International Anti Corruption Day started in the year 2003 on the initiative of the United Nations.
Corruption is an important topic today. The whole world is celebrating Anti Corruption Day on 9th December. It started in the year 2003 on the initiative of the United Nations. In India too, recovery of crores of rupees in cash and large amounts of gold, silver and jewelery is common. No matter how much is said, corruption is not stopping.
On this Anti Corruption Day, let’s try to know which country in the world is so corrupt? How is this decided? Who are the top-10 corrupt countries? We will also know why Anti Corruption Day is celebrated? Let us understand everything step by step.
How is it decided which country is so corrupt?
Corruption itself is a hidden activity, hence it cannot be measured directly. There is no machine that can measure the amount taken or given as bribe in a particular country this year. In such a situation, experts measure it on the basis of perception or experience. The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of the German organization Transparency International collects information at many levels for this purpose.
- CPI is based on 13 types of reports and surveys of various international organizations. Like World Bank, World Economic Forum, African Development Bank, Freedom House etc. In these surveys, businessmen, investors, experts and researchers are asked how common is bribery in a country? How many scams are there in government contracts? To what extent is there misuse of power by officers and leaders? How honest or how sellable do the judiciary, police, tax department etc. seem?
- After collecting the survey data, it is converted into a score. Different surveys give data on their own scale. CPI brings them on the same scale. Since 2012, CPI has a scale from 0 to 100. Zero means extremely corrupt system and 100 means extremely honest system.
- After saving the marks, the rank is formed by calculating the average. It is necessary to have data from at least three different sources for each country. The average of all these is calculated and on the basis of that the country is given a rank from 1 to 180.
- CPI only gives the perception of corruption in the public sector. It does not directly account for private companies or international money laundering etc. It is perception based, that is, it does not necessarily reflect the complete picture of every incident on the ground, but still it is considered the most accepted indicator across the world.
Who are the top 10 corrupt countries of the country?
Based on the data released in February 2025, the list of countries considered most corrupt among 180 countries of the world is given below. The lower the CPI score, the more corruption is considered. Based on available sources, the bottom half of the 2024 rankings roughly looks like this.
The lower the CPI score, the more corruption is considered.
Similar things are visible in all these. All countries have been stuck in civil war for a long time. There is instability or dictatorial rule is going on. Being rich in oil, minerals, or other resources, but resource revenues being controlled by a few families or clans. There is lack of democratic control over judiciary, police, army etc. Restrictions on media and civil society make it difficult to expose scams. In this CPI, Denmark, Finland, Singapore, New Zealand etc. are at the top among the least corrupt countries of the world, whose score is between 8090.
Condition of India, Pakistan and neighboring countries
According to the CPI 2024 report, India’s rank is around 96 and score is around 38, which shows that the situation is neither very bad nor very good. There is a moderate level of corruption here, which affects both development and justice. Pakistan’s rank is around 135 and score is around 27, which means it is considered more corrupt than India. Among other South Asian countries, China’s rank is around 76, the score is around 42. Sri Lanka’s rank is around 121, score is around 32 and Bangladesh’s rank is around 151, score is around 23. Afghanistan’s rank in this list is around 165, score is around 17. This clearly shows that there is a deep connection between democracy, economic development and corruption across South Asia, with the scores being better where institutions are stronger.
Why is Anti Corruption Day celebrated?
International Anti Corruption Day is celebrated every year on 9 December. In the year 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a global treaty called United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Considering corruption as a major threat to human rights, development and peace, it was decided that cooperation against it would be increased at the international level. In this context, December 9 was officially declared Anti Corruption Day, so that governments, media, civil society and common citizens around the world can talk openly on this topic.
The main objective of this day is to make people understand that corruption is not just a short-cut to get work done by paying bribes, but also theft of the rights of the poor, looting of funds in development schemes, decline in the quality of education, health and infrastructure and obstruction of the poor’s access to justice. On this day, seminars, discussions, report launches, media campaigns etc. take place in different countries, which create pressure on governments to make strict laws and transparent systems. Through essays, debates, poster competitions, social media campaigns etc. in schools and colleges, a message is given to the youth that they should neither give nor take bribes. On the pretext of Anti Corruption Day, emphasis is laid on coordination between countries in information sharing, extradition and anti-money laundering measures.
The fight against corruption is not only for governments but also for citizens.
The corruption of a country does not depend only on the leaders or officers, it is the result of the political culture of the entire society, the strength of institutions and the conscious behavior of the citizens. Indices like CPI help us see where a country stands compared to others, but the real challenge is to work on the ground. Anti Corruption Day forces us to think at least once a year whether we ourselves become a part of this system by giving small bribes or getting work done through Jugaad?
Are we conscious enough to choose honest leaders and officers? Are we using peaceful democratic tools like RTI, media, mass movements? Unless the common citizen understands that corruption is a direct attack on his own future and the rights of his children, no law or international index will be able to root out this problem.
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