The two conflict-affected nations sit at the very bottom of the index, tied at the lowest score and closely followed by Venezuela, which scored 10.
The findings come from the Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 (CPI), an annual assessment that measures perceived levels of public sector corruption across 182 countries and territories on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
According to Transparency International, countries that consistently rank at the bottom tend to share similar traits: prolonged instability, weakened state institutions, restricted civic space, and entrenched patronage systems that allow corruption to flourish with little consequence.
In such environments, oversight bodies struggle to function, anti-corruption laws are poorly enforced, and public resources are frequently diverted for private gain.
“Corruption is not inevitable, but the absence of courageous leadership is making it feel that way,” said François Valérian, Chair of Transparency International, in a statement accompanying the report.
He warned that when governments silence civil society and weaken accountability institutions, corruption becomes embedded — and ordinary citizens bear the brunt through failing services and lost economic opportunities.
The 2025 index also highlights a troubling global pattern. The worldwide average score has dropped to 42, its lowest point in more than a decade. More than two-thirds of the countries assessed scored below 50, indicating serious and widespread governance challenges beyond fragile states.
Even established democracies recorded setbacks. The United States scored 64, the United Kingdom 70, France 66, and Canada 75 — all reflecting declines that the organisation attributes to weakening institutional safeguards and growing political polarisation.
Transparency International further links worsening corruption to shrinking civic freedoms. Since 2012, many of the countries with the steepest declines have also restricted freedoms of expression, association and assembly.
Journalists and whistleblowers investigating corruption increasingly face harassment, intimidation and violence, creating conditions in which misconduct thrives unchecked, the organisation noted.
For South Sudan and Somalia, the persistent low scores underscore the depth of governance challenges facing both nations. Despite repeated reform pledges, the CPI findings suggest that structural weaknesses, limited enforcement capacity and ongoing insecurity continue to undermine meaningful progress.
