Most Corrupt Countries 2024

Snapshot

Transparency.org's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks countries by perceived corruption levels; introduced in 1995, it defines corruption as misuse of public power for private gain.
The top three most corrupt countries in the 2022 CPI were Somalia (12), Syria and South Sudan (tied at 13), followed by Venezuela (14).
A separate 2023 Best Countries ranking from U.S. News, BAV Group, and Wharton School listed Russia, Iran, and Colombia as the top three most corrupt nations.

Not all governments operate with the best interests of their citizens as the top priority. People in power can have a hard time resisting the temptation to use that power for their own gain, and many public servants in many countries have been caught up in political scandals and corruption. In some countries, histories of deeply entrenched corruption have spurred political unrest between the governments and their citizens.

Introducing the Corruption Perceptions Index

In an effort to shine a light on corruption and initiate changes for the better, the organization Transparency.org has created the Corruption Perceptions Index, which uses expert assessments and surveys to rank countries based upon their perceived levels of corruption. Initially launched in 1995, the CPI defines corruption as “the misuse of public power for private benefit.”

The 2022 CPI (released January 2023) ranked 180 countries on a scale from 0 to 100. The lower the score, the more corrupt a country is considered to be.

The Top 10 Most Corrupt Countries in the World (2022 Corruption Perceptions Index):

Country	Corruption Perception Index 2023
Somalia	11
Venezuela	13
Syria	13
South Sudan	13
Yemen	16
North Korea	17
Haiti	17
Nicaragua	17
Equatorial Guinea	17
Turkmenistan	18

Somalia, ranked as the most corrupt country in the world for a number of recent years, has undergone a shift between 2019 (CPI score of 9) and 2021 (CPI 13), finally regaining the top spot for corruption in 2022 (CPI 12). Meanwhile, South Sudan's score dropped from 12 in 2020 to 11 in 2021, eventually tying with Syria for the second spot at the CPI of 13 in 2022. Venezuela has securely placed third in 2021 and 2022 with a CPI score of 14.

Ultimately, the average score on the 2022 CPI was 43/100 for the eleventh year in a row, and over 2/3 of countries scored lower than 50/100. Clearly, corruption—or at least the impression of it—continues to be a problem all over the world.

Alternate views on national corruption

However, other studies provide different rankings. The 2023 Best Countries rankings from U.S. News and World Report, BAV Group, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania surveyed more than 17,000 citizens all over the world. Of the 87 countries featured in the survey, Russia was chosen as 2023's most corrupt nation. Iran and Colombia slotted in second and third places.

What Are the Least Corrupt Countries in the World?

On the other hand, the CPI report's least corrupt countries for 2021 and 2022 have been Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, and Sweden.

Source

The lack of countries that coincide on the two lists of top 10 most corrupt countries in the world according to the CPI and to US News sources does not stem from the difference in years surveyed (2022 vs 2023). These organizations use different research methods and criteria to rank countries in terms of corruption.

Data parsed September 2024. Current totals may differ, as new locations may begin operations and/or existing sites cease operations at any time.

