Eritrea dead last on Corruption Perception Index
Posted: 10 Feb 2026, 18:13
Eritrea is dead last on the international Corruption Perception Index. The list is below:
https://transparency.am/en/cpi/2025
Berlin, 10 February 2026 – Corruption is worsening globally, with even established democracies experiencing rising corruption amid a decline in leadership, according to Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published today. This annual index shows that the number of countries scoring above 80 has shrunk from 12 a decade ago to just five this year.
Our data show that democracies, typically stronger on anticorruption than autocracies or flawed democracies, are experiencing a worrying decline in performance. This trend spans countries such as the United States (64), Canada (75) and New Zealand (81), to various parts of Europe, like the United Kingdom (70), France (66) and Sweden (80). Another concerning pattern is increasing restrictions by many states on freedoms of expression, association and assembly. Since 2012, 36 of the 50 countries with significant declines in CPI scores have also experienced a reduction in civic space.
2025 saw a wave of anticorruption protests led by Gen Z, mostly in countries in the bottom half of the CPI whose scores have largely stagnated or declined over the past decade. Young people in countries such as Nepal (34) and Madagascar (25) took to the streets to criticise leaders for abusing their power while failing to deliver decent public services and economic opportunity.
Transparency International is warning that the absence of bold leadership in the global fight against corruption is weakening international anticorruption action, and risks reducing pressure for reform in countries throughout the world.
Transparency International is calling for:
Renewed political leadership on anticorruption, including the full enforcement of laws, implementation of international commitments, and reforms that strengthen transparency, oversight and accountability.
Protection of civic space, by ending attacks on journalists, NGOs, and whistleblowers, and stopping efforts to restrict independent civil society work.
Close the secrecy loopholes that let corrupt money move across borders, including by reining in professional gatekeepers and ensuring transparency on who really owns companies, trusts and assets.
Decline in leadership against corruption
In many European countries, anti-corruption efforts have largely stalled over the past decade. Since 2012, 13 countries in western Europe and the EU have significantly declined, and only seven have significantly improved. In December 2025, the EU agreed its first Anti-Corruption Directive to harmonise criminal laws on corruption. What could have been a zero-tolerance framework was watered down by some member states, including Italy (53), which blocked the criminalisation of public officials’ abuse of office. The result: a framework that lacks ambition, clarity and enforceability.
https://transparency.am/en/cpi/2025
https://transparency.am/en/cpi/2025
Berlin, 10 February 2026 – Corruption is worsening globally, with even established democracies experiencing rising corruption amid a decline in leadership, according to Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published today. This annual index shows that the number of countries scoring above 80 has shrunk from 12 a decade ago to just five this year.
Our data show that democracies, typically stronger on anticorruption than autocracies or flawed democracies, are experiencing a worrying decline in performance. This trend spans countries such as the United States (64), Canada (75) and New Zealand (81), to various parts of Europe, like the United Kingdom (70), France (66) and Sweden (80). Another concerning pattern is increasing restrictions by many states on freedoms of expression, association and assembly. Since 2012, 36 of the 50 countries with significant declines in CPI scores have also experienced a reduction in civic space.
2025 saw a wave of anticorruption protests led by Gen Z, mostly in countries in the bottom half of the CPI whose scores have largely stagnated or declined over the past decade. Young people in countries such as Nepal (34) and Madagascar (25) took to the streets to criticise leaders for abusing their power while failing to deliver decent public services and economic opportunity.
Transparency International is warning that the absence of bold leadership in the global fight against corruption is weakening international anticorruption action, and risks reducing pressure for reform in countries throughout the world.
Transparency International is calling for:
Renewed political leadership on anticorruption, including the full enforcement of laws, implementation of international commitments, and reforms that strengthen transparency, oversight and accountability.
Protection of civic space, by ending attacks on journalists, NGOs, and whistleblowers, and stopping efforts to restrict independent civil society work.
Close the secrecy loopholes that let corrupt money move across borders, including by reining in professional gatekeepers and ensuring transparency on who really owns companies, trusts and assets.
Decline in leadership against corruption
In many European countries, anti-corruption efforts have largely stalled over the past decade. Since 2012, 13 countries in western Europe and the EU have significantly declined, and only seven have significantly improved. In December 2025, the EU agreed its first Anti-Corruption Directive to harmonise criminal laws on corruption. What could have been a zero-tolerance framework was watered down by some member states, including Italy (53), which blocked the criminalisation of public officials’ abuse of office. The result: a framework that lacks ambition, clarity and enforceability.
https://transparency.am/en/cpi/2025
