Pakistan's 'Corruption Perception' worsened in 2019: Transparency International

• Pakistan managed to score only 32 points and was ranked at 120th spot among 180 countries.
• Pakistan witnessed a drop in ranking by three places (117^th in 2018) and also scored a point lower, as compared to 33 points scored in 2018.

Corruption in Pakistan maintained its strong grip, as the country fared poorly in the newly released Transparency International global report on the 2019 Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

Pakistan managed to score only 32 points and was ranked at the 120th spot among 180 countries, sitting alongside Niger and Moldova on the index. Pakistan witnessed a drop in ranking by three places (117^th in 2018) and also scored a point lower, as compared to 33 points scored in 2018.

The CPI is the leading global indicator of public sector corruption. It scores and ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be by experts and business leaders.

Overall, more than two-thirds of countries – along with many of the world’s most advanced economies – are not improving or are showing signs of backsliding in their anti-corruption record, as per the latest index.

This year’s results paint a discouraging picture of the state of corruption worldwide. Since 2012, only 22 countries have significantly improved their score while 21 have significantly declined. The remaining countries have made little or no progress in the fight against corruption.

“Governments must urgently address the corrupting role of big money in political party financing and the undue influence it exerts on our political systems” says Delia Ferreira Rubio Chair Transparency International.

The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts and business people. It uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

The top countries are New Zealand and Denmark, with scores of 87 each, followed by Finland (86), Singapore (85), Sweden (85) and Switzerland (85).

The bottom countries are Somalia, South Sudan and Syria with scores of 9, 12 and 13, respectively. These countries are closely followed by Yemen (15), Venezuela (16), Sudan (16), Equatorial Guinea (16) and Afghanistan (16).