Transparency International on Tuesday released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index 2022, showing no change to Pakistan’s rank—which stayed static at 140 out of 180 countries—but a one point decrease to 27 from last year’s 28.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), since being ousted from office in April 2022, has claimed that corruption has significantly increased. Prior to losing a vote of no-confidence in Parliament, then-prime minister Imran Khan had repeatedly described the preceding 10 years of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)’s rule as a “decade of darkness”. However, the country had been steadily improving on the Corruption Perceptions Index till 2018, when it peaked with a CPI score of 33.
Following the PTI’s election in July 2018, the country has been on a decline, posting scores of 32 in 2019; 31 in 2020; 28 in 2021; and just 27 in 2022, eight months of which were under the control of the ruling coalition. The CPI measures how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be by its experts and businesspeople, using a scale of zero to 100 where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
While Pakistan’s score dropped to 27 from 28 last year, its neighbor India had no change recorded, while Bangladesh’s dropped to 25 from 26 last year.
According to the CPI rankings, Denmark topped with 90 points, followed by Finland and New Zealand with 87 points each. Somalia, Syria, and South Sudan are at the bottom of the chart with 12, 13, and 13 points, respectively. In a statement, TI CEO Daniel Eriksson said leaders could fight corruption and promote peace all at once. “Governments must open up space to include the public in decision-making—from activists and business owners to marginalized communities and young people,” he said, adding that in democratic societies, people could raise their voices to help root out corruption and demand a safer world for all.