In a report released on Tuesday, Transparency International revealed that Pakistan has witnessed a noteworthy improvement in its ranking on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), ascending seven places from 140 out of 180 countries in 2022 to 133 in 2023. The CPI, a tool employed to assess the perceived levels of public-sector corruption based on expert and business perceptions, utilizes a scale ranging from zero (indicating high corruption) to 100 (signifying a very clean system). During 2023, Pakistan secured the 133rd position with a CPI score of 29 out of 100, exhibiting progress compared to its stagnant position of 140 in 2022 with a CPI score of 27.
It is worth noting that Transparency International Pakistan Chairman, Justice (retd) Zia Pervez, acknowledged the positive shift in Pakistan’s CPI score, attributing it to policies targeting improved governance and the effective implementation of the law. He expressed optimism that these efforts, coupled with the adoption of recommendations by Transparency International, would yield further positive results in the future.
Not much Progress
The 2023 CPI report unveiled a concerning trend, indicating that most countries globally have made limited or no headway in combating public-sector corruption. The global average for the CPI remained static at 43 for the twelfth consecutive year, with over two-thirds of countries scoring below 50. Transparency International highlighted that 23 countries, including both high-ranking democracies and authoritarian states, reached their lowest corruption levels in almost three decades.
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In terms of specific country rankings, Denmark retained its top position on the index for the sixth consecutive year with a score of 90, followed by Finland (87) and New Zealand (85). The United States maintained its score at 69, securing the 24th position. Conversely, Somalia ranked at the bottom with the weakest score of 11, followed by South Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela, each with a score of 13. The report underscored the worrying trend of declining justice, attributing it to the rise of authoritarianism in certain countries, coupled with weakened mechanisms that traditionally held governments accountable, even in democratic contexts.