The Corruption Perceptions Index, and The Henley Passport Index

The 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published by Transparency International on February 10, 2026, revealed a global decline in integrity, with the average score dropping to 42, the lowest in over a decade. 

Corruption globally is worsening, even in advanced democracies, as the number of countries scoring above 80 has decreased from 12 a decade ago to just five this year, according to Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

The index evaluated 182 countries based on perceived public sector corruption, using a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

It revealed a troubling downward trend, with the global average score falling to 42 out of 100—the lowest in over ten years.

Additionally, it further pointed out that 122 countries, which are more than two-thirds of the total, scored under 50 in the 2025 CPI.

Denmark, maintaining its eight-year streak, tops the CPI 2025 with the highest score of 89, followed closely by Finland (88) and Singapore (84).

In contrast, the countries with the lowest scores suffer from severely repressed civil societies and high levels of instability. South Sudan and Somalia, both scoring 9, tied at rank 181. Venezuela ranks slightly higher at 180 with a score of 10, placing these three nations at the bottom of the index.

However, there are some signs of progress, with the report indicating that around 31 countries have substantially lowered their levels of corruption since 2012. Estonia (rank: 12, score: 76), Bhutan (rank: 18, score: 71), South Korea (rank: 31, score: 63), and more have shown the long-term gains of sustained anti-corruption measures.

India’s Performance:

• Rank: India ranked 91st out of 182 countries.
• Score: Its score improved slightly to 39/100, up from 38 in the previous year.
• Progress: India climbed 5 places from its 2024 rank of 96, largely attributed to expanded digital public infrastructure.
• Comparison: India outperformed neighbours like Pakistan (136th) and Bangladesh (150th) but lagged behind Bhutan (18th) and China (75th). 

Global Trends & Observations:

• Widespread Corruption: 122 out of 182 countries scored below 50, indicating serious systemic issues.
• Democracy Link: Full democracies averaged a score of 71, while authoritarian regimes averaged only 32.

• Significant Movers: Countries like Uzbekistan, Tanzania, and Ukraine showed long-term improvement, whereas Sweden and the United Kingdom saw declines.