According to the Corruption Perception Index 2022, compiled by Transparency International, Estonia is one of the least corrupt countries in the world – the country is ranked 14th in the index.
The Corruption Perception Index 2022 measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories around the world.
Estonia shares its 14th spot with Canada, Iceland and Uruguay.
Transparency International doesn’t comment Estonia’s rather good standing, but it assigns a score to every country, with 100 being “very clean” and 0 being “highly corrupt”. Estonia’s score in the 2022 index is 74, the same as in the 2021 index.
Denmark leads the 2022 rankings with Finland, New Zealand and Norway following. Sweden Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg complete the top ten least corrupt countries’ list.
Most of the world fails to fight corruption
The United Kingdom is ranked 18th and the United States 24th. Lithuania is ranked 33rd, Latvia 39th and Russia 137th.
The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that most of the world continues to fail to fight corruption: 95 per cent of countries have made little to no progress since 2017, Transparency says.
“According to the Global Peace Index, the world continues to become a less peaceful place. There is a clear connection between this violence and corruption, with countries that score lowest in this index also scoring very low on the CPI.”
“Governments hampered by corruption lack the capacity to protect the people, while public discontent is more likely to turn into violence,” according to the organisation.
Over two thirds of countries have a problem with corruption
“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,” Delia Ferreira Rubio, the chair of Transparency International, said in a statement.
The index global average remains unchanged at 43 for the eleventh year in a row, and more than two-thirds of countries have a serious problem with corruption, scoring below 50, Transparency added.
Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has become one of the leading global indicator of public sector corruption. The index scores 180 countries and territories around the world based on perceptions of public sector corruption, using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies, think tanks and others.
Transparency International is a German non-governmental organisation founded in 1993. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil societal anti-corruption measures and to prevent criminal activities arising from corruption.
