CAPE TOWN, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The perception of corruption in South Africa has deepened over the past two decades, the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) said on Thursday.
South Africa's ranking on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) dropped from 21 to 64 between 1995 and 2016, the IRR said in its latest edition of the South Africa Survey.
During the same period, the country's score fell from 56 to 45, the survey shows.
The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to resident and non-resident business people and analysts, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
This year, the index found that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of 43.
The decline in South Africa's ranking is informed by various factors, IRR analyst Kerwin Lebone said.
In 1995, for example, only 41 countries were surveyed, but by 2016 the number of countries included in the index had risen to 176.
The inclusion of more countries with better corruption perceptions scores would affect the ranking of the rest, said Lebone.
However, Lebone said South Africa's corruption perceptions score appears to be largely affected by developments on the domestic front.
The last time the country registered a score above 50 was in 2000, after which its decline may have been the result of revelations arising from an arms deal scandal of that time.
The arms deal refers to South Africa's weaponry purchase worth billions of rand from European countries in the late 1990s.
The lowest score yet registered by the country, of 41, was in 2011, in the aftermath of disclosures of possible corrupt activities surrounding the construction of former president Jacob Zuma's private residence at Nkandla, KwaZulu Natal Province.
Perceptions of corruption significantly influence investor sentiment and countries with better corruption perceptions scores tend to earn greater confidence among domestic and international investors, Lebone said.
"This is especially significant for South Africa at a time when it must rely on investment to boost economic growth in order to meet the growing demand for jobs and services," Lebone added.
