Corruption Perceptions Index
Transparency International (TI) has published the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) since 1995, annually ranking countries "by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys."[1] The CPI generally defines corruption as "the misuse of public power for private benefit."[2]
The CPI currently ranks 177 countries "on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt)."[3]
Contents
Methods
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Transparency International commissioned Johann Graf Lambsdorff of the University of Passau to produce the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).[4] The 2012 CPI draws on 13 different surveys and assessments from 12 different institutions.[5] The institutions are the African Development Bank, the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Freedom House, Global Insight, International Institute for Management Development, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, Political Risk Services, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the World Justice Project.[6]
Countries must be assessed by at least three sources to appear in the CPI.[7] The 13 surveys/assessments are either business people opinion surveys or performance assessments from a group of analysts.[2] Early CPIs used public opinion surveys.[7]
The CPI measures perception of corruption due to the difficulty of measuring absolute levels of corruption.[8]
Validity
A study published in 2002 found a "very strong significant correlation" between the Corruption Perceptions Index and two other proxies for corruption: Black Market activity and overabundance of regulation. All three metrics also had a highly significant correlation with real gross domestic product per capita (RGDP/Cap). The Corruption Perceptions Index correlation with RGDP/Cap was the strongest.[9]
Reports
2014
The 20 top political entities that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denmark | 92 | 11 | Australia | 80 |
2 | New Zealand | 91 | 12 | Germany | 79 |
3 | Finland | 89 | Iceland | ||
4 | Sweden | 87 | 14 | United Kingdom | 78 |
5 | Norway | 86 | 15 | Belgium | 76 |
Switzerland | Japan | ||||
7 | Singapore | 84 | 17 | United States | 74 |
8 | Netherlands | 83 | Hong Kong | ||
9 | Luxembourg | 82 | Ireland | ||
10 | Canada | 81 | Barbados | ||
Source:[10] |
The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
174 | Somalia | 8 | 161 | Yemen | 19 |
North Korea | Venezuela | ||||
173 | Sudan | 11 | Haiti | ||
172 | Afghanistan | 12 | Guinea-Bissau | ||
171 | South Sudan | 15 | Angola | ||
170 | Iraq | 16 | 159 | Syria | 20 |
169 | Turkmenistan | 17 | Burundi | ||
166 | Uzbekistan | 18 | 156 | Zimbabwe | 21 |
Libya | Myanmar | ||||
Eritrea | Cambodia | ||||
Source:[10] |
2013
The 20 top countries that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denmark | 91 | 11 | Luxembourg | 80 |
New Zealand | 12 | Germany | 78 | ||
3 | Finland | 89 | Iceland | ||
Sweden | 14 | United Kingdom | 76 | ||
5 | Norway | 86 | 15 | Barbados | 75 |
Singapore | Belgium | ||||
7 | Switzerland | 85 | Hong Kong | ||
8 | Netherlands | 83 | 18 | Japan | 74 |
9 | Australia | 81 | 19 | United States | 73 |
Canada | Uruguay | ||||
Source:[11] |
The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
175 | Somalia | 8 | 167 | Yemen | 18 |
North Korea | 163 | Haiti | 19 | ||
Afghanistan | Guinea-Bissau | ||||
174 | Sudan | 11 | Equatorial Guinea | ||
173 | South Sudan | 14 | Chad | ||
172 | Libya | 15 | 160 | Venezuela | 20 |
171 | Iraq | 16 | Eritrea | ||
168 | Uzbekistan | 17 | Cambodia | ||
Turkmenistan | 158 | Zimbabwe | 21 | ||
Syria | Myanmar | ||||
Source:[11] |
2012
The 20 top countries that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denmark | 90 | 11 | Iceland | 82 |
Finland | 12 | Luxembourg | 80 | ||
New Zealand | 13 | Germany | 79 | ||
4 | Sweden | 88 | 14 | Hong Kong | 77 |
5 | Singapore | 87 | 15 | Barbados | 76 |
6 | Switzerland | 86 | 16 | Belgium | 75 |
7 | Australia | 85 | 17 | Japan | 74 |
Norway | United Kingdom | ||||
9 | Canada | 84 | 19 | United States | 73 |
Netherlands | 20 | Chile | 72 | ||
Uruguay | |||||
Source:[12] |
The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
174 | Somalia | 8 | 165 | Chad | 19 |
North Korea | Burundi | ||||
Afghanistan | 163 | Zimbabwe | 20 | ||
173 | Sudan | 11 | Equatorial Guinea | ||
172 | Myanmar | 15 | 160 | Libya | 21 |
170 | Uzbekistan | 17 | Laos | ||
Turkmenistan | DR Congo | ||||
169 | Iraq | 18 | 157 | Tajikistan | 22 |
165 | Venezuela | 19 | Cambodia | ||
Haiti | Angola | ||||
Source:[12] |
2011
The 20 top countries that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Zealand | 95 | 11 | Luxembourg | 85 |
2 | Denmark | 94 | 12 | Hong Kong | 84 |
Finland | 13 | Iceland | 83 | ||
4 | Sweden | 93 | 14 | Germany | 80 |
5 | Singapore | 92 | Japan | ||
6 | Norway | 90 | 16 | Austria | 78 |
7 | Netherlands | 89 | Barbados | ||
8 | Australia | 88 | United Kingdom | ||
Switzerland | 19 | Belgium | 75 | ||
10 | Canada | 87 | Ireland | ||
