Liberia Sees Marginal Improvement in Corruption Perception Index, but Challenges Remain

11 February 2026
The New Dawn (Monrovia)
By Lewis S. Teh

- Liberia has moved up one point on the 2025 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), scoring 28 out of 100, reflecting a slight improvement in anti-corruption efforts. However, the country remains among the world's worst decliners, having dropped 13 points since 2012.

The latest CPI report highlights persistent systemic corruption, with the police, health sector, and judiciary identified as the most corrupt institutions. At a major press conference, Anderson Miamen, Executive Director of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), acknowledged the modest progress but stressed the urgent need for sweeping reforms.

Liberia's Score and Performance

In the previous report, Liberia scored 27/100, a two-point improvement at the time. With the latest score of 28/100, Liberia now ranks 136 out of 182 countries on the CPI. This marks the second consecutive year of incremental improvement under the Boakai-Koung administration, but the country remains among the largest global decliners since 2012--dropping by 13 points (9 points under former President Sirleaf and 7 under George Weah).

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"Despite the marginal progress, CENTAL is deeply concerned over Liberia's consistently poor performance, especially its place among the world's Worst Decliners," Miamen said. He cautioned against complacency, noting that immunity for corruption remains high, public integrity institutions are underfunded, the asset declaration process remains ineffective, and several sanctioned former officials have yet to be fully investigated or prosecuted. He also cited concerns over recent appointments at the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, which, he said, lacked transparency and undermined the rule of law.

Regional and Global Context

Miamen pointed out that Sub-Saharan Africa's average CPI score is 32, the lowest worldwide, with Seychelles, Cabo Verde, Botswana, and Rwanda leading the region. Globally, Denmark, Finland, and Singapore top the index, while countries with low scores are often plagued by repressive regimes and instability.

Recommendations for Improvement

CENTAL urged the government to establish a specialized anti-corruption court, ensure greater oversight and accountability of state-owned enterprises, adequately finance and demand improved performance from anti-graft institutions, address corruption and abuses in the judiciary, and strengthen legislative accountability and oversight.

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