Kenya drops in the global corruption index

Kenya has dropped one point in the global Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018.

In a report released by the Transparency International, the country has obtained a score of 27 out of 100 a decline from 28 points scored in 2017.

This means that Kenya is ranked at position 144 out of 180 countries and territories with its score way below the global average of 43 and Sub-Saharan Africa’s mean of 32.

In the past five years, Kenya’s score has ranged between 25 and 28.

The score in 2017 was 28 while in 2016 it was 26. In 2015 and 2014 the score stood at 25.

This according to statistics demonstrating that efforts to tackle corruption have borne little results.

The index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in countries and territories worldwide, further revealed that the continued failure of most countries to significantly control corruption is contributing to a crisis in democracy around the world.

Rwanda ranked highest in the East African region garnering 56 points followed by Tanzania with 36 and Uganda scoring 27 and Burundi with 17 points.

The top countries are Denmark and New Zealand with scores of 88 and 87, respectively while the bottom countries are Somalia, Syria and South Sudan with scores of 10, 13 and 13 respectively.

Notably, the United States scored 71, a recorded four points drop since last year.

This is the lowest score on the CPI in seven years and the first time since 2011 that the US dropped out of the top 20 countries in the CPI.

The report is a composite index, a combination of surveys and assessments of corruption which is collected by a variety of reputable institutions.