Nicaragua Remains Among the 10 Most Corrupt Countries
According to Transparency International
Corruption Perception Index 2024 places Nicaragua in 172nd position out of 180 evaluated countries.
HAVANA TIMES – Nicaragua remains one of the ten most corrupt countries in the world, according to the 2024 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, by Transparency International (TI). It is also considered the most corrupt country in Central America and the second most corrupt in the Americas, after Venezuela.
According to the CPI, which measures corruption in the public sector on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very low corruption), Nicaragua scored 14 points, three points lower than in 2023, placing it in the 172nd position among 180 evaluated countries.
Countries with worse corruption perceptions than Nicaragua include Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, and Yemen, each scoring 13 points.
The four most corrupt countries, according to the index, are South Sudan (8 points), Somalia (9 points), Venezuela (10 points), and Syria (12 points).
The CPI ranks 180 countries based on perceived corruption levels in their public sectors, as assessed through the opinions of specialists, financial risk analysts, academics, and business professionals.
Global Corruption Remains “Extremely High”
The fight against corruption in the public sector remained at “extremely high” levels in 2024 worldwide, while efforts to curb it are “faltering,” with consequences even affecting the fight against climate change, according to the report.
According to the Berlin-based organization, the global average CPI score—measuring perceptions of corruption levels—remained unchanged at 43 out of 100 (where 100 represents no perceived corruption). This score has remained consistent for the thirteenth consecutive year.
Impact on the Fight Against Climate Change
Amid extreme climate events, unprecedented global warming, democratic erosion, and a decline in global leadership on climate action, “the world is against the ropes in the fight against the climate crisis,” and “corruption further hinders this battle,” the organization emphasizes.
Most of the countries highly vulnerable to climate change have a CPI score below 50, according to TI, which warns that billions of dollars in climate funds are at risk of being embezzled or misused.
“We must root out corruption immediately before it further obstructs meaningful climate action. Governments and multilateral organizations must integrate anti-corruption measures into climate initiatives to safeguard funds, restore trust, and maximize impact,” stressed Maíra Martini, TI’s executive director.
“The dangerous trends highlighted in this year’s Corruption Perception Index underscore the need for concrete measures now to tackle global corruption,” added TI President François Valérian.
As in previous years, more than two-thirds of countries scored below 50 out of 100, according to the CPI.
Improvement in 32 Countries
In the 2024 CPI, Denmark appears for the seventh consecutive year as the country with the lowest perceived corruption, scoring 90, ahead of Finland (88) and Singapore (85).
Out of the 180 countries included in TI’s corruption index, perception levels remained unchanged in 101 nations between 2012 and 2024, worsened in 47, and improved in only 32.
Among the seven countries that have significantly improved their CPI scores in the past five years is the Dominican Republic (36), along with Côte d’Ivoire (45), Kosovo (44), the Maldives (38), Moldova (43), and Zambia (39).
In contrast, thirteen countries have seen a sharp decline, including Venezuela (10), Russia (22), and Belarus (33). Other European nations with above-average scores include the United Kingdom (71), Belgium (69), Austria (67), and France (67). Meanwhile, Latin American countries scoring below the global average include El Salvador (30) and Nicaragua (14).
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.