What is public sector corruption index in South Africa?

Public sector corruption index in South Africa was 0.755 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest public sector corruption index recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 0.755 in 2025.

What is the lowest public sector corruption index recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 0.486 in 1994.

How does South Africa rank for public sector corruption index?

South Africa ranks 39th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.

Is public sector corruption index rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is up 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Africa data come from?

The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Public Sector Corruption Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Public Sector Corruption Index in South Africa

Name: Public Sector Corruption Index in South Africa
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

South Africa: Public Sector Corruption Index was 0.755 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.755

Change on year

up 0.5%

World rank

39th

of 176 countries

All-time high

0.755

in 2025

All-time low

0.486

in 1994

Years of data

126

1900–2025

Public Sector Corruption Index in South Africa, 1900–2025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 0.755 for public sector corruption index in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 15.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public sector corruption index in South Africa peaked at 0.755 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.486, in 1994.

That places South Africa 39th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.

Public Sector Corruption Index in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Public Sector Corruption Index in South Africa, 1900 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1900	0.525	—
1901	0.525	+0.0%
1902	0.525	+0.0%
1903	0.525	+0.0%
1904	0.525	+0.0%
1905	0.525	+0.0%
1906	0.525	+0.0%
1907	0.525	+0.0%
1908	0.525	+0.0%
1909	0.525	+0.0%
1910	0.525	+0.0%
1911	0.525	+0.0%
1912	0.525	+0.0%
1913	0.525	+0.0%
1914	0.525	+0.0%
1915	0.525	+0.0%
1916	0.525	+0.0%
1917	0.525	+0.0%
1918	0.525	+0.0%
1919	0.525	+0.0%
1920	0.525	+0.0%
1921	0.525	+0.0%
1922	0.525	+0.0%
1923	0.525	+0.0%
1924	0.525	+0.0%
1925	0.525	+0.0%
1926	0.525	+0.0%
1927	0.525	+0.0%
1928	0.525	+0.0%
1929	0.525	+0.0%
1930	0.525	+0.0%
1931	0.525	+0.0%
1932	0.525	+0.0%
1933	0.525	+0.0%
1934	0.525	+0.0%
1935	0.525	+0.0%
1936	0.525	+0.0%
1937	0.525	+0.0%
1938	0.525	+0.0%
1939	0.525	+0.0%
1940	0.525	+0.0%
1941	0.525	+0.0%
1942	0.525	+0.0%
1943	0.525	+0.0%
1944	0.525	+0.0%
1945	0.525	+0.0%
1946	0.525	+0.0%
1947	0.525	+0.0%
1948	0.525	+0.0%
1949	0.525	+0.0%
1950	0.525	+0.0%
1951	0.525	+0.0%
1952	0.525	+0.0%
1953	0.525	+0.0%
1954	0.525	+0.0%
1955	0.525	+0.0%
1956	0.525	+0.0%
1957	0.525	+0.0%
1958	0.525	+0.0%
1959	0.525	+0.0%
1960	0.525	+0.0%
1961	0.525	+0.0%
1962	0.525	+0.0%
1963	0.525	+0.0%
1964	0.525	+0.0%
1965	0.525	+0.0%
1966	0.525	+0.0%
1967	0.525	+0.0%
1968	0.525	+0.0%
1969	0.525	+0.0%
1970	0.525	+0.0%
1971	0.525	+0.0%
1972	0.525	+0.0%
1973	0.525	+0.0%
1974	0.525	+0.0%
1975	0.525	+0.0%
1976	0.525	+0.0%
1977	0.525	+0.0%
1978	0.525	+0.0%
1979	0.525	+0.0%
1980	0.525	+0.0%
1981	0.525	+0.0%
1982	0.525	+0.0%
1983	0.525	+0.0%
1984	0.525	+0.0%
1985	0.525	+0.0%
1986	0.525	+0.0%
1987	0.525	+0.0%
1988	0.525	+0.0%
1989	0.525	+0.0%
1990	0.525	+0.0%
1991	0.525	+0.0%
1992	0.525	+0.0%
1993	0.525	+0.0%
1994	0.486	-7.4%
1995	0.486	+0.0%
1996	0.486	+0.0%
1997	0.486	+0.0%
1998	0.486	+0.0%
1999	0.486	+0.0%
2000	0.486	+0.0%
2001	0.486	+0.0%
2002	0.486	+0.0%
2003	0.486	+0.0%
2004	0.486	+0.0%
2005	0.551	+13.4%
2006	0.551	+0.0%
2007	0.551	+0.0%
2008	0.551	+0.0%
2009	0.62	+12.5%
2010	0.64	+3.2%
2011	0.64	+0.0%
2012	0.64	+0.0%
2013	0.628	-1.9%
2014	0.636	+1.3%
2015	0.654	+2.8%
2016	0.654	+0.0%
2017	0.669	+2.3%
2018	0.713	+6.6%
2019	0.691	-3.1%
2020	0.607	-12.2%
2021	0.676	+11.4%
2022	0.718	+6.2%
2023	0.661	-7.9%
2024	0.751	+13.6%
2025	0.755	+0.5%

South Africa compared with similar countries

South Africa's 0.755 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.5295, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
South Africa's 0.755 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.692, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1900s	0.525	0.525	0.525	10
1910s	0.525	0.525	0.525	10
1920s	0.525	0.525	0.525	10
1930s	0.525	0.525	0.525	10
1940s	0.525	0.525	0.525	10
1950s	0.525	0.525	0.525	10
1960s	0.525	0.525	0.525	10
1970s	0.525	0.525	0.525	10
1980s	0.525	0.525	0.525	10
1990s	0.5016	0.486	0.525	10
2000s	0.5254	0.486	0.62	10
2010s	0.6565	0.628	0.713	10
2020s	0.6947	0.607	0.755	6

Countries ranked near South Africa

36 Yemen 0.778 compare
37 Eritrea 0.776 compare
38 Serbia 0.774 compare
40 Bangladesh 0.751 compare
41 Honduras 0.748 compare
42 Iraq 0.741 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for South Africa

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 55,177 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is public sector corruption index in South Africa?: Public sector corruption index in South Africa was 0.755 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest public sector corruption index recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 0.755 in 2025.
What is the lowest public sector corruption index recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0.486 in 1994.
How does South Africa rank for public sector corruption index?: South Africa ranks 39th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is public sector corruption index rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is up 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?: The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Public Sector Corruption Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Public Sector Corruption Index in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 07 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/public-sector-corruption-index/south-africa/

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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: 30 October 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).