Dodgy deals, bribes, rampant nepotism and governments run like personal piggy banks. Corruption comes in many forms, and in some countries it's deeply embedded in public life.

Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) lays bare the nations where the problem is most acute. From secretive North Korea to conflict-ravaged South Sudan, read on to discover the most corrupt countries on the planet.

All dollar amounts in US dollars

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index is the go-to ranking of perceived public sector corruption. The latest edition ranks 182 countries and territories on a scale from 0, meaning highly corrupt, to 100, denoting very clean. No country scores either extreme.

Two Nordic nations come closest to squeaky clean, with Denmark ranked first on 89 points and Finland second on 88, while impeccably reputable Singapore is placed third with 84. At the other end, several Latin American and Sub-Saharan African nations languish near the bottom of the table.

Equatorial Guinea ranks as the joint ninth most corrupt country in the world, with a dismal score of just 15 out of 100.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (pictured) has ruled the beleaguered nation since 1979. During his many years in power, colossal oil revenues have enriched a small elite around the presidency while much of the population has languished in abject poverty. Obiang's eldest son Teodorin Nguema has faced major international legal action over embezzlement and money laundering, and allegations of high-level graft continue to dog the regime.

The brutally repressive Hermit Kingdom ties Equatorial Guinea, garnering an equally lowly score of 15.

While ordinary North Koreans have endured severe economic hardship and even famine, Kim Jong Un and the ruling elite enjoy a vastly more privileged existence. Bribery is woven through everyday life and business, with corruption reaching into the military too. Yet corruption can also help ordinary citizens survive by letting officials overlook illegal trading for food and other essentials outside the state system.

Also scoring just 15 out of 100 is Syria. After more than a decade of civil war, corruption became deeply embedded in the country's economy, spanning public procurement, aid, security and illicit activities including drug smuggling, arms running and human trafficking.

Bashar al-Assad's fall in December 2024 raised hopes of a clean break, but graft remains a major challenge. Syria's transitional authorities are pursuing Assad-era illicit wealth, yet opaque contracts, weak oversight and alleged abuses involving current officials suggest old habits die hard.

Nicaragua scores just 14 out of 100, making it the joint seventh most corrupt country in the world. Corruption is widespread across government, public procurement and licensing, while the judiciary remains vulnerable to political influence and bribery.

Under co-presidents Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega, the problem has become entwined with repression. In March, UN experts revealed that public money had been illegally diverted to finance security operations, pro-government armed groups and ruling-party activities, describing institutional corruption as part of the country's system of political control.

Also joint seventh from the bottom, Sudan scores a meagre 14 out of 100. Long endemic in public life, corruption in the country has been worsened in recent years by political instability, military rule and civil war.

The rot runs especially deep in the security sector. Transparency International says corruption networks survived successive regime changes, while the military and Rapid Support Forces built powerful business empires spanning sectors including gold, telecoms and food. These entrenched interests helped fuel tensions that erupted into all-out war in 2023.

Neighbouring Eritrea fares even worse, ranking joint fourth from the bottom with a score of only 13. Corruption is deeply institutionalised, while independent oversight and civil society are virtually absent, creating what analysts describe as a climate of impunity.

Dubbed Africa's most repressive state, Eritrea has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since independence in 1993. Power is highly concentrated. The ruling party controls much of the economy, and state-linked actors have been implicated in illicit trade, arms smuggling and human trafficking.

Libya shares the same dishonourable position. The troubled petrostate has been plagued by corruption, weak institutions and political fragmentation since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Political powerbrokers, militia leaders and organised crime bosses have exploited opaque state institutions to tap into rebuilding funds and siphon off public money, while Libya's banking system and oil sector remain vulnerable to abuse. Sadly, despite its bountiful oil reserves, much of the country's wealth has failed to translate into reliable public services or infrastructure.

Yemen completes the trio tied for joint fourth from the bottom. Corruption was already a serious problem before the civil war began in 2014 and has worsened amid the conflict.

With the country divided between rival authorities, access to money, aid and valuable state assets has become a source of power in its own right. Officials, armed groups and well-connected intermediaries have all found ways to profit from the chaos, while the institutions meant to police wrongdoing have little clout to hold them to account.

Venezuela ranks as the world's third most corrupt country, scoring a dire 10 out of 100. Decades of graft under the Maduro dictatorship and previous regimes hollowed out public institutions, with the state oil company PDVSA repeatedly at the centre of major corruption and money-laundering investigations.

The controversy continues today. The new landmark US-Venezuela oil deal involves billionaire businessman Alejandro Betancourt, who has faced investigations in several countries over alleged corruption. US prosecutors recently closed their long-running probe into him as the agreement was being negotiated.

At the very bottom of the index lies Somalia, which scores just 9 out of 100 and ranks joint last overall. Persistent conflict has left the country's institutions weak, creating fertile ground for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of public funds.

Corruption reaches deep into government, particularly public procurement, while clan loyalties and patronage networks can carry more weight than formal rules. With fragile public services, limited enforcement and the ongoing threat from Al-Shabaab militants, efforts to improve accountability face formidable obstacles.

In the world's youngest and joint most corrupt country, public money is too often treated like a personal trust fund by those in power, while ordinary citizens struggle with grinding poverty and inadequate services.

A 2025 UN investigation accused the country's leadership of systematically looting state finances. By way of example, one flagship roads programme received around $2.2 billion (£1.6bn), yet $1.7 billion (£1.3bn) couldn't be accounted for, and 95% of the planned roads remained unfinished.

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