Map showing countries and territories according to the Corruption Perception Index, 2022, in ascending order:
  Score higher than 89
  Score equal to or between 80 and 89
  Score equal to or between 70 and 79
  Score equal to or between 60 and 69
  Score equal to or between 50 and 59
  Score equal to or between 40 and 49
  Score equal to or between 30 and 39
  Score equal to or between 20 and 29
  Score equal to or between 10 and 19
  Score less than 10
  Data unavailable

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector[1] corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys."[2] The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entrusted power for private gain".[3] The index is published annually by the non-governmental organisation Transparency International since 1995.[4]

The 2022 CPI, published in January 2023, currently ranks 180 countries "on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt)" based on the situation between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022. Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, and Sweden are perceived as the least corrupt nations in the world, ranking consistently high among international financial transparency, while the most apparently corrupt are Somalia (scoring 12), Syria and South Sudan (both scoring 13).[5]

Methods

Since 2012 CPI takes into account 13 different surveys and assessments[6] from 12 different institutions.[7] The institutions are:

Countries need to be evaluated by at least three sources to appear in the CPI.[8] The CPI measures perception of corruption due to the difficulty of measuring absolute levels of corruption.[9] Transparency International commissioned the University of Passau's Johann Graf Lambsdorff to produce the CPI.[10] Early CPIs used public opinion surveys.[8]

Validity

A study published in 2002 found a "very strong significant correlation" between the Corruption Perceptions Index and two other proxies for corruption: black market activity and an overabundance of regulation.[11]

All three metrics also had a highly significant correlation with the real gross domestic product per capita (RGDP/Cap); the Corruption Perceptions Index correlation with RGDP/Cap was the strongest, explaining over three-quarters of the variance.[11] (Note that a lower rating on this scale reflects greater corruption so that countries with higher RGDPs generally had less corruption.)

Alex Cobham of the Center for Global Development reported in 2013 that "many of the staff and chapters" at Transparency International, the publisher of the Corruption Perceptions Index, "protest internally" over concerns about the index. The original creator of the index, Johann Graf Lambsdorff, withdrew from work on the index in 2009, stating "In 1995 I invented the Corruption Perceptions Index and have orchestrated it ever since, putting TI on the spotlight of international attention. In August 2009 I have informed Cobus de Swardt, managing director of TI, that I am no longer available for doing the Corruption Perceptions Index."[12]

Economic implications

Research papers published in 2007 and 2008 examined the economic consequences of corruption perception, as defined by the CPI. The researchers found a correlation between a higher CPI and higher long-term economic growth,[13] as well as an increase in GDP growth of 1.7% for every unit increase in a country's CPI score.[14] Also shown was a power-law dependence linking higher CPI score to higher rates of foreign investment in a country.

Assessments

The Index was methodologically criticized in the past,[15] i.e. questioned based on its methodology.

According to political scientist Dan Hough, three flaws in the Index include:[16]

Media outlets frequently use the raw numbers as a yardstick for government performance, without clarifying what the numbers mean. The local Transparency International chapter in Bangladesh disowned the index results after a change in methodology caused the country's scores to increase; media reported it as an "improvement".[17]

In a 2013 article in Foreign Policy, Alex Cobham suggested that CPI should be dropped for the good of Transparency International. It argues that the CPI embeds a powerful and misleading elite bias in popular perceptions of corruption, potentially contributing to a vicious cycle and at the same time incentivizing inappropriate policy responses. Cobham writes, "the index corrupts perceptions to the extent that it's hard to see a justification for its continuing publication."[18]

Recent econometric analyses that have exploited the existence of natural experiments on the level of corruption and compared the CPI with other subjective indicators have found that, while not perfect, the CPI is argued to be broadly consistent with one-dimensional measures of corruption.[19]

In the United States, many lawyers advise international businesses to consult the CPI when attempting to measure the risk of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in different nations. This practice has been criticized by the Minnesota Journal of International Law, which wrote that since the CPI may be subject to perceptual biases it therefore should not be considered by lawyers to be a measure of actual national corruption risk.[20]

Transparency International also publishes the Global Corruption Barometer, which ranks countries by corruption levels using direct surveys instead of perceived expert opinions, which has been under criticism for substantial bias from the powerful elite.[18]

Transparency International has warned that a country with a clean CPI score may still be linked to corruption internationally. For example, while Sweden had the 3rd best CPI score in 2015, one of its state-owned companies, TeliaSonera, was facing allegations of bribery in Uzbekistan.[21]

