Rwanda Tops Africa in Anti-Corruption Performance as 2026 Mo Ibrahim Governance Index Highlights Sustained Leadership
Rwanda has been ranked as Africa’s top-performing country in the fight against corruption, sharing first place with Seychelles in the 2026 preliminary Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG). The latest assessment by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation awarded both countries a score of 76.6 out of 100 for 2025, underscoring Rwanda’s continued leadership in promoting transparency, accountability and strong public sector integrity across the continent.
The findings, released in July 2026 as part of the Foundation’s preliminary 2026 IIAG report, evaluate governance performance across Africa using a broad range of indicators. In the anti-corruption category, the assessment measures six key dimensions: the effectiveness of anti-corruption mechanisms, the absence of corruption in public institutions, integrity across government, corruption levels in the private sector, transparency in public procurement, and citizens’ perceptions of anti-corruption efforts.
According to the report, Rwanda has maintained its position as Africa’s leading anti-corruption performer every year since 2016. Between 2016 and 2025, the country improved its score by 2.6 points, reflecting continued progress in strengthening governance and institutional accountability.
However, the report also notes that while Rwanda’s overall performance has continued to improve, the pace of progress has slowed in recent years. Since 2021, annual gains have become more gradual, indicating that although the country remains the continental leader, further improvements may require renewed momentum and sustained reforms.
Seychelles matched Rwanda’s overall score of 76.6, but recorded the strongest improvement over the past decade. Its anti-corruption score increased by 26.3 points, enabling the island nation to climb 12 places in the continental rankings, making it the fastest-improving country in this governance category.
The report identifies several other countries as Africa’s strongest anti-corruption performers. Mauritius ranked third with 65.7 points, followed by Senegal (64.0), Benin (58.7), Botswana (57.8), Namibia (57.6), Cabo Verde (56.1), Tunisia (55.9) and Burkina Faso (55.6), completing the continent’s top ten.
At the continental level, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation observed only modest progress over the past decade. Africa’s average anti-corruption score rose slightly from 38.6 in 2016 to 39.1 in 2025. Nevertheless, the report highlights significant disparities across countries, with 26 nations improving their scores while 28 experienced declines during the same period.
Rwanda’s performance stands well above the African average, illustrating the country’s sustained emphasis on transparency, effective public administration and institutional integrity. At the opposite end of the rankings, South Sudan recorded the continent’s lowest anti-corruption score at 6.9, highlighting the wide governance gap that continues to exist across Africa.
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