For the third year in a row, Somalia came in last of all 180 countries surveyed. Other countries near the bottom included Sudan (at 176), Chad (at 175), Burundi, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea (tied at 168), and Angola and the two Congos (tied at 162).
The anti-corruption group Transparency International says corruption remains a serious problem in sub-Saharan Africa, despite a few countries scoring gains in the group's 2009 index, released Tuesday.
In its report, the Berlin-based group says on a scale of one to ten, with one being the most corrupt, and ten being the least, only three countries, Botswana, Mauritius and Cape Verde scored more than five.
The report says of the 47 countries in Africa those that made the most progress were Malawi, which rose 26 slots to number 89, and Rwanda, which jumped 13 spaces, also to 89. 180 countries were surveyed in the report.
Transparency says Botswana remains the least corrupt nation on the continent, ranking it 37th out of 180 countries worldwide.
It was followed on the list by Mauritius at number 42 and Cape Verde at number 46.
All three countries achieved virtually the same rankings last year.
Among the continent's most populous countries, Ethiopia was ranked 120th, Nigeria was ranked 130th, and Kenya came in at number 146.
The group called for renewed commitment to enacting anti-corruption reforms and introducing education programs across Africa.
