A claim that Kenya and Nigeria have been ranked among the least corrupt countries in Africa has surfaced on the X platform.
An X user, @wesley_kibande, made the claim on October 12, 2024.
“Kenya and Nigeria have been ranked as the least corrupt countries in Africa”, the post read.
The X post was shared with an image of the Kenyan president, William Ruto and his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
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It has garnered a significant traction of over 1.5 million views with about 300 comments, more than 500 reposts and over 300 likes as of October 17, 2024.
Due to its virality, The FactCheckHub decided to fact-check the veracity of the claim.
CLAIM
Kenya and Nigeria are ranked the least corrupt countries in Africa.
THE FINDINGS
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE!
A list published by Trading Economics on the corruption ranking of countries shows that Nigeria is ranked 145 out of 180 nations while Kenya ranked 126 out of the same 180, as of December 2023.
Screenshot of the claim retrieved from the X post. Insert: FALSE verdict.
Citing the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) from Transparency International (TI) as its source, it stated that Nigeria ranks 145th in corruption index out of 180 nations.
The TI’s Corruption Perceptions rankings are used as a proxy for assessing the level of government corruption for each economy. The CPI, which evaluates 180 countries worldwide, is the primary global measure of public sector corruption.
Transparency International reports that Nigeria scored 25 points out of 100 on the 2023 CPI, marking a one-point change from the previous year, placing the country 145th out of 180 nation. Corruption Index in Nigeria averaged 21.48 Points from 1996 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 28.00 Points in 2016 and a record low of 6.90 Points in 1996.
Where as, Kenya scored 31 points out of 100 on the 2023 CPI, reflecting a decrease of one point from 2022, and it now ranks 126th out of 180 nation. Corruption Index in Kenya averaged 24.23 Points from 1996 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 32.00 Points in 2022 and a record low of 19.00 Points in 2002.
Nigeria’s ranking of 145th out of 180 countries places it closer to the bottom, indicating a high level of public sector corruption. It is neither among the top nor the average of the least corrupt nations in Africa, thus reflecting its struggles with corruption.
Further checks show that Seychelles, Cape Verde, Botswana, Rwanda and Mauritius were among the leading least corrupt countries in Africa.
List showing the top 11 least corrupt countries in Africa with their CPI ranking. CREDITS: TradingEconomics.com
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On the other hand, Kenya, ranked 126th, also does not fall within the top or average in Africa, but it performs better than many others including Nigeria. While still facing corruption challenges, its position is slightly more favorable when compared to Nigeria’s.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Kenya and Nigeria are ranked as the least corrupt countries in Africa is FALSE; neither Nigeria nor Kenya fall among the least corrupt nations on the continent.
The post False claim circulates that Kenya, Nigeria are the least corrupt countries in Africa appeared first on FactCheckHub.
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