Nigeria has been ranked 142nd out of 182 countries in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Transparency International reported on Tuesday.
The CPI, which assesses perceived public sector corruption on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), gave Nigeria a score of 26, unchanged from 2024. Despite the stable score, Nigeria slipped two places from its previous 140th position, underscoring stagnation in anti-corruption efforts.
Nigeria’s ranking remains far below the global average of 43, with the worldwide average dropping slightly to 42, and more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50. The ranking also places Nigeria behind 33 other African nations.
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In the continent, Seychelles led with 68 points, followed by Cabo Verde (62), Botswana (58), and Rwanda (58). Other African countries ranking higher than Nigeria include Mauritius, Namibia, Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, and Egypt.
Reacting to the ranking, former lawmaker Senator Shehu Sani criticised Transparency International’s methodology, arguing that Western countries are unfairly perceived as clean despite serving as repositories for looted funds.
He said: “Transparency ranked Nigeria as the 36th most corrupt nation on Earth, as if they counted the number of our states. Transparency International always thinks Switzerland and other Western safe havens are not corrupt; the very places where looted money from other nations are safely deposited.”
