Top 10 Most Corrupt Countries in 2025

What is Corruption?

Corruption is generally defined as the misuse of power or authority to acquire illicit benefits and it encompasses several activities such as embezzlement, bribery and influence peddling. In this post, we will elaborate on the most corrupt countries and the reasons behind them. 

How Are the Most Corrupt Countries Measured?

There are several ways to measure a country’s corruptness. However, the most cited ranking worldwide is Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. In CPI, assessments and surveys from experts and business executives are taken into account to rate countries on a scale of 0 to 100. These assessments cover things like bribery, misuse of public funds, nepotism in civil service and effectiveness of anti-corruption laws. Their methods consist of data selection, rescaling source data, aggregating the rescaled data, reporting a measure for uncertainty and checking their validity. 

Even though CPI is the most common index, there are also other tools that help calculate corruption levels such as Global Financial Integrity’s illicit financial flows reports, the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, records of bribery and corruption cases, and measures of press and judicial independence. 

What is Global Financial Integrity?

Global Financial Integrity (GFI) focuses on illicit financial flows, corruption, illicit trade and money laundering in order to address the harms inflicted by trade misinvoicing, transnational crime, tax evasion and kleptocracy. 

Top 10 Most Corrupt Countries in 2025

1. South Sudan – CPI 8

Civil war and political instability are the primary reasons why South Sudan is ranked as the most corrupt country in the world. Decades of conflict caused weak judiciary and ineffective oversight mechanisms, which allowed the political and military elite to capture state institutions. The resources of the country are also used to fund these elites instead of national development. 

The 101-page report of the UN on South Sudan’s leaders highlights the corruption in the country with several examples. For example, $1.7 billion of the $2.2 billion set aside for the roads program was unaccounted for and 95% of roads are still far from completion. 

This systemic corruption resulted in inflation, unemployment and underfunded public services. Moreover, foreign aid is often diverted before it reaches the people of South Sudan. It is also possible to spot almost all of the red flags that a corrupt country features, such as officials displaying unexplained wealth, lack of independent media, whistleblowers facing intimidation or oil revenues being managed with little transparency. While we were preparing this content, The European Union extended sanctions against Sudan's war, including asset freezes and travel bans, by one year until Oct 10, 2026.

2. Somalia – CPI 9

The current state of Somalia is a result of decades of political instability, especially after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991. Today, Somalia’s resources are all distributed through patronage networks and armed groups. Whenever there is an attempt to hinder corruption, political interference blocks it. This is the reason why large shares of funds and state revenues go missing, thus the underfunded health, education and infrastructure. 

3. Venezuela – CPI 10

Chávez and Maduro administrations are key actors behind today’s Venezuela. The centralized power of “Boliburguesía” dominates state-owned enterprises and public institutions. We must also mention that their strict currency controls and price controls caused officials to profit from exchange rate arbitrage and import licensing. These resulted in the collapse of Venezuela’s economy, food and medicine shortages, massive immigration and deteriorated public services.  

4. Syria – CPI 12

Ba’athist Syria’s corruption was deeply rooted in its political system due to the fact that the Ba’ath Party was the only legal party in the country. Unsurprisingly, this monopolized access to power and public resources. The effects of the corruption could be seen in unevenly distributed public services, infrastructure, economy; basically in all socio-economic rights. 

5. Yemen – CPI 13

Similar to the previous examples, corruption in Yemen is deeply rooted in elite capture, patronage networks and a lack of institutional control. Starting from the 1990s, President Ali Abdullah Saleh took control of the military and security forces and gave it to his family and clan. Political offices, contracts, and economic opportunities were exclusively distributed to relatives and allies. One thing that Yemen differs from the previous countries is that it has anti-corruption and government oversight institutions. However, we cannot say that these function efficiently. 

6. Libya – CPI 13

The primary underlying factor for Libya being ranked 6th is its oil revenues. A long time ago, Gaddafi centralized the institutions in Tripoli and this led to elites making decisions. Reports like Libya’s kleptocratic boom lays bare how the politicians facilitated the processes of money laundering, fuel smuggling and the theft of public funds. Just like the other countries in the list, Libyans are suffering from deteriorating infrastructure, collapsing public services and humanitarian crises. 

7. Eritrea – CPI 13

Once again, the centralization of power, mismanagement of resources and elite patronage are the key factors behind the corruption of another country. The most prominent figure here is Isaias Afwerki, who has been ruling Eritrea since its independence in 1993. When these are combined with the absence of free elections, free press and judicial independence, the results are not hard to guess. We must also mention that Eritrea actually has considerable mining revenue. However; bribery, favoritism, and military-owned illicit enterprises obstruct these resources from reaching the public. 

8. Equatorial Guinea – CPI 13

President Teodoro Obiang’s kleptocracy dates way back in time. Since 1982, he has been diverting the country’s vast oil revenues (one of the richest in Africa by GDP per capita) into the private accounts of the ruling elite. Over 60% of the population survive on less than $1 a day; and have poor access to clean water, healthcare and education. This makes it one of the widest gaps between national income and human development worldwide. 

9. Nicaragua – CPI 14

Nicaragua has been involved in historical corruption scandals for many years now. For example, Arnoldo Aleman, ex-leader of the country, was accused of embezzling $100 million from public funds. However, he is not the only culprit in Nicaragua’s past. Daniel Ortega’s return to power in 2006 has worsened the corruption in Nicaragua even further. The government, in which Ortega’s family particularly holds key positions, has been increasingly taking control of the judiciary, the legislature and the media of the country. Today, Nicaragua’s public trust has collapsed, political opponents are marginalized and protests are repressed in the country. 

