Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published on Tuesday, finds a worrying erosion of anti‑corruption leadership worldwide — including in long‑standing democracies. The 31st edition of the CPI, which ranks more than 180 countries and territories on perceived public sector corruption from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), records declines among established Western performers such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Sweden.
The number of countries scoring above 80 — once a benchmark for clean governance — has fallen sharply, from 12 a decade ago to just five this year. Denmark topped the index with a score of 89 for the eighth consecutive year, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84). But Transparency International warned of a global lack of “bold leadership,” saying many governments no longer treat the fight against corruption as a priority.
“Several governments no longer see the fight against corruption as a priority,” Francois Valerian, chair of Transparency International, told DW. “Governments may have had the impression that … they had done everything to address corruption and had to turn to other priorities.”
Why the US is slipping
The United States fell to its lowest-ever CPI score of 64, a decline of 10 points since 2016. Transparency International said the US political climate has deteriorated over more than a decade and noted that the latest index does not fully capture developments since Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.
The report pointed to high‑profile ethics scandals, including at the US Supreme Court, and cited broader trends such as “the use of public office to target and restrict independent voices,” “the normalisation of conflicted and transactional politics,” the “politicisation of prosecutorial decision making,” and “actions that undermine judicial independence.” The anti‑corruption body said these moves “all send a dangerous signal that corrupt practices are acceptable.”
Since beginning his second term, Trump has taken steps that align with those concerns, including moves to dismantle public broadcasters like Voice of America and using government agencies against political opponents. Critics also accuse him of undermining judicial independence and weakening enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Valerian criticized an executive order that reinterprets the FCPA as a national security tool and highlighted Trump’s support for cryptocurrencies — which can be misused for money‑laundering — and a fast‑track visa scheme for wealthy foreigners, dubbed the “Trump Gold Card.” “Based on our international experience, such [visa] schemes attract corrupt people and may also attract criminals,” he said.
Europe’s waning momentum
The UK registered the largest decline in the West over the past decade, dropping 11 points to 70. Transparency International linked the fall to repeated failures to enforce ethical standards for ministers and lawmakers, and to COVID‑19 procurement scandals in which insiders won lucrative contracts with little scrutiny.
Other Western declines over the past ten years include New Zealand, down nine points to 81; Sweden, down eight to 80; and Canada, down seven to 75. Germany fell four points over the decade to 77 but rose two points from last year. France slipped four points to 66, a fall the report attributed to weakening enforcement and rising risks of collusion between officials and private interests, though it noted the conviction of former President Nicolas Sarkozy in an illicit funds case.
Valerian warned that many European countries that once led anti‑corruption efforts are losing ground. He said the EU’s Anti‑Corruption Directive has been watered down and will not enable Europe to strengthen its fight against graft as needed.
Where else is progress reversing?
Since 2012, 50 countries have recorded significant drops in CPI scores. Turkey, Hungary and Nicaragua were singled out for democratic backsliding, weakened rule of law, cronyism and rent‑seeking. Transparency International also warned that corruption is enabling organized crime to penetrate politics across Latin America; even traditionally strong democracies like Costa Rica and Uruguay now face pressures previously seen in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil.
The report described the declines as “sharp, enduring and difficult to reverse,” with corruption becoming systemic and embedded in political and administrative structures. “The more concentrated your power is, the higher the abuse of power. And the more secretive your power is, the easier it is to abuse that power,” Valerian told DW.
The new index does not reflect the latest tranche of Jeffrey Epstein files, released last month, which have implicated officials in several countries in alleged wrongdoing, corruption or compromising ties.
The watchdog also noted increasing political interference with NGOs, particularly those critical of governments, pointing to crackdowns and funding cuts in Georgia, Indonesia and Peru. In some countries, it is becoming harder for independent journalists, civil society groups and whistleblowers to expose corruption.
Mixed developments in conflicted areas
Ukraine’s anti‑graft push drew praise despite ongoing war. The report said recent defense‑sector scandals show corruption remains a problem, but the fact cases are surfacing and moving to prosecution indicates Ukraine’s new anti‑corruption framework is beginning to take hold. Ukraine’s score rose seven points over the past decade to 36. By contrast, Russia — which has scrapped laws intended to prevent and punish graft — remains near the bottom of the index at 22.
Worst and best performers
Authoritarian regimes, including Venezuela and Azerbaijan, perform among the worst, where corruption is “systemic and manifests at every level.” More than two‑thirds of countries scored below 50, a threshold that the report said signals “serious corruption problems in most parts of the planet.” Nations scoring under 25 are mostly affected by conflict and repression: Libya, Yemen and Eritrea scored 13; Somalia and South Sudan scored nine.
There were positive movements: several countries have climbed from the bottom toward the middle, including Albania, Angola, Ivory Coast, Laos, Senegal, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Long‑term gains were also noted among already high‑scoring nations such as Estonia, South Korea, Bhutan and Seychelles.
Edited by: Ashutosh Pandey