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2024 Corruption Perceptions Index: Authoritarianism chokes climate action in the Middle East and North Africa

Berlin, 11 February 2025 – Corruption across the Middle East and Northern African region (MENA) remains deeply entrenched, derailing critical climate action and development efforts, according to the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today by Transparency International. The region has seen little progress over the past 12 years, with its average score increasing by just one point to 39 out of 100, well below the global average of 43.

A concentration of power in the hands of authoritarian leaders has fostered systemic corruption throughout government practices. In countries such as Morocco (37) and Tunisia (39), poor accountability measures and limited participation result in empowered elites abusing their authority to suppress activists, journalists and civil society organisations.

Without comprehensive anti-corruption measures, these elites have solidified their absolute authority, leaving the region unable to tackle pressing challenges like climate change and governance reform. Since 2020, extreme droughts in Iraq (26) and Syria (12) have caused severe food and water shortages, affecting tens of millions of people. Crises have been exacerbated by widespread bribery, embezzlement and the diversion of funds.

These systemic problems in the region highlight the importance of establishing strong governance, accountability, and integrity systems. Such initiatives can help address undue influence and abuse of power by the political establishments/elites, which can hold back desperately needed funds like those used to address climate change.

Kinda Hattar, Middle East and North Africa Regional Advisor of Transparency International said:

“As authoritarian leaders consolidate power and silence dissent, progress on meaningful actions, including on climate, has stalled. The path forward lies in building strong national integrity systems that hold leaders accountable. Civil society organisations in the MENA are the backbone of social accountability, driving change and shaping the national, regional and global agendas. They must be empowered, not sidelined and silenced.”

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA HIGHLIGHTS

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

The Arab States’ average dropped this year to an all-time low of 34.

  • The top scorers among the Arab States are the United Arab Emirates (68), Qatar (59) and Saudi Arabia (59).
  • War-torn Libya (13), Yemen (13) and Syria (12) score the worst.
  • Notable improvements include, Bahrain (53), up 17 from 36 in 2017 and Kuwait (46), up seven from 39.
  • Lebanon (22), saw the largest decline, down six from 28 in 2019

CORRUPTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE

  • In Morocco (37) the government passed Bill 03.23, which prevents NGOs from initiating legal action against cases of embezzlement involving elected officials or civil servants unless requested by the public prosecutor. Morocco is a climate hotspot, with temperature trends exceeding the global average by around 11 per cent.
  • In Lebanon (22), poor governance has been linked to the country’s inability to tackle climate change, particularly amid ongoing water shortages and high levels of air pollution.

Despite the bleak outlook, there are signs of progress that offer hope for tackling both climate corruption and climate change:

  • The downfall of the Assad regime presents an opportunity for civil society in Syria (12) to establish a new democratic framework, one that incorporates anti-corruption measures such as civic inclusion and transparency.
  • In the Gulf Cooperation Council, investment in technological solutions to public administration, known as e-governance, has been introduced. These solutions tackle corrupt practices such as bribes by removing middlemen and provide citizens with more transparency through digitisation.
  • The most notable progress has been made in the Bahrain (53) and Kuwait (46), which has increased by ten points since 2019.

Maíra Martini, Chief Executive Officer of Transparency International said:

“Urgent action is needed worldwide to root out corruption that undermines climate action through theft, misuse of funds, and undue influence. Governments and multilateral organisations must embed anti-corruption measures in climate efforts to protect funding and rebuild trust. Only by tackling corruption head-on can we unlock the full power of climate action and accelerate the fight for our planet’s future.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

The media page includes the CPI 2024 report, as well as the full dataset and methodology, global press release and additional analysis for the Middle East and North Africa in English and Arabic. See here: CPI Media Page.

INTERVIEW REQUESTS

In case of country-specific queries, please contact Transparency International’s national chapters. In case of queries about regional and global findings, please contact the Transparency International Secretariat at [email protected] or [email protected].

ABOUT THE CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX

Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption. The index scores 180 countries and territories around the world based on perceptions of public sector corruption, using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies, think tanks and others. The scores reflect the views of experts and businesspeople, not the public.

The process for calculating the CPI is regularly reviewed to make sure it is as robust and coherent as possible, most recently by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in 2017. All the CPI scores since 2012 are comparable from one year to the next. For more information, see this article: The ABCs of the CPI: How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated.