The Corruption Perceptions Index 2021 (CPI) produced by Transparency International shows that, after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, corruption levels remain at a standstill worldwide and 27 countries are at a historic low in their CPI score while 131 countries have made no significant progress against corruption over the last decade.

Corruption enables both human rights abuses and democratic decline. In turn, these factors lead to higher levels of corruption, setting off a vicious cycle.

For a discussion of the link between corruption, human rights and democracy what is revealed by the CPI 2021, see this page.

The UK ranks 11th out of 180 countries with a score of 78 out of 100.

The CPI is the most widely-used global corruption ranking in the world. It measures how corrupt each country’s public sector is perceived to be, according to experts and business people.