Corruption Perceptions Index

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

The 2020 CPI, published in January 2021, currently ranks 180 countries "on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt)" based on the situation between May 2019 and May 2020. Denmark and New Zealand are jointly perceived as the least corrupt nations in the world, ranking consistently high among international financial transparency, while the most perceived corrupt countries in the world are Somalia and South Sudan, scoring 12 out of 100 in 2020.

Map showing countries and territories according to the Corruption Perception Index, 2020, in ascending order.

90–99   80–89   70–79   60–69   50–59

40–49   30–39   20–29   10–19   0–9

Data unavailable

Methods

Transparency International commissioned the University of Passau's Johann Graf Lambsdorff to produce the CPI. The 2012 CPI takes into account 16 different surveys and assessments from 12 different institutions. The 13 surveys/assessments are either business people opinion surveys or performance assessments from a group of analysts. Early CPIs used public opinion surveys. The institutions are:

• African Development Bank (based in Côte d'Ivoire)
• Bertelsmann Foundation (based in Germany)
• Economist Intelligence Unit (based in the UK)
• Freedom House (based in the US)
• Global Insight (based in US)
• International Institute for Management Development (based in Switzerland)
• Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (based in Hong Kong)
• The PRS Group, Inc., (based in the US)
• World Economic Forum
• World Bank
• World Justice Project (based in US)

Countries need to be evaluated by at least three sources to appear in the CPI. The CPI measures perception of corruption due to the difficulty of measuring absolute levels of corruption.

Validity

A study published in 2012 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.

All three metrics also had a highly significant correlation with real gross domestic product per capita (RGDP/Cap); the Corruption Perceptions Index correlation with RGDP/Cap was the strongest, explaining over three fourths of the variance. (Note that a lower 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."

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, as well as an increase in GDP growth of 1.7% for every unit increase in a country's CPI score. Also shown was a power-law dependence linking higher CPI score to higher rates of foreign investment in a country.

