Pakistan’s performance worsens, rank remains same in corruption perception index

Pakistan’s score has worsened slightly in the Transparency International’s (TI) latest Corruption Perception Index, and it was ranked 140th among 180 countries, the same position as last year, according to a report published on Tuesday.

The South Asian country’s score lowered to 27/100 in 2022 from 28/100 in 2021, a decrease of one point that made this its lowest score since 2012.

“Pakistan has continued its statistically significant downward trend, this year hitting its lowest score since 2012 at just 27 points amidst ongoing political turmoil,” said the report.

It said that PTI chairman Imran Khan came to power promising to tackle corruption and promote social and economic reforms, but little has been accomplished on any of these fronts since he took over in 2018.

“It’s time for concrete action with a holistic and effective anti-corruption plan that addresses illicit financial flows and introduces safeguards for civic space,” it said.

’Global peace is deteriorating ’

The index by TI, a civil society organisation working to end corruption, showed that 124 countries have stagnant corruption levels, while the number of countries in decline is increasing.

“This has the most serious consequences, as global peace is deteriorating and corruption is both a key cause and result of this,” said the report.

The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public-sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople. It relies on 13 independent data sources and uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

Countries with strong institutions and well-functioning democracies often find themselves at the top of the Index, the report said. Denmark headed the ranking, with a score of 90. Finland and New Zealand followed closely with a score of 87.

Transparency International: Pakistan’s rank worsens in corruption perception index

Meanwhile, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg complete the top 10 this year.

“On the flip side, countries experiencing conflict or where basic personal and political freedoms are highly restricted tend to earn the lowest marks. This year, Somalia, Syria, and South Sudan are at the bottom of the index.

Venezuela, Yemen, Libya, North Korea, Haiti, Equatorial Guinea and Burundi are also in the bottom 10.

“Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict – and endanger people everywhere. The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International.