Berlin January 30 2024: Pakistan score improves on Corruption Perception Index for the year 2023 by two points to 29 and the rank has improved by 7 positions from 140 in 2022 to 133 in 2023 list of 180 countries, according to Transparency International.
Justice and the effective rule of law are essential for preventing and stopping corruption at both the national and international levels. Both are cornerstones of democracy and embody notions of fairness and accountability. Impunity for corruption – where people who abuse their power do not face consequences for the harm they cause – is the essence of injustice and failure of the rule of law.
There has been a global decline in justice and the rule of law since 2016. The rise of authoritarianism in some countries contributes to this trend, and even in democratic contexts, the mechanisms that keep governments in check have weakened. Governments across the political spectrum have undermined justice systems, restricted civic freedoms and relied on non-democratic strategies to address recent challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Against this backdrop, this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows that only 28 of the 180 countries measured by this index have improved their corruption levels over the last twelve years, and 34 countries have significantly worsened. Despite progress made across the planet in criminalising corruption and establishing specialised institutions to address it, corruption levels remain stagnant globally.
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public-sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople. It relies on 13 independent data sources and uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
Most countries are largely failing to stop corruption – over 80 per cent of the world’s population lives in countries with CPI scores below the global average of 43. In addition, the top 25 countries in the index make up just over 10 per cent of all people. Corruption therefore remains a challenge that directly or indirectly harms most people.
Countries with strong rule of law and well-functioning democratic institutions often sit at the top of the index. Democratic countries tend to greatly outperform authoritarian regimes when controlling corruption – full democracies have a CPI average of 73, flawed democracies have one of 48 and non-democratic regimes just 32.
For the sixth year in a row, Denmark heads the ranking, with a score of 90. Finland and New Zealand follow closely with scores of 87 and 85, respectively. Norway (84), Singapore (83), Sweden (82), Switzerland (82), the Netherlands (79), Germany (78) and Luxembourg (78) complete the top 10 this year.
Meanwhile, countries experiencing conflict or with highly restricted freedoms and weak democratic institutions tend to score worst. This year, Somalia (11), Venezuela (13), Syria (13) and South Sudan (13) are at the bottom of the index. Yemen (16), Nicaragua (17), North Korea (17), Haiti (17), Equatorial Guinea (17), Turkmenistan (18) and Libya (18) are the next lowest performers.
Among the 34 countries that have significantly declined since 2012 are several high-ranking democracies, like Sweden (82) and the United Kingdom (71), as well as authoritarian states, such as Myanmar (20) and Venezuela (13). The 28 countries that improved vary considerably in their democracy, income and previous corruption levels, and include the Seychelles (71), Guyana (40) and Ukraine (36).
