Bangladesh ranks 147th on Transparency International corruption index

Only Afghanistan’s public sector is perceived to be more corrupt among South Asian nations, Transparency International says

Bangladesh has scored a lowly 25 out of 100 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2022, ranking 147th out of 180 countries.

Bangladesh’s score fell from 26 in 2021 to 25 in 2022, which means the public sector is perceived to be more corrupt than it was a year ago.

Among South Asian nations, only Afghanistan scored worse with 24, while Pakistan scored 27, Nepal scored 110, Sri Lanka scored 101, and India 85.

However, while Afghanistan’s score improved from the 2021 version of the report, Bangladesh’s standing worsened.

Since 2012, Bangladesh’s CPI score has hovered in the mid to high 20s, with its best score of 28 in 2017. Its lowest score on the index was 25, which it achieved in 2014, 2015, and now in 2022.

Transparency International’s CPI index is the most widely used global corruption ranking in the world and measures the perception of how corrupt each country’s public sector is according to experts and businesspeople.

A country’s score is calculated from a number of data sources from institutions such as the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. Bangladesh’s score was compiled from a combination of eight different sources.

Transparency International says the Asia Pacific region as a whole has continued to stagnate in the index, with an average score of 45 out of 100 for the fourth year in a row.

“Several Asian countries were shown to be making headway in their fight against petty corruption in the last Global Corruption Barometer in 2020, but grand corruption remains common, and the overall situation has barely improved,” the organisation said.

Democracy has been on the decline in the region, including in populous countries like India, the Philippines, and Bangladesh, the report said.

Transparency International noted that the UN had sent an envoy to Bangladesh in 2022 to assess the ‘deteriorating human rights situation’. Laws such as Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act had led to hundreds of arrests for people exercising free speech and expressing dissent, it said.

“Journalists and human rights defenders have been particularly at risk, with governments attempting to intimidate any critics. With forthcoming elections for both in 2023, governments must reverse these trends and ensure the people can make their voices heard,” the report said with reference to Bangladesh and Cambodia.