10. Sudan – CPI 15

In 10th place on our list is Sudan, which shares the same score as North Korea but has shown a greater decline compared to the previous year. The main culprit behind Sudan can be considered Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for decades. His authoritarian rule resulted in a system of patronage, embezzlement, and nepotism. Just like the other governments at the bottom of the table of Corruption Perceptions Index, Sudan’s rulers have diverted the country’s natural wealth and resources. Today, citizens routinely face bribery demands from police, customs and tax officials. Also, businesses encounter high risks due to corrupt procurement and licensing. Last but not least, blatant manipulation of the judiciary/elections and censorship of the media have eroded trust and deepened poverty. 

Top 10 Most Corrupt Countries in 2025 – Summary Table

Why Do These Countries Struggle with Corruption?

We can start with one of the most fundamental reasons; the weak rule of law. These leaders often take control of the judiciary through reasons such as civil wars, so that courts and watchdogs cannot prosecute them. This way, they don’t fear that they will be prosecuted. Similarly, these authoritarian rules often try to silence independent journalists and whistleblowers by intimidation or violence. Without a free press, citizens cannot hold leaders accountable and corruption continues to thrive. 

Let’s continue with low public salaries, which especially affects civil servants, police, or even judges. These people start to accept bribery due to poverty. With time, these bribes get bigger and more prevalent. After a while, bribery eventually becomes systemic corruption. 

It is not uncommon to encounter opaque institutions in these countries. Governments keep budget, revenues, and public contracts as a secret in order to siphon off resources without scrutiny. Unfortunately, this lack of transparency often remains invisible until the damage is irreversible. 

Obviously, all of these countries have a serious degree of political instability. We may attribute this to several factors such as civil wars, coups, or authoritarian rules that weaken and destroy oversight bodies. When these are no longer functional, corruption becomes the actual framework that keeps everything together. 

What Are the Global Consequences of High Corruption?

The number one consequence of high corruption is the decreased foreign direct investment. Expectedly, investors do not want to get involved with corrupt environments due to bribery risks, legal uncertainty and unstable contracts. According to an National Bureau of Economic Research study by Shang-Jin Wei, corruption is on a par with high taxation when it comes to its negative effects on investment. 

Similarly, elites often divert development and humanitarian aid without letting them reach to those in need. The donors who see that their resources are being continuously stolen can reduce, even withdraw their aid altogether. This is kind of a paradoxical situation because this contributes to the cycle where populations continue to suffer and corrupt regimes stay in power. Let’s give an example of this. The UN estimated that in 2024, 23.7 million Afghans required humanitarian aid, especially women and children, and that only 31% of the UN’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan was funded. However according to Reuters, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are blocking minority communities from receiving international aid. We may also give the example of the U.S. cutting support for humanitarian aids in the recent years.

Since we are already on the topic of trust, let’s touch upon the loss of democratic trust as well. When citizens see several illicit activities such as fraudulent elections or governments enriching themselves without any accountability, they start to lose their faith in the state. Thus, this damages the global democracy and spreads populism and authoritarianism even further. The research, “Institutional Trust, Corruption, and Democracy: Relationships Based on People’s Perceptions Worldwide”, by Mizrahi and Krup also backs this up by showing the negative correlation between corruption levels and trust in institutions. 

This effect is equally visible in an article by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, which bases its claims on the South American countries. In this article, we also see that this loss of democratic trust is not irreversible. Through honesty at the top, faith in democracy is possible to restore. 

These are not its only effects on a global scale. Elites often use funds related to corruption to fuel organized crime across borders. Another way that they compromise the global financial systems is kleptocrats moving their wealth to offshore accounts or luxury real estate abroad. The Sentry’s report “Libya’s Kleptocratic Boom” reveals the rapid expansion of illicit enterprises linked to Libya’s leaders, which range from human trafficking to narcotics, from currency manipulation to fuel smuggling.

Furthermore, we have already mentioned that several of these governments rely on resources such as oil or mining to gain more power. However, these corrupt governments often choose to distort global markets due to valuable resources that they withhold. According to Transparency International, weak governance could hinder the secure supply of critical minerals and the elevated risks where corruption may exacerbate challenges for communities and the environment. 

How Can Countries Address Systemic Corruption?

It is true that this is certainly not a simple task. Captured institutions, weak oversight bodies and loss of faith in the justice system can make even small reforms seem impossible. However, the cost of doing nothing is far greater. So, here we have listed some of the most effective preventive steps a country can take to address systemic corruption. 

The cornerstone of this is judicial independence. The most important thing here is to make sure that elites know that they can actually be prosecuted because none of the measures, such as courts being free from political capture or judges getting appointed based on their merit, will endure without it. 

The next part is about leveraging the recent developments in technology. Countries can implement tools such as online procurement systems. This way, the risk of face-to-face corruption decreases and makes bidding transparent. Furthermore, utilizing open contracting data standards such as OC4IDS can allow citizens to see government spending. 

Speaking of government spending, we should also mention the importance of asset disclosures. However, there are a lot of other things to do as well such as requiring public officials to declare assets, income, and conflicts of interest; implementing digital registries to shed light on unexplained wealth; and enabling regular audits of declarations.

It is also very important that countries protect whistleblowers with laws. There are successful examples of these laws like the U.S. SEC whistleblower program, which recovered billions from fraud cases. In order to successfully implement this, there should be reward systems that encourage reporting and effective reporting channels with anonymity. 

Last but not least, press freedom plays a crucial role when it comes to exposing scandals that trigger real reform. If a country doesn’t give this freedom to independent media and investigative journalism, corruption scandals often get buried and public awareness gets suppressed.