Democracies Slipping in Anti-Corruption Efforts

Established democracies’ efforts against public-sector corruption appear to be flagging, according to a survey released recently that serves as a barometer of perceived corruption worldwide.

The report lamented that “too often, we are seeing a failure of good governance and accountable leadership.”

It raised concern about developments in the United States and the impact elsewhere of US funding cuts, Geir Moulson reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2025 gave top place to Denmark, with 89 points out of 100, followed by Finland and Singapore. At the bottom were South Sudan and Somalia with nine points apiece, followed by Venezuela.

The leading trio was unchanged, and the last three only in that South Sudan gained a point to draw level with Somalia.

The group said most countries are failing to keep corruption under control, with 122 out of the 182 nations and territories surveyed scoring less than 50 points.

The global average last year was 42, down one point to the lowest in over a decade. Only five countries scored above 80 in the 2025 report, down from 12 a decade ago.

The report lamented that “too often, we are seeing a failure of good governance and accountable leadership.” It also pointed to “a worrying trend of democracies seeing worsening perceived corruption.”

Among those, it pointed even to high-scoring New Zealand, down two points at 81, and Sweden, unchanged at 80, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom, France and the US, which scored 75, 70, 66, and 64 points, respectively.