Political Corruption Index in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Political Corruption Index was 0.886 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.886
Change on year
down 2.1%
World rank
13th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.966
in 2018
All-time low
0.245
in 1920
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Political Corruption Index in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, political corruption index in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 0.886.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and down 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, political corruption index in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 0.966 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.245, in 1920.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 13th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Political Corruption Index in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.297 | — |
| 1901 | 0.297 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.297 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.297 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.297 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.297 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.297 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.297 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.297 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.305 | +2.7% |
| 1910 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.305 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.245 | -19.7% |
| 1921 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.245 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.488 | +99.2% |
| 1961 | 0.484 | -0.8% |
| 1962 | 0.484 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.484 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.5 | +3.3% |
| 1965 | 0.567 | +13.4% |
| 1966 | 0.674 | +18.9% |
| 1967 | 0.674 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.698 | +3.6% |
| 1969 | 0.709 | +1.6% |
| 1970 | 0.732 | +3.2% |
| 1971 | 0.732 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.741 | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 0.741 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.79 | +6.6% |
| 1975 | 0.809 | +2.4% |
| 1976 | 0.809 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.809 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.809 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.809 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.827 | +2.2% |
| 1981 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.827 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.829 | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 0.829 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.93 | +12.2% |
| 1993 | 0.915 | -1.6% |
| 1994 | 0.915 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.915 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.915 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.915 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.939 | +2.6% |
| 1999 | 0.939 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.939 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.939 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.939 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.938 | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 0.938 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.938 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.928 | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 0.928 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.928 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.921 | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 0.925 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 0.925 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.921 | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 0.949 | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 0.953 | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 0.961 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 0.961 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.965 | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.966 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 0.94 | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 0.911 | -3.1% |
| 2021 | 0.931 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 0.952 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 0.933 | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 0.905 | -3.0% |
| 2025 | 0.886 | -2.1% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 0.886 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.752, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 0.886 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6615, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.2978 | 0.297 | 0.305 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.305 | 0.305 | 0.305 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.245 | 0.245 | 0.245 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.245 | 0.245 | 0.245 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.245 | 0.245 | 0.245 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.245 | 0.245 | 0.245 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.5762 | 0.484 | 0.709 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7781 | 0.732 | 0.809 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.827 | 0.827 | 0.827 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9041 | 0.829 | 0.939 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9336 | 0.921 | 0.939 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9466 | 0.921 | 0.966 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9197 | 0.886 | 0.952 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More social development data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 503,732 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1.18 million (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0104 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1.18 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0045 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political corruption index in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Political corruption index in Democratic Republic of Congo was 0.886 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political corruption index recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 0.966 in 2018.
- What is the lowest political corruption index recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.245 in 1920.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for political corruption index?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 13th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political corruption index rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Corruption Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which a country is affected by political corruption.