Mozambique was the lowest-ranked country among the African Portuguese-Speaking Countries (PALOP) in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International, released this Tuesday (10). The report shows a global erosion of leadership in the fight against corruption.
With only 21 points out of 100, Mozambique is at the lowest level among the PALOP, tied with Guinea-Bissau. Cape Verde leads the regional list with 62 points, while São Tomé and Príncipe has 43, and Angola 32, placing it around the Sub-Saharan Africa average.
The CPI ranks more than 180 countries and territories based on perceived public-sector corruption on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). This edition shows that more than two-thirds of countries have serious corruption problems.
According to François Valérian, Chair of Transparency International, “many governments no longer see fighting corruption as a priority,” which contributes to the overall decline in the global index.
The report highlights that even established democracies, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, have recorded significant drops. In the U.S., the score fell to its lowest ever due to ethical scandals and the politicization of judicial and governmental decisions. In Europe, the U.K. lost 11 points, dropping to 70, largely due to failures in oversight of public contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other Western countries, including New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, and France, also suffered declines, indicating stagnation in the fight against corruption.
The report commends Angola, which has increased its score by 17 points since 2015, though it warns that many citizens consider government efforts insufficient and fear retaliation when reporting corruption. On the other hand, Ukraine is highlighted for its anti-corruption efforts even during Russian aggression, while Russia continues in the opposite direction.
Authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela and Azerbaijan lead the lowest rankings, and countries affected by conflict — such as Libya, Yemen, Eritrea, Somalia, and South Sudan — score less than 25 points. Despite global declines, the report notes progress in Albania, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Laos, and Uzbekistan, as well as long-term gains in Estonia, South Korea, Bhutan, and Seychelles.
Valérian concluded that “the more concentrated the power, the greater the abuse. The more secret, the easier it is to abuse it.”
Text: DW
