Most corrupt countries in the world in 2015 are just an example of how bad things connect to each other with ease. If there are corruption issues in your country, chances are they are just a few small pieces of a big puzzle. What else can we say about these countries where extortion, bribery, crime, exploitation, frauds and widespread dishonesty govern, other than they have a serious illness? Unfortunately, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index, every country in the world is facing the same issue, albeit not to the same extent. Yes, you read that right, there is no single country that has no traces of corruption.
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Every year, a non-governmental organization called Transparency International publishes a report in which more than 150 countries are analyzed and ranked by their level of corruption. Today, we will present you with the latest report, and highlight the 10 most corrupt countries in the world in 2015. And if you are fortunate enough not to be living in any of the countries on the list, but still wish to find out how your country ranks, you can take a look at the entire report here.
It is hardly a surprise that many countries with high corruption can be found on the list of the countries with the worst reputation in the world. The theory stating that corruption is not a disease but a symptom of a much more serious condition looks more plausible when you compare the two lists.
We are all very well familiar with the term “corruption”, but let’s see what is the Corruption Perceptions Index that has been used for ranking these countries. A higher score represents a country that is more “clean” when it comes to “the misuse of public power for private benefits” and, naturally, a lower score means that a country is less “clean”, or simply – more corrupt.
10. Haiti
Corruption Percentage Index: 17
Someone may think that when nature strikes in any form, it will make people wonder, question themselves and their actions, and hopefully change something. Nevertheless, there are those who never wish to change, and who find natural disasters to be just another opportunity to earn more money. Some of such people live in Haiti, as you can see from the various news reports covering the story about the earthquake aftermath in which most of the aid money has ended up in the “wrong hands.” Even years after the event, similar stories about Red Cross Raising Half a Billion Dollars and Built Six Homes are appearing on the Internet. This is not the only example of Haiti’s corruption in the public eye, as the most recent news about their elections tell us.
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9. Venezuela
Corruption Percentage Index: 17
You know how they say, when money is involved, many issues will soon arise. Something like that happened in Venezuela, considering that political corruption has only gotten worse not long after the discovery of oil. It is a talent of many people to turn a good thing into a disaster. We are not saying that their oil production has become a fiasco, just that some bad consequences occurred. One of the recent consequences that shows how bribery played a crucial role in many big businesses is the Arrest of the Venezuelan Oil Servicing Magnate. You can read more about Venezuela’s corruption issues and human rights violations in Report to the United Nations Committee on Economic and Social Rights.
8. Libya
Corruption Percentage Index: 16
Almost all biggest corruption scandals in Libya are in one way or another connected to the Gaddafi regime. But, nevertheless, even after the fall of the mentioned regime, corruption in the country hasn’t noticeably changed. Libya lacks many major institutions, which makes it easy for corruption to spread all over the country. One of the major Libyan corruption scandals involved a Canadian engineering giant, SNC-Lavalin, whose executives were accused of bribing Libya’s foreign public officials.
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7. Iraq
Corruption Percentage Index: 16
As if the war wasn’t bad enough, Transparency International’s report claims that corruption is rampant in Iraq. The level of corruption there is very disturbing, and naturally it is mostly present among the ones at the top – the ones leading the country (forward or backward?). One of the corruption issues in the previous year that helped Iraq climb this high on the list of most corrupt countries in the world is the Revelation of 90 Corruption Files Condemn Ministries. Also, we shouldn’t forget the people there who were protesting against their government, hence making it obvious to the entire world that serious issues are going on.
6. Angola
Corruption Percentage Index: 15
If you’ve ever wondered which is the worst place in the world to be a child, then you’ve most probably come across Angola. As Nicholas Kristof explains it in its documentary, Angola’s corruption issues are so immense that they are among the main reasons for so many children dying there. As he explains while visiting one big clean hospital, where children are dying from malnutrition, which no one knows how to diagnose: “It’s easier for officials to steal money by commissioning a big expensive hospital; training staff, on the other hand, doesn’t offer that kind of payday”. Those officials “spend $50 million a year on luxury cars alone; judges here get Jaguars to drive, as kids perish at the highest rate in the world”.
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5. South Sudan
Corruption Percentage Index: 15
Another oil-rich country and the youngest country on this list, South Sudan, apparently has enough corruption issues to be placed up here. It is not a secret that nobody’s sources of oil can last forever, so it is frightening to even think what will happen when one by one, the oil wells around the world start to dry completely. How many new wars will begin? Back to the present, issues in South Sudan are not only lower oil revenues but also “conflict and corruption minimizing the effectiveness of foreign investments”. As you can read in the linked report, South Sudan’s elite is involved in serious money laundering.
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4. Sudan
Corruption Percentage Index: 12
It is hard to name even half of the things going wrong in this country and to talk about the corruption in one sector or the other, as it has been determined that “ Corruption can be found in all sectors of the economy and at all levels of the state apparatus in Sudan. Corruption manifests itself in various forms, including widespread financial and political corruption, nepotism, and misuse of power. Both petty and grand forms of corruption are prevalent in the country.” One of the major corruption scandals happened years ago when $370 million vanished between what the government announced receiving and what the China National Petroleum announced pumping from the oil fields. Even though this happened long ago, and Sudan’s Ministry of Finance responded with the explanation of using “two different methods of accounting”, it seems that Sudan hasn’t progressed a lot when it comes to controlling corruption issues, as it is confirmed by the Transparency International’s report for this year.
3. Afghanistan
Corruption Percentage Index: 11
War is not the only thing with which poor people in Afghanistan have to cope; corruption found its way and made things even harder for them. As AlJazeera reports “millions of dollars that were allocated for the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan were misused or wasted”. But the biggest corruption scandal in Afghanistan happened in 2010, when the founder of the Kabul Bank, Khalilullah Frozi, was caught, along with his associates, spending the bank’s $1 billion for their personal benefits. To make things even worse, it seems that even though convicted to a 15-year prison sentence, he is still free enough to make more money. It appears that Afghanistan rightfully earned the 3rd place among the most corrupt countries in the world in 2015.
2. North Korea
Corruption Percentage Index: 8
Seeing North Korea on this list should come as no surprise as this country has many issues, the most important one being its cruel regime. That’s why many articles can be found on the Internet these days that are explaining the correlation between this two, and trying to justify the level of corruption there. The logic behind it – taking bribe can sometimes cause more good than bad as you can read here. Starting from the kindergarten, the children in North Korea have its first encounter with their country’s ideology – to give thanks to and have a high respect for their leader, and most importantly the child learns who its enemies are.
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1. Somalia
Corruption Percentage Index: 8
The most corrupt country in the world in 2015 is Somalia. The most talked about issues regarding corruption in Somalia are mainly concerning aid money that was supposed to be used for building hospitals, schools, and similar necessary institutions, but somehow it wasn’t. The Somali government has a lot of explaining to do to its citizens, as corruption is evidently spread all across the country in many different sectors.
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