Nigeria has fallen two spots to 142nd place in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, maintaining a stagnant score of 26 out of 100 amid calls for African nations to ramp up anti-graft measures.
The Berlin-based watchdog’s annual report, released Tuesday, assesses perceived public-sector corruption in 182 countries, with zero denoting highly corrupt and 100 very clean.
“Nigeria has a score of 26 this year, with a change of 0 since last year, meaning it ranks 142 out of 182 countries,” the assessment stated.
This marks a reversal from Nigeria’s five-place gain in 2023, when it scored 24 and ranked 150th out of 180 nations.83997a In 2024, it held 140th position.
Regionally, sub-Saharan Africa fares poorly, with Seychelles leading at 68 points, followed by Cabo Verde (62), Botswana (58) and Rwanda (58).1dba87 Globally, Denmark tops the list with 89, ahead of Finland (88) and Singapore (84), while Sudan (14), Eritrea (13), Somalia (9) and South Sudan (9) anchor the bottom.6dbfb2
Transparency International’s Africa advisor Paul Banoba urged stronger enforcement of the African Union’s anti-corruption convention, adopted over 20 years ago. “Public sector corruption always hits the most vulnerable people the hardest,” he said. “Despite the African Union’s adoption of the Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption more than two decades ago, more needs to be done.”
Banoba called for bolstering accountability bodies, enhancing transparency, safeguarding civic freedoms and curbing unchecked authority.
“African governments need to urgently translate anti-corruption commitments into decisive action by further strengthening accountability institutions and increasing transparency, protecting civic space and supporting public participation, along with necessary checks and balances on power,” he added.
