Nigeria has been ranked the 36th most corrupt country in the world in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International (TI).
According to the report published on Tuesday, Nigeria dropped from 140th position in 2024 to 142nd out of 182 countries assessed in 2025. Despite the decline, the country retained its position as the 36th most corrupt nation globally, sharing the same ranking with Cameroon, Guatemala, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan and Papua New Guinea, each scoring 26 points.
The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), measuring perceived levels of public-sector corruption.
At the top of the ranking, Denmark emerged as
the least corrupt country with 89 points, followed by Finland (88), Singapore (84) and New Zealand (81). No African country made the top 10 list.Seychelles led the African continent with 68 points, followed by Cabo Verde (62) and Botswana (58).
On the opposite end of the spectrum, South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela were ranked the most corrupt countries globally.
Transparency International’s Chief Executive Officer, Maíra Martini, said the global average score has dropped to 42, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50.
She warned that weak leadership, shrinking civic space and attacks on accountability institutions are contributing to worsening corruption levels worldwide.
“Leaders must act to tackle abuses of power and strengthen democratic checks and balances,” Martini said, noting that growing public protests in many countries reflect rising frustration over unaccountable governance.
