10 Most Corrupt Countries in the World — As Far As We Know

The most corrupt country in the index was Somalia, which has ranked as one of the world's most corrupt countries on the CPI since 2010.

In addition to the ongoing tensions of the Somali Civil War, which has been going on since the late 1980s, Somalia is still recovering from the country's most severe drought in four decades, which spanned from 2021 to 2023.

According to a 2019 report by the Syrian Association for Citizen's Dignity, corruption in Syria is spreading at an increasing rate, due to "recent regime policies and the powers granted to specific bodies, without restrictions or control; the country's declining economic situation; and low salaries for government workers."

In 2021 there was a coup in Sudan, and since 2023, there has been an ongoing civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It has displaced over 10 million Sudanese people.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, "political unrest, financial collapse and corruption in Venezuela have created an environment an that allows transnational criminal organizations to operate unchecked." Some of those groups are deemed terrorist organizations.

Yemen has been in constant war since 2014. The ongoing conflict has given corrupt people the opportunity to illegally extract wealth without consequences.

A Gan Integrity risk report showed that petty corruption is present in every government office in Yemen and that bribery is a widespread practice.

North Korea is known for its authoritarian regime led by Kim Jong-Un, who makes frequent threats to launch nuclear attacks on his enemies. A 2019 United Nation human right report describes the North Korean government of perpetuating "a vicious cycle of deprivation, corruption and repression."

The country is also notorious for its officials demanding bribes from its citizens who struggle to secure basic necessities.

It's been over a decade since rebel forces assassinated former Libyan ruler, but corruption remains a problem, post-revolution. Research has also shown that corruption contributes to migrant smuggling and trafficking in the country.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and it's been devastated by natural disasters, including Hurricane Matthew in 2006 and the Haiti earthquake in 2010. The Caribbean country is also notorious for gang activity and organized crime.

Equatorial Guinea is a country rich in mineral resources. But even though it has the highest GDP per capita, many of its citizens still live in poverty. Though the country has a framework in place to fight corruption, a Civil Society report found it's not being implemented due to lack of resources.

The East African country is the poorest country in the world, measured by GDP per capita. It's known for widespread bribery that occurs both at the higher levels of government and in everyday interactions.

According to Transparency International, influential people often seize land and resources without permission or consequences.

If you visit the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index for more rankings of the most corrupt countries in the world, you'll find that each country's score uses at least three data sources drawn from 13 corruption surveys.

Here are 10 types of public sector corruption that the index takes into consideration.

According to recent data from Transparency International, over 80 percent of the population lives in countries that score lower than the global average, which is 43.

Also, the most corrupt nations in the world tend to enable transnational corruption, which means that the corrupt activities cross borders and involve multiple countries.