According to the organized crime index, state-embeddedd actors were the most prevalent criminal actors in West Africa in 2023, obtaining 6.93 index points. Criminal networks and foreign actors followed as main perpetrators of organized crime in the region.
Leading criminal actors according to the organized crime index in West Africa as of 2023
The 2023 score includes new criminality indicators. The criminality average of the original 10 criminal markets and 4 criminal actor types is 5.40 (Africa): 5.93 (East Africa), 5.64 (West Africa), 5.17 (North Africa), 5.23 (Central Africa), 5.01 (Southern Africa). The source explains that the ENACT Organized Crime Index is an innovative tool aimed at measuring levels of organized crime in countries in Africa and assessing their resilience to organized-criminal activity. It adds that the Index, consisting of two composite metrics, ranks countries both according to their levels of criminality on a score from 1 to 10 (lowest to highest crime levels) and based on resilience to organized crime from 1 to 10 (lowest to highest resilience levels).
It defines organized crime as "illegal activities, conducted by groups or networks acting in concert, by engaging in violence, corruption or related activities in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or material benefit. Such activities may be carried out both within a country and transnationally".
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Institute for Security Studies, & Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, & INTERPOL . (November 23, 2023). Leading criminal actors according to the organized crime index in West Africa as of 2023 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved May 17, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1550520/organized-crime-index-in-west-africa-by-criminal-actor/
Institute for Security Studies, und Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, und INTERPOL . "Leading criminal actors according to the organized crime index in West Africa as of 2023." Chart. November 23, 2023. Statista. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1550520/organized-crime-index-in-west-africa-by-criminal-actor/
Institute for Security Studies, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, INTERPOL . (2023). Leading criminal actors according to the organized crime index in West Africa as of 2023. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: May 17, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1550520/organized-crime-index-in-west-africa-by-criminal-actor/
Institute for Security Studies, and Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, and INTERPOL . "Leading Criminal Actors According to The Organized Crime Index in West Africa as of 2023." Statista, Statista Inc., 23 Nov 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1550520/organized-crime-index-in-west-africa-by-criminal-actor/
Institute for Security Studies & Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime & INTERPOL , Leading criminal actors according to the organized crime index in West Africa as of 2023 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1550520/organized-crime-index-in-west-africa-by-criminal-actor/ (last visited May 17, 2025)
Leading criminal actors according to the organized crime index in West Africa as of 2023 [Graph], Institute for Security Studies, & Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, & INTERPOL , November 23, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1550520/organized-crime-index-in-west-africa-by-criminal-actor/
