Corruption in Sierra Leone

Corruption is endemic in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is widely considered to be one of the most politically and economically corrupt nations in the world and international rankings reflect this. Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index scored Sierra Leone at 34 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Sierra Leone ranked 110th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the worst score was 12 (ranked 180), and the average score was 43. The 2018 Global Competitiveness Report ranked Sierra Leone 109th out of 140 countries for Incidence of Corruption, with country 140 having the highest incidence of corruption. Corruption is prevalent in many aspects of society in Sierra Leone, especially in the aftermath of the Sierra Leone Civil War. The illicit trade in conflict diamonds funded the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) forces during the civil war, leading to fighting between the Sierra Leone Army and the RUF for control of the diamond mines. Widespread corruption in the health care sector has limited access to medical care, with health care workers often dependent on receiving bribes to supplement their low pay.