Ukraine has scored 36 points out of 100 in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and now ranks 104th out of 180 countries in the annual rating by Transparency International.
Since the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014, Ukraine has achieved a total of 11 points over the past 10 years, according to the study.
“The active work of anti-corruption and other public authorities resulted in a growth in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index even during the full-scale war,” said the organization.
Transparency International, which calls itself “a global movement working in over 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption,” says Ukraine’s growth by three points is one of the best results in the world over the past year.
According to the rating, Ukraine is also one of the 17 countries in this year’s CPI that have shown their best performance ever.
Algeria, Brazil, and Serbia have shown the same results and also scored 36 points. Albania, Argentina, Belarus, Gambia, Ethiopia, and Zambia are only one point ahead of Ukraine, scoring 37 points out of 100. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Nepal, Panama, Sierra Leone, and Thailand have scored one point less than Ukraine.
Compared to its neighbors, Ukraine has experienced a greater increase in its score compared to Russia, which saw a decline of two points in 2023, landing at 141st place with 26 points.
In addition, Belarus’s score continues to decline, the organization said. In 2023, the country also lost two points, and although it is still ahead of Ukraine, its tendency to fall in the CPI rating persists.
The indicator of Romania, which is Ukraine’s Western neighbor, remains stable at 46 points, while Poland, although losing a point, remains a CPI leader among Ukraine’s neighboring countries, securing 47th place with 54 points.
Moldova, like Ukraine, has gained 3 points, catching up with Hungary, which maintained its score of 42 points since 2022 and has achieved 76th place.
Ukraine demonstrated a good result in 2023, reaching indicators comparable to EU candidate countries, said Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine Andrii Borovyk.
“Fact Two: we have developed an anti-corruption ecosystem from scratch and already have real sentences for high-profile corruption, but we still need to work hard to catch up with the performance of the EU countries.
And finally, if cases of pressure on journalists and members of the public continue, if the authorities interfere in various spheres of public administration, and the anti-corruption reform stalls, we might lose our achievements very quickly,” he warned.
Earlier, the founder of the Bihus.Info investigative project, Denys Bihus, announced that his team of journalists was under surveillance for nearly a year.
The incident sparked outrage among Ukrainians, media companies, and non-governmental organizations.
Mediarukh, a Ukrainian media freedom movement comprising leading media outlets and watchdogs, demanded President Zelenskyy to “resolutely condemn” a pressure campaign on independent journalists and ensure that incidents of intimidation are investigated as crimes against media professionals.
Ukrainian media coalition decries “targeting” of journalists critical of authorities
It’s crucial to note that the Corruption Perceptions Index assesses the perception of corruption rather than the actual level. A higher score for one country compared to another doesn’t necessarily indicate lower corruption. It signifies that the former is perceived as less corrupt.
Read more:
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- Ukraine fires military recruitment officials for taking bribes
