Observatoire Europe-Afrique 2030
Corruption in Africa: a slow improvement, contrasting situations
October 30, 2020
Corruption takes on infinite disguises (Frank Herbert) …….
The graph below analyzes the evolution of the corruption Perception Index [1] over the period 2012-2019 in the 15 African countries [2] covered by the Observatoire Europe-Afrique 2030.
Source : Tranparency International
This graph highlights two categories of countries:
• In 11 of the 14 african countries analyzed (South Africa, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Mauritius, Senegal, Tunisia) the Corruption Perception Index has improved during the relevant period. The average index for these countries rose from 33.6 in 2012 to 37.2 in 2019, i.e. a gain of 3.6 points in 7 years on a 100 basis.
• Conversely, in three countries (Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria) the index deteriorated from an average of 32.7 in 2012 to 30.7 in 2019, i.e a decrease of 2 points.
Some other topics are worth to be mentioned:
·Despite positive development in their fight against corruption, two of the “improving” countries (Angola, Kenya) show a particularly high level of corruption in 2019.
• During the period 2012-2019, the world average index has stagnated around 43.
• The average index for countries in sub-Saharan Africa was 32 in 2019.
· By comparison, corruption in China and India also tends to decrease. These countries are in 2019 at about the same level as South Africa, Morocco or Tunisia.
As a whole, the evolution of the African continent in terms of corruption therefore seems to be heading in the right direction.
However, at the pace of the recent period, the “improving” countries analyzed will not reach the level of the world average index for the year 2019 until 2030
Moreover, developments in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana are worrying. Nigeria in particular appears to be descending into a spiral of “economic stagnation – corruption”. Due to its demographic and economic weight (23% of the GDP of the 15 countries analyzed), this country constitutes by far the main challenge in the fight against corruption in Africa.
<Europe-Africa Observatory 2030 – Christian Delavelle – 10/30/2020>
[1] The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries according to their perceived level of corruption in the public sector, according to experts and businessmen. It is published annually by the organization Transparency International. The number of countries covered by this index increased from 174 in 2012 to 180 in 2019. The higher the index in a given country, the lower the corruption.
[2] The 15 countries covered by the Europe-Africa Observatory 2030 are as follows: South Africa, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia.