PANA
Lagos, Nigeria – Botswana leads the list of the 10 least corrupt nations in Africa while Somalia remains at the top of the continent’s most corrupt, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index 2013 released Tuesday by the global anti-corruption body Transparency International.
Following Botswana on Africa’s most transparent nations are, in that order, Cape Verde, Seychelles, Rwanda, Mauritius, Lesotho, Namibia, Ghana, Sao Tome and Principe and South Africa
Five of the countries – Botswana (64), Cape Verde (58), Seychelles (54), Rwanda (53) and Mauritius (52) – scored more than 50 out of a possible score of 100, with 0 perceived to be highly corrupt and 100 perceived to be very clean
Seychelles is the new entrant to Africa’s top 10 list, displacing Liberia which was on the list in 2012
Following Somalia in Africa’s bottom 10 list are, in that order, Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Eritrea, Zimbabwe and Burundi.
None of the bottom 10 countries scored higher than 21 out of 100, with Somalia scoring a paltry 8, Sudan 11, South Sudan 14 and Libya 15.
One of Africa’s biggest economies, Nigeria, scored only 25 and was listed as 144th on the list of 177 nations.
Denmark, with a scored of 91, New Zealand (91), Finland (89), Sweden (89) and Norway (86) are the top five least corrupt nations in the world, while the UK came in at number 14 and the US number 19.
Overall, Transparency International said more than two thirds of the 177 countries in the 2013 index scored below 50.
“The Corruption Perceptions Index 2013 demonstrates that all countries still face the threat of corruption at all levels of government, from the issuing of local permits to the enforcement of laws and regulations,” said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International.
