Although Namibia’s score remained unchanged at 49 on the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, the country actually fell one spot to 59 on the global indicator of public sector corruption.
Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index, Transparency International’s flagship research product, has become the leading indicator of public sector corruption around the world.
The index offers an annual snapshot of the relative degree of corruption by ranking countries and territories from all over the globe. In 2012, Transparency International revised its methodology to construct the index to allow for the comparison of scores from one year to the next.
The latest index, released earlier this week, shows a dire situation in Sub-Saharan Africa, where most countries failed to make progress against corruption, with levels stagnating and 90% of countries in the region scoring below 50.
In fact, the Sub-Saharan Africa average remains the lowest in the world, dropping a point this year to 32.
Yet, Transparency International (TI) points out that corruption is not the only obstacle facing Sub-Saharan Africa, as it is also one of the least peaceful regions in the world, according to the Global Peace Index.
“This isn’t a coincidence: corruption and conflict exacerbate each other in a vicious cycle, so countries in conflict become more corrupt, and corruption then fuels conflict,” reads the TI report.
The Central African Republic (24), Sudan (22), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (20), South Sudan (13) and Somalia (12) are five of the 10 least peaceful countries globally and rank in the bottom 30 countries of the entire CPI.
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
“Right now, people across the African continent are facing difficulties from every direction – with food shortages, rising living costs, the ongoing pandemic and numerous ongoing conflicts. Yet, despite the role it plays in fuelling every one of these crises, most governments in the region continue to neglect anti-corruption efforts. Africans need their leaders to go beyond words and commitments and take bold, decisive action to root out pervasive corruption at this key moment – or the situation will only continue to deteriorate,” said TI’s Africa regional advisor Samuel Kaninda.
High levels of corruption leave governments weak, without resources or public support and unable to prevent conflict at a time when people across the continent are struggling to deal with the impacts of the pandemic and increasing costs of living.
In turn, violence and instability – which plague many countries in the region, from military coups to extremism, terror and crime – further fuel corruption.
“The good news is that leaders can fight corruption and promote peace all at once. Governments must open up space to include the public in decision-making – from activists and business owners to marginalised communities and young people. In democratic societies, the people can raise their voices to help root out corruption and demand a safer world for us all,” said Daniel Eriksson, CEO of TI.
Globally, Denmark topped the rankings with a score of 90, with Finland and New Zealand following closely with a score of 87.
Norway (84), Singapore (83), Sweden (83), Switzerland (82), the Netherlands (80), Germany (79), Ireland (77) and Luxembourg (77) complete the top 10 this year.
At the bottom of the index this year were Somalia (12), Syria (13) and South Sudan (13), while Venezuela (14), Yemen (16), Libya (17), North Korea (17), Haiti (17), Equatorial Guinea (17) and Burundi (17) are also at the bottom 10.