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BERLIN: India has climbed five places to the 91st position out of 182 countries and territories in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), foreign media reported.
Denmark has retained its position at the top of the index, scoring 89 points, ahead of Finland and Singapore. At the other end of the scale were South Sudan and Somalia, both registering nine points, followed by Venezuela. The leading three nations saw no change, while South Sudan’s one-point gain brought it level with Somalia. While the US has been ranked at the 29th spot, the UK bagged the 20th spot.
According to Transparency International’s latest CPI report, India’s score has gone up by one point since the previous year, while its rank has improved from the 96th position. There has been a slow growth in anti-corruption progress in the Asia Pacific as many countries witnessed public anger in the previous year, the report said.
According to the report, 2025 saw a wave of anti-corruption 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.
The report also listed India among countries “dangerous for journalists reporting on corruption”.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has scored 24 out of 100, the 13th lowest in the world, one step lower, counted from the bottom, compared to 2024. This score is only one point higher than what it was in 2024, and the ranking from the top is 150th, one rung higher.
The result shows a relatively positive perception of the successful July uprising that defeated kleptocracy, but a negative assessment of the prospect of “dekleptification” due to reform setbacks, sustained corrupt practices, and deficits in transparent and accountable governance during the period after August 5, 2024.
Bangladesh’s score is two points lower than its own overall average during 2012-2025. It is five points less than the average for 59 authoritarian regimes of the world, six points lower than the average for 29 countries with Closed Civic Space (30), and eight points lower than the lowest-scoring region of Sub-Saharan Africa (32).
In the newest CPI, Bangladesh remains the second lowest in South Asia, better than only Afghanistan. Bangladesh is also globally in the lowest quintile within the list of 182 countries, among 122 that scored below 50, and among 96 that scored below the global average of 42. Accordingly, Bangladesh is in the company of those having a “very serious corruption problem.”
