To be able to answer the above question fairly and truly, it is necessary to access directly the data on Corruption Perceptions Indices (CPI) of Transparency International. The organisation started providing scores that reflect the perceived levels of public sector corruption in the countries that are registered with the organization in 1995.
In 2012, the organization changed its operational methodology making the data produced from 1995 to 2011 incomparable with the data produced from 2012 onwards. This article takes the direct words of Transparency International’s 2021 report in many instances.
Corruption
Corruption is defined by Transparency International as “The abuse of entrusted power for private gain.” The abuse consists of the following variables:
- Bribery
- Embezzlement in government, legislature and the judiciary
- Use of public office for private gain
- Excessive red tape in the public sector leads to opportunities for corruption
- Nepotistic civil service appointments
- State capture of narrow vested interests
The above is not exhaustive of all the variables considered in CPI methodology and calculations.
The data source for CPI calculations
Data for CPI calculations are obtained from a survey of opinion from the following categories of experts:
- Academics
- Country specialists
- Business executives
CPI Scores
The six variables and others considered in the survey of expert opinion are combined to yield a composite score that ranges from 0 to 100;
Where a score of
- 100 indicates Low Levels of Corruption (or Very Clean of corruption), and
- 0 indicates High Levels of Corruption (or Highly Corrupt).
Countries with CPI scores in the range closer to 100 for example are countries that are least corrupt, while countries with scores closer to 0 are considered to be countries with significantly high levels of corruption; that is those considered to be corrupt or very corrupt, depending on their degree of closeness to zero.
“Countries with well-protected civil liberties generally score higher on CPI, while countries that violate civil liberties tend to score lower.” Transparency International further writes that “CPI has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption.”
2021 CPI scores data
CPI data for the year 2021 was based on 180 countries out of the world’s 195 countries. The average CPI score for 2021 was 42. ” Two-thirds of the 180 countries (that is 120 countries) scored below 50 indicating countries with serious corruption problems, while 27 countries are at their lowest score ever,” writes Transparency International.
CPI ranks:
Each CPI score is associated with a country’s rank among the participating countries in the year’s survey.
Although “the rank is not as important as the score in terms of the level of corruption in that country,” it should be noted that there is a relationship between CPI score and a country’s rank i.e., a high CPI score means a high cardinal rank: 1st, 2nd 3rd, and low CPI score of 30 for example, goes with low rank in ordinal number. In the 2021 case, a high CPI of 90 for instance would go with a high cardinal position of 1 or 1st among the 180 countries; and a low CPI score of 25 for example, would also go with a low rank of about 160 among the 180 countries. In other words, the higher a country’s CPI score, the higher the country’s cardinal position; and the lower a country’s CPI score, the lower the country’s rank among the number of countries in the survey.
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI): 2021
The tables below show the CPI scores and rank of 62 countries selected from the Transparency International data for 2021. Since Africa Supreme magazine wishes to highlight the performance of African countries in public sector corruption, data on all 51 African countries that were registered for the CPI survey are specially considered in this article. Eleven Western countries, including Singapore and Japan, have been selected and presented for comparative purposes. Transparency International’s concluding remarks on the 2021 report are indicated at the end of this article.
Table 2 shows the frequency distribution of the 51 African countries on the corruption perceptions index for 2021.
NOTE: The frequency distribution and the remarks in the last column have been developed by Africa Supreme magazine for purposes of evaluating the performance of African countries on CPI, 2021.
Cape Verde 58
Botswana 55
Rwanda 53.
The three countries earn “Credit” by Africa Supreme magazine’s score distribution and remarks.
The number of African countries scoring in the satisfactory range of 40 -49 CPI was 8 in number. These included:
African countries scoring below the 2021 CPI average of 42
Forty, or 78 percent of the 51 African countries represented in the 2021 Transparency Perceptions Index survey obtained scores below the 2021 average CPI of 42. Compared to the average performance of the total 180 countries, the performance of the 40 African countries represents 22 percent of countries that scored below the world average.
African countries scoring below 40
African countries scoring CPI below were 40, that is between 30 -39, representing 33 percent of the 51 African countries in the 2021 Transparency Perceptions Index survey and report.
African countries scoring below 20
African countries scoring at, and below the score of 20, that is within the Poor and Very Poor ranges were 23, or 45 percent of the total of 51 African countries, and 13 percent of the total number of 180 countries.
Is Africa truly corrupt? The data presented in Tables 1 and 2 tells an embarrassing story.
Nearly half of the African countries included in the Transparency Perceptions Index survey of 2021 are classified as “Poor” and “Very Poor” by Africa Supreme magazine. Africa truly has serious corruption challenges.
What we need to know, however, are the separate scores for each of the variables or attributes obtained in the CPI survey: democracy and civil rights; bribery; embezzlement, excessive red tape etc. that would already have been captured in Transparency International’s analysis reports. Such data will make it easier for countries that are struggling against corruption to isolate the factors or variables that need priority attention in the fight against corruption in their countries.
Transparency International’s remarks on the 2021 report are as follows:
“In the Middle East and North Africa, the interests of a powerful few continue to dominate the political and private sphere, and the limitations placed on civil and political freedoms are blocking any significant progress.”
The report continues:
“2021 was a turbulent year for Sub-Saharan Africa. On a continent where corruption plunders precious natural resources and impedes access to public services for millions of people, the results of a decade of stagnation cannot be more devastating.”
Daniel Erikson, Chief Executive Officer of Transparency International Secretariat writes the following concluding remarks:
“In authoritarian interests where control rests with a few, social movements are the last remaining check on power. It is the collective power held by ordinary people from all walks of life that will ultimately deliver accountability.”
