UK criticised in CPI 2022

The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index has been published.  There is little significant change, with Scandinavian countries taking 4 of the top 6 spots, and most of the top 20 being European countries.  The UK is in joint 18th, with a score of 73 (down 5 from 2021).  Denmark, at the top, scores 90. Many countries in the top 20 have stayed the same, or barely changed, but Luxembourg, while still scoring 77, has also lost points.  Other major jurisdictions outside the top 2o include the US on an index score of 69, the UAE on 67 and South Africa on 43.  European countries scoring below 50 include Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.  Somali at the bottom of the table scores only 12.

Transparency International is disappointed, saying the 2022 index shows that most countries are failing to stop corruption.  The global average, largely unchanged for 10 years, is only 43, with two thirds of countries scoring below 50 and 155 of the 180 countries surveyed having made no significant progress or declined in that 10 years. The UK, with Austria and Luxembourg, is called out as a country whose score has dropped significantly in the past 5 years, although all still scoring over 70. Australia and Canada are called out also as countries whose assessments have declined significantly.