Nigeria has improved on the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2018, the global anti-corruption agency revealed.

In the latest report unveiled on Tuesday, Nigeria moved up four places and was ranked 144 out of the 180 countries that were surveyed last year.

This translates to an upward movement compared to the 148 the nation was ranked in 2017.

Despite the improvement, Nigeria’s score remained the same for the two years at 27/100.

It scored 28/100 and was ranked 136th in 2016.

Nigeria shares its new position with four other countries – Kenya, Mauritania, Guatemala, and Comoros.

These countries also scored 27/100 each in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the agency, Patricia Moreira, said the CPI released today revealed that the continued failure of most countries to significantly control corruption contributed to a crisis of democracy around the world.

“With many democratic institutions under threat across the globe – often by leaders with authoritarian or populist tendencies – we need to do more to strengthen checks and balances and protect citizens’ rights,” she said.

Moreira added, “Corruption chips away at democracy to produce a vicious cycle, where corruption undermines democratic institutions and, in turn, weak institutions are less able to control corruption.”

The 2018 CPI draws on 13 surveys and expert assessments to measure public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories, giving each a score from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

See a screenshot of the index which highlights Nigeria’s position on the CPI below;