No country gets close to a perfect score in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.
Over two-thirds of the 176 countries and territories in this year’s index fall below the midpoint of our scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The global average score is a paltry 43, indicating endemic corruption in a country’s public sector. Top-scoring countries (yellow in the map below) are far outnumbered by orange and red countries where citizens face the tangible impact of corruption on a daily basis.
This year’s results highlight the connection between corruption and inequality, which feed off each other to create a vicious circle between corruption, unequal distribution of power in society, and unequal distribution of wealth.
In too many countries, people are deprived of their most basic needs and go to bed hungry every night because of corruption, while the powerful and corrupt enjoy lavish lifestyles with impunity.”
– José Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International
The interplay of corruption and inequality also feeds populism. When traditional politicians fail to tackle corruption, people grow cynical. Increasingly, people are turning to populist leaders who promise to break the cycle of corruption and privilege. Yet this is likely to exacerbate – rather than resolve – the tensions that fed the populist surge in the first place. (Read more about the linkages between corruption, inequality and populism.)
Corruption perceptions index 2016
http://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016
2016 Rank | Country | 2016 Score | 2015 Score | 2014 Score | 2013 Score | 2012 Score | Region | |||||||
1 | Denmark | 90 | 91 | 92 | 91 | 90 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
1 | New Zealand | 90 | 88 | 91 | 91 | 90 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
3 | Finland | 89 | 90 | 89 | 89 | 90 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
4 | Sweden | 88 | 89 | 87 | 89 | 88 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
5 | Switzerland | 86 | 86 | 86 | 85 | 86 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
6 | Norway | 85 | 87 | 86 | 86 | 85 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
7 | Singapore | 84 | 85 | 84 | 86 | 87 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
8 | Netherlands | 83 | 87 | 83 | 83 | 84 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
9 | Canada | 82 | 83 | 81 | 81 | 84 | Americas | |||||||
10 | Germany | 81 | 81 | 79 | 78 | 79 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
10 | Luxembourg | 81 | 81 | 82 | 80 | 80 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
10 | United Kingdom | 81 | 81 | 78 | 76 | 74 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
13 | Australia | 79 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 85 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
14 | Iceland | 78 | 79 | 79 | 78 | 82 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
15 | Belgium | 77 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 75 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
15 | Hong Kong | 77 | 75 | 74 | 75 | 77 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
17 | Austria | 75 | 76 | 72 | 69 | 69 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
18 | United States | 74 | 76 | 74 | 73 | 73 | Americas | |||||||
19 | Ireland | 73 | 75 | 74 | 72 | 69 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
20 | Japan | 72 | 75 | 76 | 74 | 74 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
21 | Uruguay | 71 | 74 | 73 | 73 | 72 | Americas | |||||||
22 | Estonia | 70 | 70 | 69 | 68 | 64 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
23 | France | 69 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 71 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
24 | Bahamas | 66 | N/A | 71 | 71 | 71 | Americas | |||||||
24 | Chile | 66 | 70 | 73 | 71 | 72 | Americas | |||||||
24 | United Arab Emirates | 66 | 70 | 70 | 69 | 68 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
27 | Bhutan | 65 | 65 | 65 | 63 | 63 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
28 | Israel | 64 | 61 | 60 | 61 | 60 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
29 | Poland | 62 | 62 | 61 | 60 | 58 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
29 | Portugal | 62 | 63 | 63 | 62 | 63 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
31 | Barbados | 61 | N/A | 74 | 75 | 76 | Americas | |||||||
31 | Qatar | 61 | 71 | 69 | 68 | 68 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
31 | Slovenia | 61 | 60 | 58 | 57 | 61 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
31 | Taiwan | 61 | 62 | 61 | 61 | 61 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
35 | Botswana | 60 | 63 | 63 | 64 | 65 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
35 | Saint Lucia | 60 | N/A | N/A | 71 | 71 | Americas | |||||||
35 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 60 | N/A | 67 | 62 | 62 | Americas | |||||||
38 | Cape Verde | 59 | 55 | 57 | 58 | 60 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
38 | Dominica | 59 | N/A | 58 | 58 | 58 | Americas | |||||||
38 | Lithuania | 59 | 61 | 58 | 57 | 54 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
41 | Brunei | 58 | N/A | N/A | 60 | 55 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
41 | Costa Rica | 58 | 55 | 54 | 53 | 54 | Americas | |||||||
41 | Spain | 58 | 58 | 60 | 59 | 65 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
44 | Georgia | 57 | 52 | 52 | 49 | 52 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
44 | Latvia | 57 | 55 | 55 | 53 | 49 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
46 | Grenada | 56 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Americas | |||||||
47 | Cyprus | 55 | 61 | 63 | 63 | 66 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
47 | Czech Republic | 55 | 56 | 51 | 48 | 49 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
47 | Malta | 55 | 56 | 55 | 56 | 57 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
50 | Mauritius | 54 | 53 | 54 | 52 | 57 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