Rankings

Legend:

Scores Perceived as less corrupt Perceived as more corrupt
99–90 89–80 79–70 69–60 59–50 49–40 39–30 29–20 19–10 9–0

2020–2022

Corruption Perceptions Index table:[22]

# Nation or Territory 2022[5] 2021[23] 2020[24]
Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i]
1  Denmark
90
Steady
88
Steady
88
Steady
2  New Zealand
87
Decrease 1
88
Steady
88
Steady
2  Finland
87
Decrease 1
88
Increase 2
85
Steady
4  Norway
84
Steady
85
Increase 3
84
Steady
5  Singapore
83
Decrease 1
85
Decrease 1
85
Increase 1
5  Sweden
83
Decrease 1
85
Decrease 1
85
Increase 1
7   Switzerland
82
Steady
84
Decrease 4
85
Increase 1
8  Netherlands
80
Steady
82
Steady
82
Steady
9  Germany
79
Increase 1
80
Decrease 1
80
Steady
10  Luxembourg
77
Decrease 1
81
Steady
80
Steady
10  Ireland
77
Increase 3
74
Increase 7
72
Decrease 2
12  Hong Kong
76
Steady
76
Decrease 1
77
Increase 5
13  Australia
75
Increase 5
73
Decrease 7
77
Increase 1
14  Iceland
74
Decrease 1
74
Increase 4
75
Decrease 6
14  Estonia
74
Decrease 1
74
Increase 4
75
Increase 1
14  Uruguay
74
Increase 4
73
Increase 3
71
Steady
14  Canada
74
Decrease 1
75
Decrease 2
77
Increase 1
18  Japan
73
Steady
73
Increase 1
74
Increase 1
18  United Kingdom
73
Decrease 7
78
Steady
77
Increase 1
18  Belgium
73
Steady
73
Decrease 3
76
Increase 2
21  France
72
Increase 1
71
Increase 1
69
Steady
22  Austria
71
Decrease 9
74
Increase 2
76
Decrease 3
23  Seychelles
70
Steady
70
Increase 4
66
Steady
24  United States
69
Increase 3
67
Decrease 2
67
Decrease 2
25  Taiwan
68
Steady
68
Increase 3
65
Steady
25  Bhutan
68
Steady
68
Decrease 1
68
Increase 1
27  Chile
67
Steady
67
Decrease 2
67
Increase 1
27  United Arab Emirates
67
Decrease 3
69
Decrease 3
71
Steady
29  Barbados
65
Steady
65
Steady
64
Increase 1
30  Bahamas
64
Steady
64
Steady
63
Decrease 1
31  Israel
63
Increase 5
59
Decrease 1
60
Steady
31  South Korea
63
Increase 1
62
Increase 1
61
Increase 6
33  Portugal
62
Decrease 1
62
Increase 1
61
Decrease 3
33  Lithuania
62
Increase 1
61
Increase 1
60
Steady
35  Spain
60
Decrease 1
61
Decrease 2
62
Decrease 2
35  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
60
Increase 1
59
Increase 4
59
Decrease 1
35  Botswana
60
Increase 10
55
Decrease 10
60
Decrease 1
35  Cape Verde
60
Increase 4
58
Increase 2
58
Steady
 Brunei Darussalam
60
Steady
39  Latvia
59
Decrease 3
59
Increase 6
57
Increase 2
40  Qatar
58
Decrease 9
63
Decrease 1
63
Steady
41  Georgia
56
Increase 4
55
Steady
56
Decrease 1
41  Slovenia
56
Steady
57
Decrease 6
60
Steady
41  Italy
56
Increase 1
56
Increase 10
53
Decrease 1
41  Czechia
56
Increase 8
54
Steady
54
Decrease 5
45  Dominica
55
Steady
55
Increase 3
55
Steady
45  Saint Lucia
55
Decrease 3
56
Increase 3
56
Increase 3
45  Poland
55
Decrease 3
56
Increase 3
56
Decrease 4
48  Costa Rica
54
Decrease 9
58
Increase 3
57
Increase 2
49  Fiji
53
Decrease 4
55
Increase 10
49  Slovakia
53
Increase 7
52
Increase 4
49
Decrease 1
51  Cyprus
52
Increase 1
53
Decrease 10
57
Decrease 1
51  Greece
52
Increase 7
49
Increase 1
50
Increase 1
51  Grenada
52
Increase 1
53
Steady
53
Decrease 1
54  Malta
51
Decrease 5
54
Increase 3
53
Decrease 2
54  Rwanda
51
Decrease 2
53
Decrease 3
54
Increase 2
54  Saudi Arabia
51
Decrease 2
53
Steady
53
Decrease 1
57  Mauritius
50
Decrease 8
54
Increase 3
53
Increase 4
57  Croatia
50
Increase 6
47
Steady
47
Steady
59  Namibia
49
