Sub-Saharan Africa (average score 32) has taken the rear in the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on Sunday by Transparency International. It was followed by Eastern Europe and Central Asia (average score 35).

Denmark and New Zealand top the Index with 88 and 87 points, respectively. Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria are at the bottom of the index, with 10, 13 and 13 points, respectively. The highest scoring region is Western Europe and the European Union, with an average score of 66.

The survey “reveals that the continued failure of most countries to significantly control corruption is contributing to a crisis of democracy around the world,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

More than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of only 43. Since 2012, only 20 countries have significantly improved their scores, including Estonia and Côte D’Ivoire, and 16 have significantly declined, including, Australia, Chile and Malta.

Update news