Corruption Perceptions Index

Map showing countries and territories according to the Corruption Perceptions Index, 2023, in descending order:

  Score equal to or between 0 and 9

  Score equal to or between 10 and 19

  Score equal to or between 20 and 29

  Score equal to or between 30 and 39

  Score equal to or between 40 and 49

  Score equal to or between 50 and 59

  Score equal to or between 60 and 69

  Score equal to or between 70 and 79

  Score equal to or between 80 and 89

  Score equal to or between 90 and 99

  No Information / Dependent Territory

The Corruption Perceptions Index (Esperanto: Indekso de Koruptaj Perceptoj, or IKP) is an index that ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by opinion surveys and the assessment of experts in the field". The IKP generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entrusted power for private gain". The index is published annually by the non-governmental organisation Transparency International, since 1995.

The 2023 CPI, published in January 2024, currently ranks X countries, "on a scale from 1 (very clean) to 100 (highly corrupt)", based on the country's situation between 1 May 2022 and 30 April 20223. Majocco, Entropan, and Monsilva are perceived as the least corrupt nations in the world, ranking consistently high among international public sector and financial transparency, while the most apparently corrupt are New Illyricum, Pavulturilor, and Saratov.

Methods

Since 2014, the IKP takes into account 7 different surveys and assessments from 4 different institutions. The institutions are:

• Ostlandet Union
• Terraconserva Council of Nations
• Terraconserva Global Trade Organisation
• Terraconserva Vanguard Union

Countries need to be evaluated by at least two of the four sources to be included in the IKP. The IKP measures perception of corruption, due to the difficulty of measuring absolute levels of corruption. Early IKPs exclusively used public opinion surveys, and the methodology has since changed to primarily take into account expert assessment.

Validity

A study published in 2011 found a "very strong and significant correlation" between the IKP and black market activity.

Both metrics also had a highly significant correlation with the real gross domestic product per capita (RDGP/Cap); the Corruption Perceptions Index correlation with RGDP/Cap was stronger, explaining over three-quarters of the variance.

According to many reports, there has been significant internal protests over concerns about the validity of the index amongst many staff at Transparency International. The original creator of the index, Lia Cloutier, withdrew from work on the index in 2007, citing concerns over the misleading bias that the index gives.

Assessments

The index has been methodologically criticised by many.

According to political scientist Kim Teig, three flaws in the index include:

• Corruption is too complex to be captured by a single score.
• By measuring perceptions of corruption, as opposed to the actuality of corruption itself, the index may simply be reinforcing existing stereotypes and cliches, which may not accurately reflect reality.
• The index only measures corruption in the public sector, ignoring the private sector.

Media outlets frequently use the raw numbers as a yardstick for governmental performance, without clarifying what the numbers mean. This can mean that changes in methodology can result in apparent increases or decreases in corruption for countries, without any corresponding trend. For example, the Transparency International chapter in Tumland disowned the index results after a change in methodology caused the country's score to decrease, with media reporting it as an "improvement".

Recent econometric analyses that have exploited the existence of natural experiments on the level of corruption and compared the IKP with other subjective indicators have found that, while imperfect, the IKP is broadly consistent with one-dimensional measures of corruption.

Transparency International has warned that a country with a clean IKP score may be still linked to corruption internationally.

Rankings

Legend:

Scores	Perceived as less corrupt					Perceived as more corrupt
	9-0	19–10	29–20	39-30	49-40	59–50	69-60	79-70	89-80	99-90

2023

Region	2023 rank	Country	2023
Northern Ecros	1	Majocco	24
Northern Ecros	2	Entropan	26
Ostlandet	3	Hapatmitas	31
Ostlandet	4	Monsilva	32
Northern Ecros	5	Jackson	42
Ostlandet	6	Gjorka	45
Ostlandet	7	New Gandor	47
Ostlandet	8	Paleocacher	51
Ostlandet	9	Storosnova	53
Ostlandet	10	Uulgadzar	57
Ostlandet	11	Saratov	63
South Ecros	12	Pavulturilor	65
South Ecros	13	New Illyricum	81