Decrease 1
49
Decrease 1
51
Decrease 1
60  Vanuatu
48
Increase 6
45
Increase 9
43
Decrease 11
61  Jordan
47
Decrease 3
49
Increase 2
49
Steady
61  Malaysia
47
Increase 1
48
Decrease 5
51
Decrease 6
63  Armenia
46
Decrease 5
49
Increase 2
49
Increase 17
63  Romania
46
Increase 3
45
Increase 3
44
Increase 1
65  Cuba
45
Decrease 1
46
Decrease 1
47
Decrease 3
65  China
45
Increase 1
45
Increase 12
42
Increase 2
65  São Tomé and Príncipe
45
Increase 1
45
Decrease 3
47
Increase 1
65  Montenegro
45
Decrease 1
46
Increase 3
45
Decrease 1
69  Oman
44
Decrease 13
52
Decrease 7
54
Increase 7
69  Jamaica
44
Increase 1
44
Decrease 1
44
Increase 5
69  Bahrain
44
Increase 9
42
Steady
42
Decrease 1
72  South Africa
43
Decrease 2
44
Decrease 1
44
Increase 1
72  Ghana
43
Increase 1
43
Increase 2
43
Increase 5
72  Senegal
43
Increase 1
43
Decrease 6
45
Decrease 1
72  Benin
43
Increase 6
42
Increase 5
41
Decrease 3
72  Bulgaria
43
Increase 6
42
Decrease 9
44
Increase 5
77  Hungary
42
Decrease 4
43
Decrease 4
44
Increase 1
77  Trinidad and Tobago
42
Increase 5
41
Increase 4
40
Decrease 1
77  Burkina Faso
42
Increase 1
42
Increase 8
40
Decrease 1
77  Solomon Islands
42
Decrease 4
43
Increase 5
42
Decrease 1
77  Kuwait
42
Decrease 4
43
Increase 5
42
Increase 7
77  Timor-Leste
42
Increase 5
41
Increase 4
40
Increase 7
77  Vietnam
42
Increase 10
39
Increase 17
36
Decrease 8
84  Kosovo
41
Increase 3
39
Increase 17
36
Decrease 3
85  Guyana
40
Increase 2
39
Decrease 4
41
Increase 2
85  Suriname
40
Increase 2
39
Increase 7
38
Decrease 24
85  Maldives
40
Steady
40
Decrease 10
43
Increase 55
85  North Macedonia
40
Increase 2
39
Increase 24
35
Decrease 5
85  Tunisia
40
Decrease 15
44
Decrease 1
44
Increase 5
85  India
40
Steady
40
Increase 1
40
Decrease 6
91  Moldova
39
Increase 14
36
Increase 10
34
Increase 5
91  Belarus
39
Decrease 9
41
Decrease 19
47
Increase 3
91  Colombia
39
Decrease 4
39
Increase 5
39
Increase 4
94  Morocco
38
Decrease 7
39
Decrease 1
40
Decrease 6
94  Ethiopia
38
Decrease 7
39
Increase 7
38
Increase 2
94  Argentina
38
Increase 2
38
Decrease 18
42
Decrease 12
94  Tanzania
38
Decrease 7
39
Increase 7
38
Increase 2
94  Brazil
38
Increase 2
38
Decrease 2
38
Increase 12
99  Lesotho
37
Decrease 3
38
Decrease 13
41
Increase 2
99  Ivory Coast
37
Increase 6
36
Decrease 1
36
Increase 2
101  Thailand
36
Increase 9
35
Decrease 6
36
Decrease 3
101  Albania
36
Increase 9
35
Decrease 6
36
Increase 2
101  Serbia
36
Decrease 5
38
Decrease 2
38
Decrease 3
101  Turkey
36
Decrease 5
38
Decrease 10
40
Increase 5
101  Panama
36
Increase 4
36
Increase 6
35
Decrease 10
101  Sri Lanka
36
Increase 1
37
Decrease 8
38
Decrease 1
101  Kazakhstan
36
Increase 1
37
Decrease 8
38
Increase 19
101  Ecuador
36
Increase 4
36
Decrease 13
39
Increase 1
101  Peru
36
Increase 4
36
Decrease 11
38
Increase 7
110  Sierra Leone
34
Increase 5
34
Increase 2
33
Increase 2
110    Nepal
34
Increase 7
33
Steady
33
Decrease 4
110  Malawi
34
Steady
35
Increase 19
30
Decrease 6
110  Bosnia and Herzegovina
34
Steady
35
Increase 1
35
Decrease 10
110  Indonesia
34
Decrease 14
38
Increase 6
37
Decrease 17
110  Gambia
34
Decrease 8
37
Steady
37
Decrease 6
116  Zambia
33
Increase 1
33
Steady
33
Decrease 4
116  Philippines
33
Increase 1
33
Decrease 2
34
Decrease 2
116  Mongolia
33
Decrease 6
35
Increase 1
35
Decrease 5
116  El Salvador
33
Decrease 1
34
Decrease 11
36
Increase 9
