Corruption in Ethiopia

There are several sectors in Ethiopia where businesses are particularly vulnerable to corruption. Land distribution and administration is a sector where corruption is institutionalized, and facilitation payments as well as bribes are often demanded from businesses when they deal with land-related issues.

Corruption also occurs when businesses obtain permits and licenses due to complicated bureaucracy. Public procurement is also seriously hampered by corruption, and different types of irregularities exist, such as non-transparent tender processes and awarding contracts to people with close connection to the government and ruling party.

On Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ethiopia scored 38 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Ethiopia ranked 94th 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), and the worst score was 12 (ranked 180).

On Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ethiopia scored 37 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Ethiopia ranked 98th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11 (ranked 180). For comparison with regional scores, the average score among sub-Saharan African countries was 33. The highest score in sub-Saharan Africa was 71 and the lowest score was 11.