Denmark is the least corrupt country in the world followed by Finland, Singapore and New Zealand, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2024, which serves as a barometer of public sector misconduct worldwide. The report compiled by Transparency International placed India at 96th spot, three positions drown from the previous year’s rank.
The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people, using a scale of zero to 100, where “zero” is highly corrupt and “100” is very clean. The 2024 report highlighted that corruption is a dangerous problem in every part of the world, but a change for the better is happening in many countries.
As per the list, in 2024, India’s overall score was 38 while it was 39 in 2023 and 40 in 2022. India’s rank in 2023 was 93.
Among India’s neighbours, Pakistan at 135th position, and Sri Lanka at 121st spot grappled with their respective low rankings. Bangladesh’s ranking stood further down at 149, while China ranked 76.
Many countries had their worst showing in more than a decade, including leading powers such as the United States and France to authoritarian nations such as Russia and Venezuela.
The US dropped from 69 points to 65 and landed in the 28th position from 24th place earlier. Other Western nations on the decline included France, which slid four points to 67 and five places to 25th; and Germany, which dropped three points to 75 and six places to 15th. It tied with Canada, which was down one point and three places.
Mexico also dropped five points to 26 as the judiciary failed to take action in major corruption cases, Transparency International said.
Russia, which already declined significantly in recent years, shed another four points to 22 last year. Transparency International noted that Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has “further entrenched authoritarianism.” It said that Ukraine, while its score dipped one point to 35, “is making strides in judicial independence and high-level corruption prosecutions.”
South Sudan slid to the bottom of the index with just eight points, displacing Somalia although the latter country’s score dropped to nine. They were followed by Venezuela with 10 and Syria with 12.
Transparency International noted that “global corruption levels remain alarmingly high, with efforts to reduce them faltering” in 2024. While 32 countries have significantly reduced their corruption levels since 2012, there is still a huge amount of work to be done as 148 countries have stayed stagnant or gotten worse during the same period.
Corruption’s Effect On Climate
The group also pointed to worldwide risks from corruption to efforts to combat climate change. It said that a lack of transparency and accountability mechanisms increases the risk of climate funds being embezzled or misused, while “undue influence,” often from the private sector, obstructs the approval of ambitious policies, hindering progress in reducing emissions and adapting to the unavoidable effects of global heating.
“Huge numbers of people around the world suffer severe consequences of global heating, as funds intended to help countries cut greenhouse gas emissions and protect vulnerable populations are stolen or misused. At the same time, corruption in the form of undue influence obstructs policies aimed at addressing the climate crisis and leads to environmental damage,” the report said.
Protecting climate mitigation and adaptation efforts from corruption will make these life-saving activities more effective and, in turn, benefit people in need, it added.
Many countries with high CPI scores have the resources and power to drive corruption-resistant climate action around the world but instead, they often serve the interests of fossil-fuel companies, the report said.
“Some of these countries are also home to financial hubs that attract illicit funds stemming from corruption, environmental destruction and other crime. While the CPI does not measure this, dirty money poses a major corruption problem with harmful effects that reach far beyond these countries’ borders,” it said.
Corruption is an evolving global threat that does far more than undermine development — it is a key cause of declining democracy, instability and human rights violations. The international community and every country must make tackling corruption a top and long-term priority, the report said.
“This is crucial to pushing back against authoritarianism and securing a peaceful, free and sustainable world. The dangerous trends revealed in this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index highlight the need to follow through with concrete action now to address global corruption,” it said.
