Transparency International (TI) rates Nigeria 8th most corrupt

Anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI) has ranked Nigeria as the eighth most corrupt in its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer.

107 countries were surveyed. Others in the first eight on the corruption ladder are,  Zambia, Paraguay, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Russia, with Liberia and Mongolia tying at the top of the table.

In continental distribution, two are domiciled in Asia, four located in Africa, and three in Latin America.

Nigeria is also one of the largest in size and population on the list, alongside Mexico and Russia, with each having over 100 million people.

According to the report, “Certain transparency groups also blamed politicians for encouraging corruption. In 2012, Nigeria had just the 37th largest GDP in the world, despite having the world’s seventh largest population. In Liberia, the majority of Liberians surveyed said they believed the country was run either largely or entirely by a few entities acting in their own self interest.

“A world-leading 86per cent of residents who spoke to Transparency International claimed their government had been either ineffective or very ineffective at fighting corruption, while 96 per cent of residents claimed Liberia’s legislature was corrupt, also the highest percentage of any nation.
A stunning 75 per cent of residents surveyed claimed they had paid a bribe to secure some service, trailing only Sierra Leone.

“In all, 80 per cent  of the population had at one point been asked to pay a bribe. Recently, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf fired the country’s auditor general for corruption. Many of those surveyed in the highly corrupt countries also felt their governments were not holding up their end of the bargain.

“In seven of the nine countries, more than half of those questioned felt their government was ineffective at fighting corruption. In Liberia, 86 per cent  of residents surveyed said their government was ineffective at fighting the problem. This was the largest proportion of any of the 107 nations Transparency International surveyed. While corruption appears to affect every part of the public sector, certain segments were much worse than the rest.

“Globally, at least 60 per cent of respondents claimed political parties and police were corrupt. Additionally, more than 50 per cent  of people stated their legislature, their public officials and their judiciary were corrupt.

“In the world’s most corrupt nations, those institutions were, naturally, even worse. In Nigeria, 94 per cent of people claimed their political parties were corrupt, the most in the world. Similarly, 96 per cent  of Liberians reported their legislature was corrupt, also the most in the world. In eight of the nine most corrupt nations, more than 80 per cent of residents considered the police to be corrupt.”