NO progress made towards tackling corruption in South Africa – report

South Africa has made no progress in combating corruption over the past three years, according to Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released on Tuesday.

The index shows South Africa retaining a score of 41, unchanged from last year and still below the global average of 42, indicating continued stagnation in efforts to curb public-sector corruption.

Most corrupt

South Africa is tied for 81st place overall with Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam on a score of 41.

Denmark (89) leads the way, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84).

In terms of the most corrupt nations, Somalia and South Sudan and tied for 181st and last place with a score of just nine.

Showed little movement

Transparency International said the latest findings point to worsening corruption and declining leadership accountability globally, with South Africa among the countries showing little movement despite repeated commitments to reform.

The CPI assesses perceived levels of public-sector corruption across 182 countries and territories, scoring them on a scale from 0 to 100, where zero represents a highly corrupt country and 100 indicates a very clean public sector.

South Africa’s unchanged score reflects ongoing concerns around governance, accountability and the pace of reform following years of high-profile corruption scandals.

Weigh of the country’s prospects

Analysts have previously warned that failure to strengthen institutions, prosecute corruption effectively and restore public trust could continue to weigh on the country’s democratic and economic prospects.

Transparency International has consistently called on governments to strengthen anti-corruption institutions, protect whistleblowers and ensure that those implicated in corruption are held accountable.