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

2012–2020

2012–2020 Corruption Perceptions Index table

Rank	Nation or Territory	2020		2019		2018		2017		2016		2015		2014		2013		2012
		Score	Delta	Score	Delta	Score	Delta	Score	Delta	Score	Delta	Score	Delta	Score	Delta	Score	Delta	Score
1	Denmark	88	1	87	1	88		88	2	90	1	91	1	92	1	91	1	90
1	New Zealand	88	1	87		87	2	89	1	90	1	91		91		91	1	90
3	Finland	85	1	86	1	85		85	4	89	1	90	1	89		89	1	90
3	Singapore	85		85		85	1	84		84	1	85	1	84	2	86	1	87
3	Sweden	85		85		85	1	84	4	88	1	89	2	87	2	89	1	88
3	Switzerland	85		85		85		85	1	86		86		86	1	85	1	86
7	Norway	84		84		84	1	85		85	2	87	1	86		86	1	85
8	Netherlands	82		82		82		82	1	83	4	87	4	83		83	1	84
9	Germany	80		80		80	1	81		81		81	2	79	1	78	1	79
9	Luxembourg	80		80	1	81	1	82	1	81		81	1	82	2	80		80
11	Australia	77		77		77		77	2	79		79	1	80	1	81	4	85
11	Canada	77		77	4	81	1	82		82	1	83	2	81		81	3	84
11	Hong Kong	77	1	76		76	1	77		77	2	75	1	74	1	75	2	77
11	United Kingdom	77		77	3	80	2	82	1	81		81	3	78	2	76	2	74
15	Austria	76	1	77	1	76	1	75		75	1	76	4	72	3	69		69
15	Belgium	76	1	75		75		75	2	77		77	1	76	1	75		75
17	Estonia	75	1	74	1	73	2	71	1	70		70	1	69	1	68	4	64
17	Iceland	75	3	78	2	76	1	77	1	78	1	79		79	1	78	4	82
19	Japan	74	1	73		73		73	1	72	3	75	1	76	2	74		74
20	Ireland	72	2	74	1	73	1	74	1	73	2	75	1	74	2	72	3	69
21	United Arab Emirates	71		71	1	70	1	71	5	66	4	70		70	1	69	1	68
21	Uruguay	71		71	1	70		70	1	71	3	74	1	73		73	1	72
23	France	69		69	3	72	2	70	1	69	1	70	1	69	2	71		71
24	Bhutan	68		68		68	1	67	2	65		65		65	2	63		63
25	Chile	67		67		67		67	1	66	4	70	3	73	2	71	1	72
25	United States	67	2	69	2	71	4	75	1	74	2	76	2	74	1	73		73
27	Seychelles	66		66		66	6	60	5			55		55	1	54	2	52
28	Taiwan	65		65	2	63		63	2	61	1	62	1	61		61		61
29	Barbados	64	2	62	6	68		68	7	61				74	1	75	1	76
30	Bahamas	63	1	64	1	65		65	1	66				71		71		71
30	Qatar	63	1	62		62	1	63	2	61	10	71	2	69	1	68		68
32	Spain	62		62	4	58	1	57	1	58		58	2	60	1	59	6	65
33	South Korea	61	2	59	2	57	3	54	1	53	3	56	1	55		55	1	56
33	Portugal	61	1	62	2	64	1	63	1	62	1	63		63	1	62	1	63
35	Botswana	60	1	61		61		61	1	60	3	63		63	1	64	1	65
35	Brunei	60		60	3	63	1	62	4	58						60	5	55
35	Israel	60		60	1	61	1	62	2	64	3	61	1	60	1	61	1	60
35	Lithuania	60		60	1	59		59		59	2	61	3	58	1	57	3	54
35	Slovenia	60		60		60	1	61		61	1	60	2	58	1	57	4	61
40	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	59		59	1	58		58	2	60				67	5	62		62
41	Cape Verde	58		58	1	57	2	55	4	59	4	55	2	57	1	58	2	60
42	Costa Rica	57	1	56		56	3	59	1	58	3	55	1	54	1	53	1	54
42	Cyprus	57	1	58	1	59	2	57	2	55	6	61	2	63		63	3	66
42	Latvia	57	1	56	2	58		58	1	57	2	55		55	2	53	4	49
45	Georgia	56		56	2	58	2	56	1	57	5	52		52	3	49	3	52
45	Poland	56	2	58	2	60		60	2	62		62	1	61	1	60	2	58
45	Saint Lucia	56	1	55		55		55	5	60						71		71
48	Dominica	55		55	2	57		57	2	59				58		58		58
49	Czech Republic	54	2	56	3	59	2	57	2	55	1	56	5	51	3	48	1	49
49	Oman	54	2	52		52	8	44	1	45		45		45	2	47		47
49	Rwanda	54	1	53	3	56	1	55	1	54		54	5	49	4	53		53
52	Grenada	53		53	1	52		52	4	56
52	Italy	53		53	1	52	2	50	3	47	3	44	1	43		43	1	42
52	Malta	53	1	54		54	2	56	1	55	1	56	1	55	1	56	1	57
52	Mauritius	53	1	52	1	51	1	50	4	54	1	53	1	54	2	52	5	57
52	Saudi Arabia	53		53	4	49		49	3	46	6	52	3	49	3	46	2	44
57	Malaysia	51	2	53	6	47		47	2	49	1	50	2	52	2	50	1	49
