The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a score of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).In CPI-2023, Denmark topped the index for the sixth consecutive year. Somalia was ranked last, other countries occupying the bottom spots included: Venezuela, Syria, South Sudan and Yemen.
In the context of India’s drop in score from 40 to 39 in the current index results, Transparency International cites: India shows score fluctuations small enough that no firm conclusions can be drawn on any significant change. However, ahead of the elections, India sees further narrowing of civic space, including through the passage of a bill (Telecommunications Bill) that could be a ‘grave threat to fundamental rights’.
Transparency International points out that CPI-2023 results show that most countries have made little to no progress in tackling public sector corruption. CPI global average score remains unchanged at 43 for the twelfth year in a row, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50. In the Asia-Pacific region, the average CPI score has stagnated at 45. Top scores in the Asia-Pacific region include New Zealand, ranked at three with a score of 85. Singapore and Australia with scores of 83 and 75 respectively, occupied rank five and fourteen in CPI-2023. Pakistan scored 29 with a rank of 133 and China, scored 42 occupying rank 76.
