January 31, (THEWILL) – Nigeria has fallen four places on the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking, released by Transparency International (TI) on Tuesday.
While the country maintained its previous year’s score of 24 out of 100 points, it fell from 150th to 154th position out of 180 countries assessed in the 2022 ranking.
In previous years, Nigeria had experienced a consecutive drop in the CPI ranking. It scored 26 in 2019, 25 in the 2020 assessment, and 24 in the last 2021 record.
The CPI is TI’s tool for measuring the levels of corruption in the systems of various countries around the world. The maximum points a country can score is 100 points, and the least is zero. Zero signifies the worst-performing country and 100, is the best-ranked.
The report ranks countries on a scale from a “highly corrupt” 0 to a “very clean” 100.
Denmark is seen as the least corrupt this year with 90 points, and Finland and New Zealand both follow closely at 87.
Strong democratic institutions and regard for human rights also make these countries some of the most peaceful in the world, the report said.
However, the report also shows that while western Europe remains the top-scoring region, some of its countries are showing worrying signs of decline.
The United Kingdom dropped five points to 73 — its lowest ever score. The report said a number of scandals from public spending to lobbying, as well as revelations of ministerial misconduct, have highlighted woeful inadequacies in the country’s political integrity systems. Public trust in politics is also worryingly low, it said.
Countries like Switzerland, at 82, and the Netherlands, which scored 80 points, are showing signs of decline amidst concerns over weak integrity and lobbying regulations — even though their scores remain high in comparison to the rest of the world.
In eastern Europe corruption is seen as remaining rampant as many countries reached historic lows.
Russia in particular was highlighted as a glaring example of corruption’s impact on peace and stability.
Before the invasion, Ukraine, which scored 33 points, had a low score but was undertaking important reforms and steadily improving.
The index rated 180 countries and territories. Somalia was at the bottom with 12 points; South Sudan tied with Syria for second-to-last with 13.
Only eight countries improved last year, among them Ireland with 77 points, South Korea with 63, Armenia at 46, and Angola at 33.
The report also pointed out how after decades of conflict, South Sudan is in a major humanitarian crisis with more than half of the population facing acute food insecurity — and corruption is exacerbating the situation.
In Yemen, at 16, where complaints of corruption helped spark civil war eight years ago, the report said that the state has collapsed, leaving two-thirds of the population without sufficient food in what has become one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
Compiled since 1995, the index is calculated using 13 different data sources that provide perceptions of public sector corruption from businesspeople and country experts. Sources include the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and private risk and consulting companies.
According to Transparency International Chair, Delia Rubio, global corruption levels have been stagnant for 11 years in a row.
“Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict – and endanger people everywhere,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, the chairperson of Transparency International.
“The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few”, she added.
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