57	Namibia	51	1	52	1	53	2	51	1	52	1	53	4	49	1	48		48
59	Greece	50	2	48	3	45	3	48	4	44	2	46	3	43	3	40	4	36
60	Armenia	49	7	42	7	35		35	2	33	2	35	2	37	1	36	2	34
60	Jordan	49	1	48	1	49	1	48		48	5	53	4	49	4	45	3	48
60	Slovakia	49	1	50		50		50	1	51		51	1	50	3	47	1	46
63	Belarus	47	2	45	1	44		44	4	40	8	32	1	31	2	29	2	31
63	Croatia	47		47	1	48	1	49		49	2	51	3	48		48	2	46
63	Cuba	47	1	48	1	47		47		47		47	1	46		46	2	48
63	São Tomé and Príncipe	47	1	46		46		46		46	4	42		42		42		42
67	Montenegro	45		45		45	1	46	1	45	1	44	2	42	2	44	3	41
67	Senegal	45		45		45		45		45	1	44	1	43	2	41	5	36
69	Bulgaria	44	1	43	1	42	1	43	2	41		41	2	43	2	41		41
69	Hungary	44		44	2	46	1	45	3	48	3	51	3	54		54	1	55
69	Jamaica	44	1	43	1	44		44	5	39	2	41	3	38		38		38
69	Romania	44		44	3	47	1	48		48	2	46	3	43		43	1	44
69	South Africa	44		44	1	43		43	2	45	1	44		44	2	42	1	43
69	Tunisia	44	1	43		43	1	42	1	41	3	38	2	40	1	41		41
75	Ghana	43	2	41		41	1	40	3	43	4	47	1	48	2	46	1	45
75	Maldives	43	14	29	2	31	2	33	3	36
75	Vanuatu	43	3	46		46	3	43
78	Argentina	42	3	45	5	40	1	39	3	36	4	32	2	34		34	1	35
78	Bahrain	42		42	6	36		36	7	43	8	51	2	49	1	48	3	51
78	China	42	1	41	2	39	2	41	1	40	3	37	1	36	4	40	1	39
78	Kuwait	42	2	40	1	41	2	39	2	41	8	49	5	44	1	43	1	44
78	Solomon Islands	42		42	2	44	5	39	3	42
83	Benin	41		41	1	40	1	39	3	36	1	37	2	39	3	36		36
83	Guyana	41	1	40	3	37	1	38	4	34	5	29	1	30	3	27	1	28
83	Lesotho	41	1	40	1	41	1	42	3	39	5	44	5	49		49	4	45
86	Burkina Faso	40		40	1	41	1	42		42	4	38		38		38		38
86	India	40	1	41		41	1	40		40	2	38		38	2	36		36
86	Morocco	40	1	41	2	43	3	40	3	37	1	36	3	39	2	37		37
86	Timor-Leste	40	2	38	3	35	3	38	3	35	7	28		28	2	30	3	33
86	Trinidad and Tobago	40		40	1	41		41	6	35	4	39	1	38		38	1	39
86	Turkey	40	1	39	2	41	1	40	1	41	1	42	3	45	5	50	1	49
92	Colombia	39	2	37	1	36	1	37		37		37		37	1	36		36
92	Ecuador	39	1	38	4	34	2	32	1	31	1	32	1	33	2	35	3	32
94	Brazil	38	3	35		35	2	37	3	40	2	38	5	43	1	42	1	43
94	Ethiopia	38	1	37	3	34	1	35	1	34	1	33		33		33		33
94	Kazakhstan	38	4	34	3	31		31	2	29	1	28	1	29	3	26	2	28
94	Peru	38	2	36	1	35	2	37	2	35	1	36	2	38		38		38
94	Serbia	38	1	39		39	2	41	1	42	2	40	1	41	1	42	3	39
94	Sri Lanka	38		38		38		38	2	36	1	37	1	38	1	37	3	40
94	Suriname	38	6	44	1	43	2	41	4	45	9	36		36		36	1	37
94	Tanzania	38	1	37	1	36		36	4	32	2	30	1	31	2	33	2	35
102	Gambia	37		37		37	7	30	4	26	2	28	1	29	1	28	6	34
102	Indonesia	37	3	40	2	38	1	37		37	1	36	2	34	2	32		32
104	Albania	36	1	35	1	36	2	38	1	39	3	36	3	33	2	31	2	33
104	Algeria	36	1	35		35	2	33	1	34	2	36		36		36	2	34
104	Ivory Coast	36	1	35		35	1	36	2	34	2	32		32	5	27	2	29
104	El Salvador	36	2	34	1	35	2	33	3	36	3	39		39	1	38		38
104	Kosovo	36		36	1	37	2	39	3	36	3	33		33		33	1	34
104	Thailand	36		36		36	1	37	2	35	3	38		38	3	35	2	37
104	Vietnam	36	1	37	4	33	2	35	2	33	2	31		31		31		31
111	Bosnia and Herzegovina	35	1	36	2	38		38	1	39	1	38	1	39	3	42		42
111	Mongolia	35		35	2	37	1	36	2	38	1	39		39	1	38	2	36
111	North Macedonia	35		35	2	37	2	35	2	37	5	42	3	45	1	44	1	43
111	Panama	35	1	36	1	37		37	1	38	1	39	2	37	2	35	3	38
115	Moldova	34	2	32	1	33	2	31	1	30	3	33	2	35		35	1	36
115	Philippines	34		34	2	36	2	34	1	35		35	3	38	2	36	2	34
117	Egypt	33	2	35		35	3	32	2	34	2	36	1	37	5	32		32
117	Eswatini	33	1	34	4	38	1	39	4					43	4	39	2	37
117	Nepal	33	1	34	3	31		31	2	29	2	27	2	29	2	31	4	27
