boiling Ukraine, nuclear Iran, Oceania’s Papua New Guinea.
Denmark and New Zealand are the cleanest countries in the world, sharing the first spot in the index, with scores of 91.
Finland, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Netherlands, Australia and Canada emerged in the top ten of least corrupt nations in the world.
South Sudan, Sudan, Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia are at the end of the list, occupying the last 5 places.
Botswana is rated the cleanest African country, scoring 64 points which equals 30th result in the world.
Public sector corruption threatens to undermine global initiatives.
Corruption within the public sector remains one of the world’s biggest challenges, Transparency International said, particularly in areas such as political parties, police, and justice systems.
Public institutions need to be more open about their work and officials must be more transparent in their decision-making. Corruption remains notoriously difficult to investigate and prosecute. Future efforts to respond to climate change, economic crisis and extreme poverty will face a massive roadblock in the shape of corruption, Transparency International warned. International bodies like the G20 must crack down on money laundering, make corporations more transparent and pursue the return of stolen assets.
Source: Transparency International
