Omar Bah
On Tuesday, February 11, Transparency International released its 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which indicates that The Gambia has achieved a score of 38, improving by one point from the previous year. This places the country at 96th out of 180 nations, while Senegal ranks 69th.
The report highlights that global corruption levels remain alarmingly high, with efforts to combat it stagnating. It reveals significant corruption issues worldwide, with over two-thirds of countries receiving scores below 50 out of 100. The global average on the index remains unchanged at 43, underscoring the urgent need for action against corruption and signalling a significant barrier to effective climate action implementation.
In the sub-Saharan African region, the average CPI score is a mere 33 out of 100, with 90 percent of countries falling below the 50 marks. Despite these low scores, African nations have made substantial investments in anti-corruption initiatives and have seen notable progress.
The highest scorers in the region include Seychelles (CPI score: 72), Cabo Verde (62), Botswana (57), and Rwanda (57). Conversely, the lowest scorers on this year’s CPI are Equatorial Guinea (13), Eritrea (13), Somalia (9), and South Sudan (8). The most corrupt African countries are South Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Burundi, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, and Guinea Bissau.
Since its establishment in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has emerged as the leading global metric for assessing public sector corruption. The index evaluates 180 countries and territories based on perceptions of corruption in the public sector, using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting firms, think tanks, and others. The scores reflect the perceptions of experts and business leaders.
