The 2025 Global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) average has dropped by 1 point for the first time in more than a decade to 42/100. This is because most countries are failing to control corruption. Notably, 122 countries scored under 50/100, while the number of countries scoring above 80/100 has shrunk from 12 a decade ago to just five in 2025. The highest-ranked nation was Denmark (89), while only 15 countries, mainly in Western Europe and the AsiaPacific, achieved scores above 75/100. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the lowest performing region, with an average score of 32/100. Only four of the 49 countries scored above 50/100, while 10 have significantly The World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey measures bribery in business operations (the supply side of political corruption), while the Varieties of Democracy Project measures political corruption in the executive, legislature, and judiciary (the demand side of political corruption), including bribery, embezzlement, procurement corruption and grand corruption. Therefore, TI-Z attributes the decline in the 2025 CPI score to increased abuse of office to facilitate the diversion of public funds through strategic business interests and political supporters, ahead of the 2026 Elections. worsened since 2012. Transparency International is therefore calling on African governments to strengthen accountability institutions and increase transparency, protect civic space, support public participation, and ensure necessary checks and balances on power. Zambia’s CPI score declined by 2 points in 2025, from 39/100 in 2024 to 37/100, and its rank fell by 7 places from 92/180 in 2024 to 99/182 in 2025. This is the first time the CPI score for Zambia has declined in the past five years, indicating challenges in sustaining anticorruption efforts. The analysis of data sources indicates that Zambia’s CPI score declined due to a 15-point drop in the World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey score and a 3-point drop in the Varieties of Democracy Project score. In light of these findings, Transparency International Zambia calls on the Zambian government to prioritise the enactment of political party and campaign financing laws to strengthen transparency and accountability in political processes; and to strengthen enforcement of procurement regulations and eliminate undue influence in public procurement. Furthermore, the government should address the growing perception of corruption in social protection and empowerment programmes, particularly in the run-up to elections. TI-Z also calls upon Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to enhance investigations, sanctions, and protections to combat corruption and deter business interests from colluding with public officials in public procurement. LEAs should also take stronger action in response to publications from the Office of the Auditor General and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
