February 13, 2025
Timbu – According to a report released by Transparency International yesterday, Bhutan has made an amazing leap in the 2024 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), rising from the 26th of 2023.
Bhutan has broken the deadlock with 72 points from 100 points this year, and it has remained at a stagnation of 68 points between 2019 and 2023.
Bhutan's rise in global rankings among 180 countries underscores its efforts to combat corruption, enhance transparency and promote accountability.
Dr Rinzin Rinzin (PhD), executive director of the Bhutan Transparency Initiative, described the 2024 CPI score as historic. He attributes the achievements to the collective efforts of key institutions across the country.
“In the past, limited freedoms in civil society organizations (CSOs) and media may have caused a lower CPI score. But now things are improving, and it is crucial for the government to continue to support the media and CSOs,” he said.
He said key agencies such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Royal Audit Office should work harder to maintain this progress.
CPI is a global leading indicator of public sector corruption, providing annual comparative snapshots of 180 countries and regions. The index of 2024 is calculated using data from 13 external sources.
CPI ranks countries and regions through what it considers public sector corruption. The result has a ratio of 0 (highly damaged) to 100 (very clean).
According to the ACC, Bhutan’s improved ranking reflects effective corruption prevention strategies, including curbing abuse of enforcement power, promoting transparency in public spending, and empowering the media, CSOs and the private sector to promote integrity, etc.
The ACC calls on all stakeholders to continue to work together to improve the capacity of the judiciary, improve business integrity, enhance corruption-rich climate action, and promote regulatory oversight of public sector accountability.
Bhutan’s anti-corruption efforts focus on key interventions such as integrity reviews, model codes of conduct for public services, lifestyle audits of civil servants, intelligence-driven investigations, active research, and strengthening law enforcement and regulatory agencies. The country also emphasizes attracting youth, media, civil society and the private sector to promote a culture of responsibility and transparency.
Bhutan’s goal is to improve its CPI score from 67 points in 2017 to 69 in 2023.
The five least corrupt countries in the 2024 CPI are Denmark (90), Finland (88), Singapore (84), New Zealand (83) and Luxembourg (81). Denmark and Finland retained their highest positions while Singapore advanced to third place, surpassing New Zealand. Luxembourg climbed four locations and entered the top five.
On the other side, the most corrupt countries are South Sudan (8), Somalia (9), Venezuela (10), Syria (12) and Yemen (13).
In South Asia, Bhutan is the least corrupt country. India ranks 96th, Maldives 96th, Sri Lanka 121st, Nepal 107th, Pakistan 135th, Bangladesh 151st and Afghanistan 165th.
Globally, the fight against corruption remains challenging. Since 2012, only 32 countries have significantly reduced corruption, while 148 countries have stagnated or worsened. Over the years, the global average score of 43 points has remained unchanged, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50.
The CPI report notes that billions of people live in countries where corruption destroys lives and undermines human rights. The report also highlights that corruption is intertwined with one of the biggest challenges facing humanity right now – climate change.
“There are a large number of people around the world who suffer from the serious consequences of global heating because funds designed to help countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect vulnerable groups are stolen or abused,” the report said.
The report also calls on wealthy countries with high CPI scores to fail to lead climate action against corruption. Instead, these countries often prioritize the interests of fossil fuel companies and provide safe havens with illegal funds stemming from environmental crime and corruption.
