Ghana has recorded a slight improvement in its score on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) but continues to struggle in translating anti-corruption efforts into meaningful results, according to Transparency International Ghana (TIG).
In its latest CPI assessment, Ghana scored 43 out of 100, ranking 76th out of 182 countries globally. While the score reflects a marginal increase from 42 in 2024, Transparency International Ghana says the improvement does not amount to real progress.
“Despite the increase in the country’s score, this does not constitute a significant change per the CPI methodology,” the organisation stated.
The CPI, which measures perceived levels of public sector corruption, indicates that Ghana continues to grapple with persistent corruption, weak compliance with legal frameworks, and ineffective enforcement of anti-corruption laws. TIG noted that Ghana’s score has largely stagnated since 2020, despite ongoing institutional reforms.
“The score indicates that Ghana continues to struggle with persistent corruption, weak compliance with and enforcement of the legal and policy framework, and weak state institutions dedicated to combating corruption,” the report said.
Historically, Ghana’s CPI performance has followed a worrying trajectory. After scoring 48 in 2014, the country experienced a steady decline, hitting 40 in 2017, before slightly recovering to its current level. Transparency International Ghana observed that the change in government in 2017 initially raised public expectations.
“The exuberance of a new government gave Ghanaians fresh lease of hope, leading to an improvement from 40 in 2017 to 41 in 2018 and 2019,” the statement noted.
However, those gains have since plateaued, with Ghana’s CPI score hovering around 43 for most of the past five years.
Transparency International Ghana stressed that corruption is not inevitable and pointed to global evidence that countries with strong democratic institutions, independent courts, transparent political financing systems, and free media tend to perform better on the CPI.
“Countries with long-term improvements in CPI scores have largely seen sustained efforts by political leaders and regulators to implement broad legal and institutional reforms,” the organisation explained.
The group warned that politicisation of justice systems, undue influence over political processes, and failure to safeguard civic space continue to undermine Ghana’s anti-corruption fight.
“Unsurprisingly, countries with full democracies tend to score highly on the CPI, while non-democratic regimes perform the worst,” the report added.
While acknowledging recent efforts to strengthen investigations and prosecutions, including actions by state institutions, Transparency International Ghana maintained that anti-corruption measures must yield measurable outcomes to restore public confidence.
The organisation called for renewed political commitment, stronger institutional independence, and sustained enforcement of anti-corruption laws to reverse Ghana’s stagnation on the global corruption index.
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