Bangladesh Ranks 13th in Corruption Index
Bangladesh has ranked 13th among the most corrupt countries worldwide in 2025, according to the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2025 released by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
Out of 182 countries, Bangladesh scored 24 out of 100, which remains significantly below the global average score of 42. Although the country’s score improved by one point compared to last year, its overall position dropped by one place in the global ranking.
In 2024, Bangladesh was ranked 14th on the list of countries perceived to be most affected by corruption.
The CPI 2025 report was unveiled on Tuesday morning at a press conference held at TIB’s office in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman presented the findings and provided analysis of Bangladesh’s performance.
Explaining the mixed outcome, Iftekharuzzaman said the slight increase in score reflected a positive international assessment of the July mass uprising. However, he noted that weak reform processes, persistent grassroots-level corruption, and a lack of transparency led to Bangladesh’s decline in overall ranking. He added that the interim government failed to set a strong example of accountability, resulting in a missed opportunity for meaningful progress.
Globally, Denmark topped the CPI 2025 list as the least corrupt country, scoring 89 points, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84). At the opposite end, South Sudan and Somalia jointly ranked as the most corrupt, each scoring 9 points. Venezuela followed with 10 points, while Yemen, Libya, and Eritrea shared the third-lowest position with 13 points each.
Within South Asia, Bhutan emerged as the strongest performer with a score of 71. India and the Maldives scored 39, Sri Lanka scored 35, Nepal 34, Pakistan 28, and Afghanistan ranked lowest in the region with a score of 16.
The CPI measures perceived levels of public-sector corruption on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 indicates the highest level of perceived corruption and 100 represents the lowest.
