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Sub-Saharan Africa: corruption still hurts daily lives

Once again, the Corruption Perceptions Index results are not fundamentally different from previous years: the majority of African countries still have a score of less than 50 per cent, which in our view depicts a situation of endemic corruption. In a continent with high level of economic growth rates (compared to many parts of the […]

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Middle East and North Africa: a region in turmoil

Three out of the bottom 10 countries on Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index are from the Middle East and North Africa. Two of these three are in the midst of gruesome civil wars where lives are being lost daily. Iraq and Libya tell a story of a region in turmoil plagued with geopolitical insecurity, […]

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Corruption in the Americas: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index does not show significant movement in the scores of the countries in the Americas. For the more cynical among us, this is a good sign as there is always the possibility of worsening. But the reality is that stagnation is not good news. Each year that passes without things improving, […]

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Putting public sector corruption on the map

The Corruption Perceptions Index, the annual index of perceived levels of public sector corruption around the globe, enters its 20th year of publication this year. Over the past two decades, the index has become one of the key corruption indices worldwide. There is a Harvard case on it and it has even been used as a […]

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Asia Pacific: growing economies, growing corruption

The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index scores of countries from Asia Pacific, the world’s fastest growing region, are a resounding message to leaders that, despite many public declarations and commitments, not enough is being done to fight corruption. Out of the 27 Asia Pacific countries in the index, which account for nearly 61 per cent of […]

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Challenging corruption in Afghanistan

Two years ago all the major donors to Afghanistan met in Tokyo to map a way forward for the war-torn country. Then president Hamid Karzai promised if the money kept coming in he would ensure it would not be lost to corruption. At the time Transparency International recommended a raft of measures aimed at curbing […]

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Can big data solve the world’s problems, including corruption?

Governments, academics and tech gurus over the last couple of years have been transfixed with the prospect that better and bigger data can help us solve the world’s more entrenched problems – including corruption and poverty. The United Nations has also caught on to this trend and yesterday released a report, compiled by experts, which […]

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A Critical Pivot towards Anti-corruption for the OGP Initiative

Since its inception in 2011, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) has sought to advance a vision of the world where governments are transparent, accountable, and inclusive. It is catching on. The OGP started with just eight countries and now has 65 who have agreed to share that vision and introduce practical ways to make it […]

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Speaking up for Greek whistleblowers

A passionate antiquities specialist, K. blew the whistle on malpractice he witnessed on a restoration site. The result? He was called to account and has continued to suffer retaliation since. Sophia Ioannou explains what happened – and why urgent action is needed to protect K. and others who speak up against corruption. K.’s story It […]

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Thuli Madonsela: Corruption eats away at the soul of the nation

Transparency International took the opportunity during her visit to Berlin to accept this year’s Integrity Award, to talk to South Africa’s top corruption fighter Thuli Madonsela about her role as Public Protector, her work and the legacy she hopes to leave behind. As the Public Protector how do you fight corruption in South Africa? Our office seeks […]

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