World map showing corruption index. (CPI)

South Sudan has been ranked as the second most corrupt country in the world along with Syria and Venezuela as Somalia tops the list, according to Transparency International’s 2023 corruption index.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is the most widely used global corruption ranking in the world, and measures how corrupt each country’s public sector is perceived to be, according to experts.

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the globe by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

South Sudan was ranked 177th out of 180 countries after scoring 13, out of a scale of 100, while Somalia scored 11 and plunges to the bottom of the list for the second year in a row.

South Sudan has remained in that position for the last two years, after beating Somalia as the most corrupt in 2021.

Meanwhile, Yemen ranked 176th with a score of 16, while North Korea, Nicaragua, Haiti and Equatorial Guinea all ranked 172nd with a score of 17.

Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi scored 20 above South Sudan to rank 162nd while Uganda scored 26 and ranked 141st.

Denmark scored 90 and ranked as the most transparent country in the world followed by Finland with 87 in score, New Zealand (85), Norway (84) and Singapore (83).

The CPI shows that more than half of the countries score below 50 out of 100, which strongly indicates that they have serious corruption problems.

“The global average is stuck at only 43, while the vast majority of countries have made no progress or declined in the last decade. What is more, 23 countries fell to their lowest scores to date this year,” the report reads, in part.

Transparency International says a global trend of weakening justice systems is reducing accountability for public officials, which allows corruption to thrive.

According to the organization, both authoritarian and democratic leaders are undermining justice.

“Corruption will continue to thrive until justice systems can punish wrongdoing and keep governments in check,” said François Valérian, Chair of Transparency International.

“When justice is bought or politically interfered with, it is the people that 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 recommends that well-functioning justice systems are a precondition and a catalyst for addressing corruption effectively.

“When the justice system is weak, dysfunctional or lacks independence to shield itself against external pressures, it cannot uphold the law and ensure that it is applied equally to all,” the report reads, in part.

“Under these circumstances, legal frameworks tend to lose their power to dissuade people from engaging in corruption and other criminal activities, and impunity thrives.”