Published: February 12, 2025
MONROVIA – Amid mounting public concerns over corruption and demands for investigations and prosecutions of accused officials, the 2024 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) Report has revealed that Liberia has made a slight but notable improvement in its anti-corruption efforts for the first time in seven years.
Presenting the report on behalf of Transparency International on Tuesday, February 11, 2024, in Monrovia, the Executive Director of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), Mr. Anderson D. Miamen, stated that the country moved up two points on the CPI scale, rising from a score of 25 in 2023 to 27 in 2024.
Miamen further disclosed that Liberia’s global ranking improved from 145 out of 180 countries in 2023 to 141 out of 180 in 2024.
According to him, the CPI findings focused on how corruption undermines global, regional, and national climate actions.
“Since 1995, the Corruption Perception Index has been scoring and ranking countries based on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived by experts and business executives,” Miamen explained.
He noted that the index uses a scale ranging from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), where a lower score indicates a higher level of perceived corruption in the public sector. The 2024 CPI covered 180 countries, the same number as in 2023.
Miamen emphasized that the CPI draws from 13 data sources, capturing the assessments of experts and business executives on various corrupt practices in the public sector, including bribery, diversion of public funds, misuse of office for personal gain, procurement irregularities, state capture, and nepotism in civil service.
“Additionally, some sources assess mechanisms available to prevent and address corruption in a country,” he said. “These include the government’s ability to enforce integrity measures, financial and logistical support for anti-graft institutions, the independence and effectiveness of such institutions, prosecution of corrupt officials, conflict-of-interest regulations, access to information, freedom of speech and the press, and legal protection for whistleblowers, journalists, and investigators.”
Calls for Stronger Anti-Corruption Measures
Despite the marginal progress under the Unity Party-led administration, CENTAL stressed that the government must take bold, holistic, and pragmatic steps to combat corruption more effectively.
“As one of the biggest global decliners in corruption perception since 2014—having dropped 10 points—Liberia still has a long way to go,” Miamen stated.
He lamented that Liberia’s overall performance in the CPI has been “hugely disappointing,” reinforcing the country’s position among the worst performers in both the continent and the West African sub-region.
CENTAL’s own 2023 State of Corruption Report, he noted, supports these findings. That report revealed that 90% of Liberians believe corruption is high in the country and that public confidence in the executive branch’s ability to address corruption remains low.
Miamen expressed concern over Liberia’s consistent poor performance, particularly its classification among the world’s Worst Decliners.
“While we acknowledge the two-point increase in the first year of the Boakai-Koung administration, we caution against complacency, as the culture of impunity for corruption remains high,” he warned.
He acknowledged President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s suspension and dismissal of some officials accused of corruption but criticized what he described as selective enforcement, arguing that the president has failed to take similar actions against certain other officials.
“We commend President Boakai’s move to declare and publish his assets, income, and liabilities. However, his failure to hold non-compliant officials accountable raises questions about his commitment to matching his anti-corruption rhetoric with action,” Miamen asserted.
CENTAL’s Recommendations to the Government of Liberia
Based on the 2024 CPI report’s findings, CENTAL expressed optimism that Liberia can significantly improve its anti-corruption record but only if the government abandons “business as usual” practices and takes decisive, impartial action, as President Boakai has pledged.
“Like other nations that have made remarkable progress, Liberia can climb the CPI ladder and outperform others,” Miamen stated. “However, this will only happen if the government’s anti-corruption fight is sincere, holistic, impartial, and well-funded.”
He urged President Boakai to fully and impartially implement the recommendations of key anti-corruption institutions, including the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) and the General Auditing Commission (GAC), as well as reports from civil society organizations and advocacy groups.
Government officials accused of corruption, he insisted, should be investigated and, where necessary, suspended, dismissed, and prosecuted to break the cycle of impunity and demonstrate a genuine commitment to fighting corruption.
A Global Perspective on the CPI Report
The 2024 CPI Report covered 180 countries, showing that 32 countries improved, 47 declined, and 101 remained unchanged.
Regarding governance systems, the report found that:
- 24 countries with full democracies had an average score of 73.
- 50 flawed democracies scored 47 on average.
- 95 non-democratic states had an average score of just 33.
The global average score remained unchanged at 43 for the 13th consecutive year. For the seventh year in a row, Denmark topped the ranking with a score of 90, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84).
New Zealand, which scored 83, dropped out of the top three for the first time since 2012 but remains among the top 10 performers alongside Luxembourg (81), Norway (81), Switzerland (81), Sweden (80), the Netherlands (78), Australia (77), Iceland (77), and Ireland (77).
At the other end of the spectrum, countries experiencing severe conflict, authoritarian rule, and restricted freedoms ranked at the bottom of the index.
South Sudan (8), Somalia (9), and Venezuela (10) occupied the last three spots. Other low scorers included Syria (12), Equatorial Guinea (13), Eritrea (13), Libya (13), Yemen (13), Nicaragua (14), Sudan (15), and North Korea (15).
The highest-scoring region was Western Europe and the European Union, with an average score of 64, though it declined by one point from 65 in 2023.
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the lowest-scoring region, with an average score of 33, highlighting ongoing governance and accountability challenges.
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