Rwanda Makes Improvements in Global Corruption Perception Index

By Jean d’Amour Mugabo

Rwanda has made slight improvements as most countries globally stumble in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2023.

The report released by Transparency International on Monday ranked Rwanda 49th with the score of 53%, reflecting a progress from 54th position and a score of 51% in 2022. With this elevated score, Rwanda maintains its standing as the fourth least corrupt country in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, behind Seychelles scoring 71, Cabo Verde (64) and Botswana (59).

“Most African countries showed stagnation, maintaining the region’s consistently poor performance, with an unchanged regional average score of 33. Ninety per cent of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa scored below 50,” the report partly reads.

Transparency International reports that most countries have made little to no progress in tackling public sector corruption. “The CPI global average remains unchanged at 43 for the twelfth year in a row, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50. This indicates serious corruption problems,” it reads.

In East Africa, Rwanda leads the way, followed by Tanzania (87th with 40%), Kenya (126th with 31%), Uganda (141st with 26%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (162nd with 20%), and Burundi (162nd with 20%).

Speaking at press briefing in Kigali, Apollinaire Mupiganyi, the Executive Director of Transparency International Rwanda said “the slight increase in Rwanda’s score and ranking signifies a commitment to address corruption and the remarkable progress made thus far, as evident in the annual Rwanda Bribery Index (RBI) recently published by TI-Rwanda. However, continued improvement is necessary, and the CPI serves as a call to action, urging reflection on the state of corruption in our midst and a collective effort towards a more just and transparent society.”

The index scores 180 countries and territories around the world based on perceptions of public sector corruption, using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies, think tanks and others. The scores reflect the views of experts and business people, not the public.

Global Highlights

 The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Denmark (90) tops the index for the sixth consecutive year, with Finland and New Zealand following closely with scores of 87 and 85, respectively.

Somalia (11), Venezuela (13), Syria (13), South Sudan (13) and Yemen (16) take the bottom spots in the index. They are all affected by protracted crises, mostly armed conflicts. 23 countries including some high-ranking democracies such as Iceland (72), the Netherlands (79), Sweden (82) and the United Kingdom (71), as well as some authoritarian states like Iran (24), Russia (26), Tajikistan (20) and Venezuela (13) – are all at historic lows this year.

Under the theme “Corruption and Injustice,” the CPI 2023 asserts that independent, transparent and well-resourced judiciaries and law enforcement institutions are central to keeping corruption in check. In turn, preventing the abuse of political power, bribery and other forms of corruption from influencing justice systems is key to ensuring their effectiveness.

François Valérian, Chair of Transparency International, said: “Corruption will continue to thrive until justice systems can punish wrongdoing and keep governments in check. When justice is bought or politically interfered with, it is the people who suffer. Leaders should fully invest in and guarantee the independence of institutions that uphold the law and tackle corruption. It is time to end impunity for corruption.”

Transparency International calls on governments to give justice systems the independence, resources and transparency needed to effectively punish all corruption offences and provide checks and balances on power. Where necessary, they must also introduce better procedures and laws to help justice institutions shield themselves from and target corrupt acts.

Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption.