Zimbabwe’s 21/100 score on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) places the country well below the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 32, raising concerns over stalled anti-corruption reforms and weakening accountability systems, Transparency International Zimbabwe Executive Director Tafadzwa Chikumbu said.
Chikumbu said the results show that corruption continues to undermine justice, service delivery and public confidence in state institutions.
He stated that Zimbabwe’s ranking of 158 out of 180 countries reflects persistent challenges in enforcing integrity mechanisms and prosecuting high-level corruption cases.
Chikumbu said Sub-Saharan Africa remains the lowest-scoring region globally, with only four of 49 countries scoring above 50 on the index.
He stated that while some countries have shown improvement, ten African states have significantly declined since 2012, highlighting a regional trend of weakened leadership and shrinking civic space.
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He said the CPI assesses perceptions of public sector corruption using expert assessments and business surveys, measuring risks such as bribery, diversion of public funds, abuse of office for private gain, nepotism, state capture, illicit financial flows and money laundering. Chikumbu stated that the index also evaluates the strength of anti-corruption laws, judicial independence, and protections for whistle-blowers, journalists and investigators.
Chikumbu said restrictions on civic space and media freedoms remain a major driver of corruption. He stated that global data shows almost all journalists killed for exposing corruption since 2012 were operating in countries with high corruption levels, warning that limited scrutiny enables abuse of power.
He said the CPI 2025 was compiled using 13 international data sources, including the African Development Bank, World Bank CPIA, Economist Intelligence Unit, World Justice Project Rule of Law Index and the Varieties of Democracy Project.
Chikumbu stated that the index provides a credible benchmark for assessing governance performance over time.
While Zimbabwe’s score remains low, Chikumbu said progress is achievable, citing Angola’s 17-point improvement since 2015 following asset recovery initiatives and high-profile prosecutions. He stated that consistent political will and institutional independence are critical for similar gains.
He added that the CPI is a key tool for tracking Zimbabwe’s progress under National Development Strategy (NDS) 1 and 2, the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS 2) and international frameworks such as UNCAC, SADC and African Union standards, stating that restoring public trust depends on visible and sustained action against corruption.
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