Which has higher public sector corruption index, Malawi or Sierra Leone?

Sierra Leone, at 0.698 against 0.686 in Malawi as of 2025.

What is the difference in public sector corruption index between Malawi and Sierra Leone?

0.012, with Sierra Leone ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Sierra Leone?

126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Public Sector Corruption Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Malawi vs Sierra Leone: Public Sector Corruption Index

Malawi

0.686

in 2025

Sierra Leone

0.698

in 2025

Malawi rank

54th

Sierra Leone rank

51st

Public Sector Corruption Index over time

Malawi
Sierra Leone

How they compare

Sierra Leone currently reports 0.698 against 0.686 in Malawi, a difference of 0.012.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Sierra Leone ahead.

Malawi ranks 54th and Sierra Leone ranks 51st of 176 countries.

Across the 13 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 1 and Sierra Leone in 12.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Malawi	Sierra Leone	Difference	Ahead
1900s	0.162	0.287	0.125	Sierra Leone
1910s	0.162	0.287	0.125	Sierra Leone
1920s	0.162	0.3734	0.2114	Sierra Leone
1930s	0.162	0.411	0.249	Sierra Leone
1940s	0.162	0.411	0.249	Sierra Leone
1950s	0.162	0.4215	0.2595	Sierra Leone
1960s	0.1071	0.5393	0.4322	Sierra Leone
1970s	0.067	0.6375	0.5705	Sierra Leone
1980s	0.067	0.723	0.656	Sierra Leone
1990s	0.4419	0.694	0.2521	Sierra Leone
2000s	0.604	0.7064	0.1024	Sierra Leone
2010s	0.6859	0.7687	0.0828	Sierra Leone
2020s	0.7262	0.7088	0.0173	Malawi

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher public sector corruption index, Malawi or Sierra Leone?: Sierra Leone, at 0.698 against 0.686 in Malawi as of 2025.
What is the difference in public sector corruption index between Malawi and Sierra Leone?: 0.012, with Sierra Leone ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Sierra Leone?: 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
How do Malawi and Sierra Leone rank globally for public sector corruption index?: Malawi ranks 54th and Sierra Leone ranks 51st of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Public Sector Corruption Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Public Sector Corruption Index
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 176 places, 25,541 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of the extent to which public sector employees engage in bribery and theft. The index ranges from 0 to 1 (highly corrupt).