Ghana made a score of 43 to move four steps to rank 76 on the 2025 global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published by Transparency International.
The 2025 CPI ranks 182 countries in the world. The CPI is the most widely used global corruption ranking in the world. It measures how corrupt each country’s public sector is perceived to be, according to experts and businesspeople.
While the country made a modest score improvement of one from 42 in 2024, the one-point improvement in the score lifted Ghana from ranking at 80 in 2024 to 76 in 2025.
The 2025 ranking of 182 countries and territories saw the global average drop to 42, and 122 countries score below 50, signalling widespread public sector corruption.
According to the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index corruption is worsening globally, with even established democracies.
The 2025 index shows that the number of countries scoring above 80 has shrunk from 12 a decade ago to just five this year.
“Our data show that democracies, typically stronger on anti-corruption than autocracies or flawed democracies, are experiencing a worrying decline in performance. This trend spans countries such as the United States (64), Canada (75) and New Zealand (81), to various parts of Europe, like the United Kingdom (70), France (66) and Sweden (80). Another concerning pattern is increasing restrictions by many states on freedoms of expression, association and assembly. Since 2012, 36 of the 50 countries with significant declines in CPI scores have also experienced a reduction in civic space” the organisation said.
It further noted that the recent slippage in high-scoring democracies shows corruption risks can rise even where institutions once looked secure.
Countries that curb civic space often lose control of corruption: 36 of the 50 biggest CPI decliners restricted freedoms, and over 90 per cent of journalists murdered for investigating corruption were in low-scoring countries, it added.
The anti-corruption organisation is therefore calling on leaders to strengthen independent justice and oversight, make political finance transparent, protect media freedom and clamp down on cross-border flows of dirty money.
GNA