Source:[13] |
The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
182 | Somalia | 10 | 172 | Equatorial Guinea | 19 |
North Korea | Burundi | ||||
180 | Myanmar | 15 | 168 | Niger | 20 |
Afghanistan | DR Congo | ||||
177 | Uzbekistan | 16 | Chad | ||
Turkmenistan | Angola | ||||
Sudan | 164 | Yemen | 21 | ||
175 | Iraq | 18 | Kyrgyzstan | ||
Haiti | Guinea | ||||
172 | Venezuela | 19 | Cambodia | ||
Source:[13] |
2010
The 20 top countries that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denmark | 93 | 11 | Iceland | 85 |
New Zealand | Luxembourg | ||||
Singapore | 13 | Hong Kong | 84 | ||
4 | Finland | 92 | 14 | Ireland | 80 |
Sweden | 15 | Austria | 79 | ||
6 | Canada | 89 | Germany | ||
7 | Netherlands | 88 | 17 | Barbados | 78 |
8 | Australia | 87 | Japan | ||
Switzerland | 19 | Qatar | 77 | ||
10 | Norway | 86 | 20 | United Kingdom | 76 |
Source:[14] |
The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:
# | Country | Score | # | Country | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
178 | Somalia | 11 | 168 | Angola | 19 |
176 | Myanmar | 14 | 164 | Venezuela | 20 |
Afghanistan | Kyrgyzstan | ||||
175 | Iraq | 15 | Guinea | ||
172 | Uzbekistan | 16 | DR Congo | ||
Turkmenistan | 159 | Tajikistan | 21 | ||
Sudan | Russia | ||||
171 | Chad | 17 | Papua New Guinea | ||
170 | Burundi | 18 | Laos | ||
168 | Equatorial Guinea | 19 | Kenya | ||
Source:[14] |
Economic implications
Research papers published in 2007 and 2008 examined the economic consequences of corruption perception, as defined by the CPI. The researchers found a correlation between a higher CPI and higher long-term economic growth,[15] as well as an increase in GDP growth of 1.7% for every unit increase in a country's CPI score.[16] Also shown was a power-law dependence linking higher CPI score to higher rates of foreign investment in a country.
Criticism
Because corruption is willfully hidden, it is impossible to measure directly; instead, proxies for corruption are used.
Media outlets frequently use the raw numbers as a yardstick for government performance, without clarifying what the numbers mean. The local Transparency International chapter in Bangladesh disowned the index results after a change in methodology caused the country's scores to increase; media reported it as an "improvement".[17]
In a 2013 article in Foreign Policy, Alex Cobham suggested that CPI should be dropped for the good of Transparency International. It argues that the CPI embeds a powerful and misleading elite bias in popular perceptions of corruption, potentially contributing to a vicious cycle and at the same time incentivizing inappropriate policy responses. Cobham resumes: "the index corrupts perceptions to the extent that it's hard to see a justification for its continuing publication."[18]
In the United States, many lawyers advise international businesses to consult the CPI when attempting to measure the risk of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in different nations. This practice has been criticized by the Minnesota Journal of International Law, which wrote that since the CPI may be subject to perceptual biases it therefore should not be considered by lawyers to be a measure of actual national corruption risk.[19]
Transparency International also publishes the Global Corruption Barometer, which ranks countries by corruption levels using direct surveys instead of perceived expert opinions, which has been under criticism for substantial bias from the powerful elite.[18]
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 CPI 2010: Long methodological brief, p. 2
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- ↑ CPI 2010: Long methodological brief, p. 1
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- ↑ 7.0 7.1 CPI 2010: Long methodological brief, p. 7
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2014. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 3 December 2014.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2013. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 4 December 2013.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2012. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 11 November 2014.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2011. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 4 December 2013.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2010. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Campbell, Stuart Vincent. "Perception is Not Reality: The FCPA, Brazil, and the Mismeasurement of Corruption" 22 Minnesota Journal of International Law 1, p. 247 (2013).
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Corruption by country. |
- Official site
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- Corruption Perceptions Index 2013
- Interactive world map of the Corruption Perception Index: 2000-2008
- A Users' Guide to Measuring Corruption critiques the CPI and similar indices.
- Global Integrity Index
- List of Global Development Indexes and Rankings