117	Sierra Leone	33		33	3	30		30		30	1	29	2	31	1	30	1	31
117	Ukraine	33	3	30	2	32	2	30	1	29	2	27	1	26	1	25	1	26
117	Zambia	33	1	34	1	35	2	37	1	38		38		38		38	1	37
123	Niger	32		32	2	34	1	33	2	35	1	34	1	35	1	34	1	33
124	Bolivia	31		31	2	29	4	33		33	1	34	1	35	1	34		34
124	Kenya	31	3	28	1	27	1	28	2	26	1	25		25	2	27		27
124	Kyrgyzstan	31	1	30	1	29		29	1	28		28	1	27	3	24		24
124	Mexico	31	2	29	1	28	1	29	1	30	5	35		35	1	34		34
124	Pakistan	31	1	32	1	33	1	32		32	2	30	1	29	1	28	1	27
129	Azerbaijan	30		30	5	25	6	31	1	30	1	29		29	1	28	1	27
130	Gabon	30	1	31		31	1	32	3	35	1	34	3	37	3	34	1	35
130	Malawi	30	1	31	1	32	1	31		31		31	2	33	4	37		37
130	Mali	30	1	29	3	32	1	31	1	32	3	35	3	32	4	28	6	34
130	Russia	30	2	28		28	1	29		29		29	2	27	1	28		28
134	Laos	29		29		29		29	1	30	5	25		25	1	26	5	21
134	Mauritania	29	1	28	1	27	1	28	1	27	4	31	1	30		30	1	31
134	Togo	29		29	1	30	2	32		32		32	3	29		29	1	30
137	Dominican Republic	28		28	2	30	1	29	2	31	2	33	1	32	3	29	3	32
137	Guinea	28	1	29	1	28	1	27		27	2	25		25	1	24		24
137	Liberia	28		28	4	32	1	31	6	37		37		37	1	38	3	41
137	Myanmar	28	1	29		29	1	30	2	28	6	22	1	21		21	6	15
137	Paraguay	28		28	1	29		29	1	30	3	27	3	24		24	1	25
142	Angola	27	1	26	7	19		19	1	18	3	15	4	19	4	23	1	22
142	Djibouti	27	3	30	1	31		31	1	30	4	34		34	2	36		36
142	Papua New Guinea	27	1	28		28	1	29	1	28	3	25		25		25		25
142	Uganda	27	1	28	2	26		26	1	25		25	1	26		26	3	29
146	Bangladesh	26		26		26	2	28	2	26	1	25		25	2	27	1	26
146	Central African Republic	26	1	25	1	26	3	23	3	20	4	24		24	1	25	1	26
146	Uzbekistan	26	1	25	2	23	1	22	1	21	2	19	1	18	1	17		17
149	Cameroon	25		25		25		25	1	26	1	27		27	2	25	1	26
149	Guatemala	25	1	26	1	27	1	28		28		28	4	32	3	29	4	33
149	Iran	25	1	26	2	28	2	30	1	29	2	27		27	2	25	3	28
149	Lebanon	25	3	28		28		28		28		28	1	27	1	28	2	30
149	Madagascar	25	1	24	1	25	1	24	2	26	2	28		28		28	4	32
149	Mozambique	25	1	26	3	23	2	25	2	27	4	31		31	1	30	1	31
149	Nigeria	25	1	26	1	27		27	1	28	2	26	1	27	2	25	2	27
149	Tajikistan	25		25		25	4	21	4	25	1	26	3	23	1	22		22
157	Honduras	24	2	26	3	29		29	1	30	1	31	2	29	3	26	2	28
157	Zimbabwe	24		24	2	22		22		22	1	21		21		21	1	20
159	Nicaragua	22		22	3	25	1	26		26	1	27	1	28		28	1	29
160	Cambodia	21	1	20		20	1	21		21		21		21	1	20	2	22
160	Chad	21	1	20	1	19	1	20		20	2	22		22	3	19		19
160	Comoros	21	4	25	2	27		27	3	24	2	26		26	2	28		28
160	Eritrea	21	2	23	1	24	4	20	2	18		18		18	2	20	5	25
160	Iraq	21	1	20	2	18		18	1	17	1	16		16		16	2	18
165	Afghanistan	19	3	16		16	1	15		15	4	11	1	12	4	8		8
165	Burundi	19		19	2	17	5	22	2	20	1	21	1	20	1	21	2	19
165	Republic of the Congo	19		19		19	2	21	1	20	3	23		23	1	22	4	26
165	Guinea-Bissau	19	1	18	9	28	1	27	11	16	1	17	2	19		19	6	25
165	Turkmenistan	19		19	1	20	1	19	3	22	4	18	1	17		17		17
170	Democratic Republic of the Congo	18		18	1	19	2	21		21	1	22		22		22	1	21
170	Haiti	18		18	2	20	2	22	2	20	3	17	2	19		19		19
170	North Korea	18	1	17	3	14	3	17	9	8		8		8		8		8
173	Libya	17	1	18	1	17		17	3	14	2	16	2	18	3	15	6	21
174	Equatorial Guinea	16		16		16	1	17	2							19	1	20
174	Sudan	16		16		16		16	2	14	2	12	1	11		11	2	13
176	Venezuela	15	1	16	2	18		18	1	17		17	2	19	1	20	1	19
176	Yemen	15		15	1	14	2	16	2	14	4	18	1	19	1	18	5	23
178	Syria	14	1	13		13	1	14	1	13	5	18	2	20	3	17	9	26
179	Somalia	12	3	9	1	10	1	9	1	10	2	8		8		8		8
179	South Sudan	12		12	1	13	1	12	1	11	4	15		15	1	14

