Countries with Highest Corruption Levels in Africa in 2025

In the ongoing global battle against corruption, several countries have taken significant steps to combat the pervasive issue. Here's a roundup of recent developments:

Chad and Sudan

Chad's former foreign minister was embroiled in a scandal involving a two million dollar bribe from a Chinese energy company for oil concession contracts. Sudan, on the other hand, has been grappling with the consequences of Omar al-Bashir's dictatorship, which has resulted in a low score of 15/100 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). After Al Bashir's removal, a stash of over $130 million in cash was discovered in Sudan. Sudan has since taken steps to recover some of the assets they have squandered, including asset freezes and establishing a special court in 2024 to expedite corruption trials.

Equatorial Guinea and Libya

Equatorial Guinea, ranked 173rd in the world for corruption, has a grade of 13 out of 100 due to Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang's embezzlement, leading to the confiscation of €150 million assets by France in 2021. In a bid to address this, Equatorial Guinea held the first-ever anti-corruption summit in Chad and enacted new financial disclosure laws, as well as adopting an e-ordering system.

Libya, on the other hand, has made strides in eliminating ghost workers and tackling the phantom payroll scandal, which had around 55,000 ghost workers on the payroll. The Central Bank has begun implementing tech tools to monitor spending, although the Audit Bureau limited the scope of its investigations in 2024.

Eritrea and Comoros

Eritrea, tied with Libya by scoring 13/100 and getting a 173rd rank in the CPI, has increased animosity towards corruption and has started schooling on the matter, as well as quiet regional discussions on financial openness. Meanwhile, Comoros was sentenced to life for embezzling more than $1.8 billion through an illegal passport scheme.

South Sudan, Somalia, Nepal, and DRC

South Sudan and Somalia are now being monitored in real-time using digital systems to regulate corruption. Nepal, for the first time, participated in a global anti-corruption summit in 2024 to support improving transparency in its state. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains one of the most corrupt countries, particularly concerning the mining industry and customs services.

Citizen Activism

Citizens in Equatorial Guinea, particularly the youth, have begun to confront the elite class online, demanding change and transparency in governance. Diaspora-funded watchdogs in Eritrea have been given some independence to oversee state activities.

Zimbabwe's Progress

Zimbabwe's whistleblower laws passed in 2024 and the digitization of some Government services are beginning to slow down petty corruption.

As these developments show, the fight against corruption is a global effort, with countries taking various approaches to address the issue. The Corruption Perception Index (CPI), published by Transparency International in early 2025, will undoubtedly reflect these efforts and serve as a benchmark for future progress.