50 | Rwanda | 54 | 54 | 49 | 53 | 53 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
52 | Korea (South) | 53 | 56 | 55 | 55 | 56 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
53 | Namibia | 52 | 53 | 49 | 48 | 48 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
54 | Slovakia | 51 | 51 | 50 | 47 | 46 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
55 | Croatia | 49 | 51 | 48 | 48 | 46 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
55 | Malaysia | 49 | 50 | 52 | 50 | 49 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
57 | Hungary | 48 | 51 | 54 | 54 | 55 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
57 | Jordan | 48 | 53 | 49 | 45 | 48 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
57 | Romania | 48 | 46 | 43 | 43 | 44 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
60 | Cuba | 47 | 47 | 46 | 46 | 48 | Americas | |||||||
60 | Italy | 47 | 44 | 43 | 43 | 42 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
62 | Sao Tome and Principe | 46 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
62 | Saudi Arabia | 46 | 52 | 49 | 46 | 44 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
64 | Montenegro | 45 | 44 | 42 | 44 | 41 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
64 | Oman | 45 | 45 | 45 | 47 | 47 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
64 | Senegal | 45 | 44 | 43 | 41 | 36 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
64 | South Africa | 45 | 44 | 44 | 42 | 43 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
64 | Suriname | 45 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 37 | Americas | |||||||
69 | Greece | 44 | 46 | 43 | 40 | 36 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
70 | Bahrain | 43 | 51 | 49 | 48 | 51 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
70 | Ghana | 43 | 47 | 48 | 46 | 45 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
72 | Burkina Faso | 42 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
72 | Serbia | 42 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 39 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
72 | Solomon Islands | 42 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Asia Pacific | |||||||
75 | Bulgaria | 41 | 41 | 43 | 41 | 41 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
75 | Kuwait | 41 | 49 | 44 | 43 | 44 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
75 | Tunisia | 41 | 38 | 40 | 41 | 41 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
75 | Turkey | 41 | 42 | 45 | 50 | 49 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
79 | Belarus | 40 | 32 | 31 | 29 | 31 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
79 | Brazil | 40 | 38 | 43 | 42 | 43 | Americas | |||||||
79 | China | 40 | 37 | 36 | 40 | 39 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
79 | India | 40 | 38 | 38 | 36 | 36 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
83 | Albania | 39 | 36 | 33 | 31 | 33 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
83 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 39 | 38 | 39 | 42 | 42 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
83 | Jamaica | 39 | 41 | 38 | 38 | 38 | Americas | |||||||
83 | Lesotho | 39 | 44 | 49 | 49 | 45 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
87 | Mongolia | 38 | 39 | 39 | 38 | 36 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
87 | Panama | 38 | 39 | 37 | 35 | 38 | Americas | |||||||
87 | Zambia | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 37 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
90 | Colombia | 37 | 37 | 37 | 36 | 36 | Americas | |||||||
90 | Indonesia | 37 | 36 | 34 | 32 | 32 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
90 | Liberia | 37 | 37 | 37 | 38 | 41 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
90 | Morocco | 37 | 36 | 39 | 37 | 37 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
90 | The FYR of Macedonia | 37 | 42 | 45 | 44 | 43 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
95 | Argentina | 36 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 35 | Americas | |||||||
95 | Benin | 36 | 37 | 39 | 36 | 36 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
95 | El Salvador | 36 | 39 | 39 | 38 | 38 | Americas | |||||||
95 | Kosovo | 36 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 34 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
95 | Maldives | 36 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Asia Pacific | |||||||
95 | Sri Lanka | 36 | 37 | 38 | 37 | 40 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
101 | Gabon | 35 | 34 | 37 | 34 | 35 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
101 | Niger | 35 | 34 | 35 | 34 | 33 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
101 | Peru | 35 | 36 | 38 | 38 | 38 | Americas | |||||||
101 | Philippines | 35 | 35 | 38 | 36 | 34 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
101 | Thailand | 35 | 38 | 38 | 35 | 37 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
101 | Timor-Leste | 35 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 33 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
101 | Trinidad and Tobago | 35 | 39 | 38 | 38 | 39 | Americas | |||||||
108 | Algeria | 34 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 34 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
108 | Côte d´Ivoire | 34 | 32 | 32 | 27 | 29 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
108 | Egypt | 34 | 36 | 37 | 32 | 32 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
108 | Ethiopia | 34 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
108 | Guyana | 34 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 28 | Americas | |||||||
113 | Armenia | 33 | 35 | 37 | 36 | 34 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
113 | Bolivia | 33 | 34 | 35 | 34 | 34 | Americas | |||||||
113 | Vietnam | 33 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
116 | Mali | 32 | 35 | 32 | 28 | 34 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
116 | Pakistan | 32 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