180 countries

Country	Corruption Perception Index 2023	CPI 2022	CPI 2021	CPI 2020
India	39	40	40	40
China	42	45	45	42
United States	69	69	67	67
Indonesia	34	34	38	37
Pakistan	29	27	28	31
Nigeria	25	24	24	25
Brazil	36	38	38	38
Bangladesh	24	25	26	26
Russia	26	28	29	30
Ethiopia	37	38	39	38
Mexico	31	31	31	31
Japan	73	73	73	74
Egypt	35	30	33	33
Philippines	34	33	33	34
DR Congo	20	20	19	18
Vietnam	41	42	39	36
Iran	24	25	25	25
Turkey	34	36	38	40
Germany	78	79	80	80
Thailand	35	36	35	36
United Kingdom	71	73	78	77
Tanzania	40	38	39	38
France	71	72	71	69
South Africa	41	43	44	44
Italy	56	56	56	53
Kenya	31	32	30	31
Myanmar	20	23	28	28
Colombia	40	39	39	39
South Korea	63	63	62	61
Sudan	20	22	20	16
Uganda	26	26	27	27
Spain	60	60	61	62
Algeria	36	33	33	36
Iraq	23	23	23	21
Argentina	37	38	38	42
Afghanistan	20	24	16	19
Yemen	16	16	16	15
Canada	76	74	74	77
Poland	54	55	56	56
Morocco	38	38	39	40
Angola	33	33	29	27
Ukraine	36	33	32	33
Uzbekistan	33	31	28	26
Malaysia	50	47	48	51
Mozambique	25	26	26	25
Ghana	43	43	43	43
Peru	33	36	36	38
Saudi Arabia	52	51	53	53
Madagascar	25	26	26	25
Ivory Coast	40	37	36	36
Nepal	35	34	33	33
Cameroon	27	26	27	25
Venezuela	13	14	14	15
Niger	32	32	31	32
Australia	75	75	73	77
North Korea	17	17	16	18
Syria	13	13	13	14
Mali	28	28	29	30
Burkina Faso	41	42	42	40
Taiwan	67	68	68	65
Sri Lanka	34	36	37	38
Malawi	34	34	35	30
Zambia	37	33	33	33
Kazakhstan	39	36	37	38
Chad	20	19	20	21
Chile	66	67	67	67
Romania	46	46	45	44
Somalia	11	12	13	12
Senegal	43	43	43	45
Guatemala	23	24	25	25
Netherlands	79	80	82	82
Ecuador	34	36	36	39
Cambodia	22	24	23	21
Zimbabwe	24	23	23	24
Guinea	26	25	25	28
Benin	43	43	42	41
Rwanda	53	51	53	54
Burundi	20	17	19	19
Bolivia	29	31	30	31
Tunisia	40	40	44	44
South Sudan	13	13	11	12
Haiti	17	17	20	18
Belgium	73	73	73	76
Jordan	46	47	49	49
Dominican Republic	35	32	30	28
United Arab Emirates	68	67	69	71
Cuba	42	45	46	47
Honduras	23	23	23	24
Czech Republic	57	56	54	54
Sweden	82	83	85	85
Tajikistan	20	24	25	25
Papua New Guinea	29	30	31	27
Portugal	61	62	62	61
Azerbaijan	23	23	30	30
Greece	49	52	49	50
Hungary	42	42	43	44
Togo	31	30	30	29
Israel	62	63	59	60
Austria	71	71	74	76
Belarus	37	39	41	47
Switzerland	82	82	84	85
Sierra Leone	35	34	34	33
Laos	28	31	30	29
Turkmenistan	18	19	19	19
Hong Kong	75	76	76	77
Libya	18	17	17	17
Kyrgyzstan	26	27	27	31
Paraguay	28	28	30	28
Nicaragua	17	19	20	22
Bulgaria	45	43	42	44
Serbia	36	36	38	38
El Salvador	31	33	34	36
Republic of the Congo	22	21	21	19
Denmark	90	90	88	88
Singapore	83	83	85	85
Lebanon	24	24	24	25
Finland	87	87	88	85
Liberia	25	26	29	28
Norway	84	84	85	84
Slovakia	54	53	52	49
Central African Republic	24	24	24	26
Oman	43	44	52	54
Ireland	77	77	74	72
New Zealand	85	87	88	88
Mauritania	30	30	28	29
Costa Rica	55	54	58	57
Kuwait	46	42	43	42
Panama	35	36	36	35
Croatia	50	50	47	47
Georgia	53	56	55	56
Eritrea	21	22	22	21
Mongolia	33	33	35	35
Uruguay	73	74	73	71
Bosnia and Herzegovina	35	34	35	35
Qatar	58	58	63	63
Moldova	42	39	36	34
Namibia	49	49	49	51
Armenia	47	46	49	49
Lithuania	61	62	61	60
Jamaica	44	44	44	44
Albania	37	36	35	36
Gambia	37	34	37	37
Gabon	28	29	31	30
Botswana	59	60	55	60
Lesotho	39	37	38	41
Guinea Bissau	22	21	21	19
Slovenia	56	56	57	60
Equatorial Guinea	17	17	17	16
Latvia	60	59	59	57
North Macedonia	42	40	39	35
Bahrain	42	44	42	42
Trinidad and Tobago	42	42	41	40
Timor Leste	43	42	41	40
Estonia	76	74	74	75
Cyprus	53	52	53	57
Mauritius	51	50	54	53
Eswatini	30	30	32	33
Djibouti	30	30	30	27
Fiji	52	53	55
Comoros	20	19	20	21
Guyana	40	40	39	41
Solomon Islands	43	42	43	42
Bhutan	68	68	68	68
Luxembourg	78	77	81	80
Montenegro	46	45	46	45
Suriname	40	40	39	38
Malta	51	51	54	53
Maldives	39	40	40	43
Cape Verde	64	60	58	58
Brunei				60
Bahamas	64	64	64	63
Iceland	72	74	74	75
Vanuatu	48	48	45	43
Barbados	69	65	65	64
Sao Tome and Principe	45	45	45	47
Saint Lucia	55	55	56	56
Seychelles	71	70	70	66
Grenada	53	52	53	53
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	60	60	59	59
Dominica	56	55	55	55

Which country is considered the most corrupt in the world?

According to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2023, the country with the highest level of perceived corruption is Somalia.