South Africa holds at 41 in corruption index as watchdogs warn of stalled reforms

By Des Erasmus

Corruption in South Africa keeps chewing through taxpayer money and trust, with the latest global index suggesting the country is still not convincing the world it is turning a corner.

South Africa’s score in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released on Tuesday, held steady at 41 out of 100 in 2025, leaving it below the global average of 42. It ranked 81 out of 182 countries and territories.

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The CPI scores countries on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), based on expert assessments and perceptions of public-sector corruption.

For 2025, Denmark, Finland and Singapore were ranked as the least corrupt. The most corrupt were listed as South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela.

The index “reveals a concerning picture of long-term decline in leadership to tackle corruption, alongside limited signs of