116  Ukraine
33
Increase 6
32
Decrease 5
33
Increase 9
116  Algeria
33
Increase 1
33
Decrease 13
36
Increase 2
116  Angola
33
Increase 20
29
Increase 6
27
Increase 4
123  Niger
32
Increase 1
31
Decrease 1
32
Decrease 3
123  Kenya
32
Increase 5
30
Decrease 4
31
Increase 13
123  Dominican Republic
32
Increase 5
30
Increase 9
28
Steady
126  Uzbekistan
31
Increase 14
28
Increase 6
26
Increase 7
126  Bolivia
31
Increase 2
30
Decrease 4
31
Decrease 1
126  Mexico
31
Decrease 2
31
Steady
31
Increase 6
126  Laos
31
Increase 2
30
Increase 6
29
Decrease 4
130  Papua New Guinea
30
Decrease 6
31
Increase 18
27
Decrease 5
130  Togo
30
Decrease 2
30
Increase 6
29
Decrease 4
130  Egypt
30
Decrease 13
33
Steady
33
Decrease 11
130  Eswatini
30
Decrease 8
32
Decrease 5
33
Decrease 4
130  Mauritania
30
Increase 10
28
Decrease 6
29
Increase 3
130  Djibouti
30
Decrease 2
30
Increase 14
27
Decrease 16
136  Gabon
29
Decrease 12
31
Increase 5
30
Decrease 6
137  Mali
28
Decrease 1
29
Decrease 7
30
Increase 1
137  Russia
28
Decrease 1
29
Decrease 7
30
Increase 8
137  Paraguay
28
Decrease 9
30
Increase 9
28
Steady
140  Pakistan
27
Steady
28
Decrease 16
31
Decrease 4
140  Kyrgyzstan
27
Increase 4
27
Decrease 20
31
Increase 2
142  Uganda
26
Increase 2
27
Decrease 2
27
Decrease 5
142  Mozambique
26
Increase 5
26
Increase 2
25
Decrease 3
142  Cameroon
26
Increase 2
27
Increase 5
25
Increase 4
142  Liberia
26
Decrease 6
29
Increase 1
28
Steady
142  Madagascar
26
Increase 5
26
Increase 2
25
Increase 9
147  Guinea
25
Increase 3
25
Decrease 13
28
Decrease 7
147  Bangladesh
25
Steady
26
Decrease 1
26
Steady
147  Iran
25
Increase 3
25
Decrease 1
25
Decrease 3
150  Nigeria
24
Increase 4
24
Decrease 5
25
Decrease 3
150  Central African Republic
24
Increase 4
24
Decrease 8
26
Increase 7
150  Afghanistan
24
Increase 24
16
Decrease 9
19
Increase 8
150  Cambodia
24
Increase 7
23
Increase 3
21
Increase 2
150  Lebanon
24
Increase 4
24
Decrease 5
25
Decrease 12
150  Guatemala
24
Steady
25
Decrease 1
25
Decrease 3
150  Tajikistan
24
Steady
25
Decrease 1
25
Increase 4
157  Zimbabwe
23
Steady
23
Steady
24
Increase 1
157  Azerbaijan
23
Decrease 29
30
Increase 1
30
Decrease 3
157  Myanmar
23
Decrease 17
28
Decrease 3
28
Decrease 7
157  Honduras
23
Steady
23
Steady
24
Decrease 11
157  Iraq
23
Steady
23
Increase 3
21
Increase 2
162  Eritrea
22
Decrease 1
22
Decrease 1
21
Steady
162  Sudan
22
Increase 2
20
Increase 10
16
Decrease 1
164  Congo
21
Decrease 2
21
Increase 3
19
Steady
164  Guinea-Bissau
21
Decrease 2
21
Increase 3
19
Increase 3
166  Democratic Republic of the Congo
20
Increase 3
19
Increase 1
18
Decrease 2
167  Turkmenistan
19
Increase 2
19
Decrease 4
19
Steady
167  Nicaragua
19
Decrease 3
20
Decrease 5
22
Increase 2
167  Comoros
19
Decrease 3
20
Decrease 4
21
Decrease 7
167  Chad
19
Decrease 3
20
Decrease 4
21
Increase 2
171  Libya
17
Increase 1
17
Increase 1
17
Decrease 5
171  Haiti
17
Decrease 7
20
Increase 6
18
Decrease 2
171  North Korea
17
Increase 3
16
Decrease 4
18
Increase 2
171  Equatorial Guinea
17
Increase 1
17
Increase 2
16
Decrease 1
171  Burundi
17
Decrease 2
19
Decrease 4
19
Steady
176  Yemen
16
Decrease 2
16
Increase 2
15
Increase 1
177  Venezuela
14
Steady
14
Decrease 1
15
Decrease 3
178  Syria
13
Steady
13
Steady
14
Steady
178  South Sudan
13
Increase 2
11
Decrease 1
12
Steady
180  Somalia
12
Decrease 2
13
Increase 1
12
Increase 1

