Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index delivered its annual reminder that humanity has not solved graft. The global average score dropped to 42 out of 100 — the lowest recorded in over a decade — with countries previously held up as anti-corruption role models leading the retreat. The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Sweden all registered declines, attributed to what the watchdog diplomatically called a lack of political leadership, and what everyone else might call an epidemic of politicians helping themselves.

The report noted a surge in Gen Z-driven anti-corruption protests across low-scoring nations in 2025, suggesting the generation raised on social media has noticed that the adults in charge have been looting with unusual enthusiasm. South Sudan anchored the bottom of the index, a position that requires a sustained, multigenerational commitment to institutional failure. Meanwhile, countries that once lectured others about clean governance are now receiving the lecture, which at least provides a form of global equity.