2011

The 20 top countries or regions that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were (note scale of 10 to 1):

#	Country	Score	#	Country/Region	Score
1	New Zealand	9.5	11	Luxembourg	8.5
2	Denmark	9.4	12	Hong Kong	8.4
	Finland		13	Iceland	8.3
4	Sweden	9.3	14	Germany	8.0
5	Singapore	9.2		Japan
6	Norway	9.0	16	Austria	7.8
7	Netherlands	8.9		Spain
8	Australia	8.8		United Kingdom
	Switzerland		19	Belgium	7.5
10	Canada	8.7		Ireland
Source:

The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:

#	Country	Score	#	Country	Score
182	Somalia	1.0	172	Equatorial Guinea	1.9
	North Korea			Burundi
180	Myanmar	1.5	168	Libya	2.0
	Afghanistan			DR Congo
177	Uzbekistan	1.6		Chad
	Turkmenistan			Angola
	Sudan		164	Yemen	2.1
175	Iraq	1.8		Kyrgyzstan
	Haiti			Guinea
172	Venezuela	1.9		Cambodia
Source:

2010

The 20 top countries or regions that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were (note scale of 10 down to 1):

#	Country	Score	#	Country/Region	Score
1	Denmark	9.3	11	Iceland	8.5
	New Zealand			Luxembourg
	Singapore		13	Hong Kong	8.4
4	Finland	9.2	14	Ireland	8.0
	Sweden		15	Austria	7.9
6	Canada	8.9		Germany
7	Netherlands	8.8	17	Spain	7.8
8	Australia	8.7		Japan
	Switzerland		19	Qatar	7.7
10	Norway	8.6	20	United Kingdom	7.6
Source:

The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:

#	Country	Score	#	Country	Score
178	Somalia	1.1	168	Angola	1.9
176	Myanmar	1.4	164	Venezuela	2.0
	Afghanistan			Kyrgyzstan
175	Iraq	1.5		Guinea
172	Uzbekistan	1.6		DR Congo
	Turkmenistan		159	Tajikistan	2.1
	Sudan			Russia
171	Chad	1.7		Papua New Guinea
170	Burundi	1.8		Laos
168	Equatorial Guinea	1.9		Kenya
Source:

Assessments

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

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

• Corruption is too complex a concept to be captured by a single score. For instance, the nature of corruption in rural Kansas will be different from that in the city administration of New York, yet the Index measures them in the same way.
• By measuring perceptions of corruption, as opposed to corruption itself, the Index may simply be reinforcing existing stereotypes and cliches.
• The Index only measures public sector corruption, ignoring the private sector. This, for instance, means the well-publicized Libor scandal or the VW emissions scandal are not counted as corrupt actions.

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".

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."

However, 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.

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.

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.

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.

See also

• Global Peace Index
• Democracy Index
• List of freedom indices

External links

• Official site
• Transparency International (2010). Corruption Perceptions Index 2010: Long methodological brief (PDF) (Report). Transparency International. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
• Corruption Perceptions Index 2013
• Interactive world map of the Corruption Perception Index: 2000-2008
• A Users' Guide to Measuring Corruption critiques the CPI and similar indices.
• Global Integrity Index
• List of Global Development Indexes and Rankings