2010–2019

Corruption Perceptions Index table:[22]

# Nation or Territory 2019[25] 2018[26] 2017[27] 2016[28] 2015[29] 2014[30] 2013[31] 2012[32] 2011[33] 2010[34]
Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i] Score  Δ[i]
1  New Zealand
87
Steady
87
Decrease 2
89
Decrease 1
90
Decrease 1
91
Steady
91
Steady
91
Increase 1
90
1  Denmark
87
Decrease 1
88
Steady
88
Decrease 2
90
Decrease 1
91
Decrease 1
92
Increase 1
91
Increase 1
90
3  Finland
86
Increase 1
85
Steady
85
Decrease 4
89
Decrease 1
90
Increase 1
89
Steady
89
Decrease 1
90
4  Sweden
85
Steady
85
Increase 1
84
Decrease 4
88
Decrease 1
89
Increase 2
87
Decrease 2
89
Increase 1
88
4  Singapore
85
Steady
85
Increase 1
84
Steady
84
Decrease 1
85
Increase 1
84
Decrease 2
86
Decrease 1
87
4   Switzerland
85
Steady
85
Steady
85
Decrease 1
86
Steady
86
Steady
86
Increase 1
85
Decrease 1
86
7  Norway
84
Steady
84
Decrease 1
85
Steady
85
Decrease 2
87
Increase 1
86
Steady
86
Increase 1
85
8  Netherlands
82
Steady
82
Steady
82
Decrease 1
83
Decrease 4
87
Increase 4
83
Steady
83
Decrease 1
84
9  Germany
80
Steady
80
Decrease 1
81
Steady
81
Steady
81
Increase 2
79
Increase 1
78
Decrease 1
79
9  Luxembourg
80
Decrease 1
81
Decrease 1
82
Increase 1
81
Steady
81
Decrease 1
82
Increase 2
80
Steady
80
11  Iceland
78
Increase 2
76
Decrease 1
77
Decrease 1
78
Decrease 1
79
Steady
79
Increase 1
78
Decrease 4
82
12  United Kingdom
77
Decrease 3
80
Decrease 2
82
Increase 1
81
Steady
81
Increase 3
78
Increase 2
76
Increase 2
74
12  Canada
77
Decrease 4
81
Decrease 1
82
Steady
82
Decrease 1
83
Increase 2
81
Steady
81
Decrease 3
84
12  Austria
77
Increase 1
76
Increase 1
75
Steady
75
Decrease 1
76
Increase 4
72
Increase 3
69
Steady
69
12  Australia
77
Steady
77
Steady
77
Decrease 2
79
Steady
79
Decrease 1
80
Decrease 1
81
Decrease 4
85
16  Hong Kong
76
Steady
76
Decrease 1
77