Corruption Perceptions Index 2023

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 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. 1 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, 2 restricted civic freedoms 3 and relied on non-democratic strategies to address recent challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. 4 Against this backdrop, this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows that, despite the progress made in criminalising corruption and establishing specialised anti- corruption institutions around the world, only 28 of the 180 countries measured by the CPI have improved their corruption levels, and 34 countries have significantly worsened. 5 This limited progress is hardly surprising considering the chronic weaknesses of justice systems 73 48 32 FULL DEMOCRACIES (24 COUNTRIES) FLAWED DEMOCRACIES (48 COUNTRIES) NON-DEMOCRATIC REGIMES (94 COUNTRIES) AVERAGE CPI 2023 SCORE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF GOVERNMENT* Strong democracies vastly outperform flawed ones and authoritarian regimes in control of corruption. * Based on the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) democracy classification for the year 2022. The total number of countries covered here is lower than the number covered by the CPI, as the EIU does not provide data for 13 of the countries in our sample. Data available at: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/political-regime-eiu. TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL 4 Embargoed until 07.01am CET (Berlin) 30 January 2024