August M
This list is based on newly updated data from Transparency International. It helps shed light on which countries have the strongest reputation for low levels of corruption.
Each year, the Corruption Perceptions Index shapes debates on governance, trust and accountability across the globe. But while the rankings often grab headlines, the way the index is built is less widely understood.
What the CPI is
According to Transparency International, the Corruption Perceptions Index, or CPI, is the world’s most widely used global corruption ranking. It assesses how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be, based on the views of experts and businesspeople.
The organisation stresses that CPI results do not reflect the opinions of Transparency International or its staff, but are drawn from external assessments.
How scores are built
Each country’s CPI score combines data from at least three sources, selected from a total of 13 corruption surveys and expert assessments. These are produced by institutions such as the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
Countries must appear in at least three of these sources to be included. About 180 countries and territories meet that threshold each year.
Score versus rank
Transparency International draws a clear distinction between a country’s score and its rank. Scores range from 0 to 100, where 0 means “highly corrupt” and 100 means “very clean”.
The CPI focuses on public sector corruption. According to Transparency International, this includes bribery, misuse of public funds, abuse of office for private gain, weak controls on corruption, excessive red tape, nepotism, asset disclosure rules, whistleblower protection, state capture and access to government information.
The list
- Denmark — Score: 89
- Finland — Score: 88
- Singapore — Score: 84
- New Zealand–Norway — Score: 81
- Sweden–Switzerland — Score: 80
- Luxembourg–Netherlands-78
- Germany–Iceland-77
- Australia, Estonia, Hong Kong and Ireland.-76
- Canada-75
- Uruguay-73