116 | Tanzania | 32 | 30 | 31 | 33 | 35 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
116 | Togo | 32 | 32 | 29 | 29 | 30 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
120 | Dominican Republic | 31 | 33 | 32 | 29 | 32 | Americas | |||||||
120 | Ecuador | 31 | 32 | 33 | 35 | 32 | Americas | |||||||
120 | Malawi | 31 | 31 | 33 | 37 | 37 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
123 | Azerbaijan | 30 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
123 | Djibouti | 30 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 36 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
123 | Honduras | 30 | 31 | 29 | 26 | 28 | Americas | |||||||
123 | Laos | 30 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 21 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
123 | Mexico | 30 | 35 | 35 | 34 | 34 | Americas | |||||||
123 | Moldova | 30 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 36 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
123 | Paraguay | 30 | 27 | 24 | 24 | 25 | Americas | |||||||
123 | Sierra Leone | 30 | 29 | 31 | 30 | 31 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
131 | Iran | 29 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 28 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
131 | Kazakhstan | 29 | 28 | 29 | 26 | 28 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
131 | Nepal | 29 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 27 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
131 | Russia | 29 | 29 | 27 | 28 | 28 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
131 | Ukraine | 29 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 26 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
136 | Guatemala | 28 | 28 | 32 | 29 | 33 | Americas | |||||||
136 | Kyrgyzstan | 28 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 24 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
136 | Lebanon | 28 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 30 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
136 | Myanmar | 28 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 15 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
136 | Nigeria | 28 | 26 | 27 | 25 | 27 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
136 | Papua New Guinea | 28 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
142 | Guinea | 27 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
142 | Mauritania | 27 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 31 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
142 | Mozambique | 27 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 31 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
145 | Bangladesh | 26 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 26 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
145 | Cameroon | 26 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 26 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
145 | Gambia | 26 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 34 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
145 | Kenya | 26 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
145 | Madagascar | 26 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 32 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
145 | Nicaragua | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | Americas | |||||||
151 | Tajikistan | 25 | 26 | 23 | 22 | 22 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
151 | Uganda | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 29 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
153 | Comoros | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 28 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
154 | Turkmenistan | 22 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
154 | Zimbabwe | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
156 | Cambodia | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 22 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
156 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
156 | Uzbekistan | 21 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 | Europe and Central Asia | |||||||
159 | Burundi | 20 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 19 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
159 | Central African Republic | 20 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
159 | Chad | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 19 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
159 | Haiti | 20 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | Americas | |||||||
159 | Republic of Congo | 20 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 26 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
164 | Angola | 18 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 22 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
164 | Eritrea | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 25 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
166 | Iraq | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
166 | Venezuela | 17 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 19 | Americas | |||||||
168 | Guinea-Bissau | 16 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 25 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
169 | Afghanistan | 15 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 8 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
170 | Libya | 14 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 21 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
170 | Sudan | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
170 | Yemen | 14 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 23 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
173 | Syria | 13 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 26 | Middle East and North Africa | |||||||
174 | Korea (North) | 12 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Asia Pacific | |||||||
175 | South Sudan | 11 | 15 | 15 | 14 | N/A | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||
176 | Somalia | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Sub Saharan Africa | |||||||