Africa continues to show widely divergent corruption levels
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation released a report indicating that anti-corruption efforts across Africa have seen a slight overall improvement since 2016, despite significant regional disparities. While some nations are showing progress, others continue to struggle with accelerating rates of corruption.
Why it matters
Understanding governance trends is critical for international investment, policy development, and assessing the effectiveness of anti-corruption initiatives in African nations.
An anti-corruption report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has revealed the biggest winners and losers in anti-corruption standards, with some surprising standout countries.
Levels of corruption across Africa have slightly improved across the last 10 years. That was the main conclusion of the Anti-Corruption: from decline to recovery report released by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation on 8 July, which revealed an uneven pattern of progress across the continent, with several key standout states.
The continent actually saw a decline in anti-corruption success between 2018 and 2020, with improvements showing from 2020 onwards. The continent improved from a ranking of 38.6 on the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) in 2016 to 39.1 in 2025.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in