Corruption Perceptions Index 2016

Over two-thirds of the 176 countries and territories in the index fall below the midpoint of the scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The global average score is a paltry 43, indicating endemic corruption in a country’s public sector. Top-scoring countries are far outnumbered countries where citizens face the tangible impact of corruption on a daily basis. 

When traditional politicians fail to tackle corruption, people grow cynical. Here is a snapshot:

Region wise analysis

Americas: From the Panama Papers in April to the record $3.5-bn Odebrecht settlement in Brazil in December, 2016 was a good year in the fight against corruption

Asia-Pacific: Unfortunately, the majority of Asia-Pacific countries sit in the bottom half of the index. Poor performance can be attributed to unaccountable governments, lack of oversight, insecurity and shrinking space for civil society, pushing anti-corruption action to the margins

Europe and Central Asia: There are no drastic changes this year. The stagnation does not indicate that the fight against corruption has improved, but rather the opposite

Middle East and North Africa: Despite the political changes that shook the Arab region six years ago, the hope for Arab countries to fight corruption and end impunity has not seen any progress yet

Sub-Saharan Africa: 2016 saw elections across the African continent with the results providing a good reflection of corruption trends in the region

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Region-wise analysis