Anti-graft watchdog Transparency International is warning that corruption is worsening worldwide, even in established democracies, and says the United States has fallen to its lowest score ever on its 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.
In its annual report, the Berlin-based organization said the global average score has dropped to its weakest level in more than a decade, reflecting what it called growing failures in governance and accountability.
The index ranks countries based on experts’ perceptions of public-sector corruption using data from 13 sources, including international institutions and private consulting firms.
Denmark topped the 2025 rankings with 89 points out of 100, followed by Finland and Singapore.
Israel ranked 35th with a score of 62, down from 30th place last year, despite a slight increase in its overall score.
At the bottom of the index were South Sudan and Somalia, which tied with nine points, followed by Venezuela.
Among major democracies, the United States scored 64, while New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France also posted weaker results. The United States’ score of 64 marked its lowest ranking on record, reflecting long-term erosion in perceptions of transparency and accountability among experts and business leaders.
Transparency International said the findings show a “worrying trend” of rising corruption and declining trust in democratic institutions worldwide.
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From the transparency dot org website:
“A country’s score is the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.”