The countries with the lowest levels of corruption are held up as pinnacles of good governance. But no nation is immune to dishonest dealings, as revealed by Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, assigning each a score between zero (highly corrupt) and 100 (very clean).
Worryingly, the global average dropped to a record low in the latest CPI, with a number of countries – including major economies like America, the UK and France – tumbling down the rankings. Click or scroll on to discover the top scorers according to Transparency International (TI) and find out why even 'clean' nations can still struggle with corruption.
All dollar amounts in US dollars.
Joint lowest in our selection of countries is the Bahamas. In 2024, the government's perceived 'cosy relationship' with crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried (pictured) dealt a damaging blow to its reputation.
Things didn't get any better in 2025, with the country's score dropping another point to 64. Despite new anti-corruption legislation and governance reforms, local bodies suggest there's a marked difference between the policies and public confidence in their enforcement.
The US continues its slide down the rankings and recorded its lowest-ever CPI score in 2025. Transparency International says the use of public office to target independent voices and undermine judicial independence raises serious concerns. It also notes that the normalisation of conflicted and transactional politics sends a worrying signal that corrupt practices are acceptable.
Meanwhile, cuts to USAID have weakened anti-corruption efforts around the world.
Since 2012, Lithuania's score has improved steadily and now stands at 65, well above the European Union average of 62. The country aims to reach a score of 74 by 2033, but if recent political turmoil is any indication, there is work to be done.
In June 2026, Mindaugas Sinkevičius (pictured) replaced Inga Ruginienė as prime minister after she was found to have committed a serious breach of the law by taking family members with her on official trips to Italy and Vatican City. Ruginienė had replaced Gintautas Paluckas, who resigned in 2025 following allegations of unethical financial dealings involving loans and EU funds.
In 2023’s CPI, France stood in joint 20th place. Since then, it’s fallen to joint 27th, and its score is five points lower. Despite its strong democratic institutions, its good name has taken a hit in recent years due to a series of headline-grabbing scandals involving high-ranking politicians, including former President Nicolas Sarkozy (pictured).
While Sarkozy's conviction for criminal conspiracy over illegal campaign funding from Libya earns praise from Transparency International, the organisation also notes more needs to be done to enforce its anti-corruption laws and close existing loopholes.
One of Asia's least corrupt countries, Taiwan is considerably more open and transparent than the neighbouring People's Republic of China, which lays claim to the island nation as part of its territory. Its score of 68 points is its best-ever result in the CPI ranking.
Transparency International classes Taiwan as a ‘complete democracy’ in which people can freely express their opinions and journalists report without hindrance. Still, political corruption remains an issue, coming to the fore in September 2024 when investigators detained former presidential candidate Ko Wen-je. Another area of concern is the procurement of defence contracts, which is often shrouded in secrecy and, Transparency International warns, particularly prone to corruption.
The Seychelles' score drops four points to 68 in the latest CPI index, but it remains Africa's least corrupt country. Much is being done to eliminate impropriety in public life through the Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles (ACCS) and other bodies.
However, there are growing concerns about the strength of anti-corruption measures following delays in the investigation and prosecution of a case involving the alleged money laundering of $50 million (£37m).
Barbados' score remains steady this year, and it’s still the least corrupt Caribbean nation and one of the top scorers in the Americas as a whole. TI describes it as a relatively stable democracy with a high level of transparency and participation.
Even so, corruption remains a serious problem in the country. In fact, while Barbados's current score of 68 is region-leading, it was much higher back in 2012, at 76.
Corruption is deeply entrenched in the Middle East, although the United Arab Emirates stands out as a beacon of relative propriety in the region, ranking as the highest-scoring country.
That said, money laundering and other financial crimes are particular areas of concern, and while the Emirates have intensified their efforts to tackle them, Transparency International says they still have much work to do. It adds that corrupt officials and criminals hold significant property portfolios in Dubai.
Belgium’s score has declined significantly in the last decade, slipping from a peak of 77 in 2015. Public life in the country is generally open and transparent but, as The Brussels Times has noted, "the shadow of corruption has fallen on Belgian politics time and again".
The most prominent example in recent years is the 'Qatargate' scandal, centred on allegations that Qatari officials bribed EU politicians to influence European Parliament decisions.
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Austria's score has recovered this year, having slipped from 71 in 2023 to 67 in 2024. The downward trend in recent years is linked to nepotism and a series of political scandals, such as 2019's 'Ibiza-gate', when a video was released showing former vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache speaking with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch during a 2017 meeting in Ibiza.
TI notes that recent legislative moves, such as the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act, improved whistleblower protections and steps toward an independent public prosecutor's office have helped improve the country's outlook.
The UK’s score has declined markedly in recent years; back in 2017 it was a whole 12 points higher. Although it’s still in the top 20 least corrupt nations, it was once a regular visitor to the top 10.
To explain the fall from grace, Transparency International has cited, among other things, unease around the funding of Britain’s political parties and questionable appointment processes. It cites the fallout over the relationship between former Ambassador Peter Mandelson and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as exactly the type of damaging scandal the UK needs to avoid.
Japan's score remains steady and has yet to recover from the two-point drop it experienced in 2023, the year Japan went through a major corruption scandal. A faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was accused of pocketing cash from fundraising events, and several cabinet members resigned as a result.
It ultimately contributed to the downfall of then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (pictured).
Despite a one-point drop this year, Bhutan remains the least corrupt country in South Asia.
Famous for its pursuit of ‘Gross National Happiness’ rather than economic wellbeing alone, the Himalayan kingdom bases its anti-corruption efforts on interventions such as integrity vetting, lifestyle audits of public servants and strengthening regulatory agencies. It has a robust anti-graft commission, and the government has won plaudits for its transparency.
Uruguay is known as ‘the Switzerland of South America’ and it’s an anti-corruption trailblazer. One of its strengths is its robust institutions. It boasts a stable democracy and effective means for citizen participation, and has also implemented policies to encourage access to public information and data.
However, the country's score has fallen by three points since 2024, and TI suggests Uruguay is suffering from violence fuelled by corruption and organised crime.
Uruguay was the highest-ranked country in all the Americas last year, but that accolade now goes to Canada. However, its static score of 75 points remains its lowest-ever ranking in the CPI’s 30-year history. The country scored as high as 84 back in 2012 and featured in the top 10 until 2019.
Ironically, Canada’s reputation as a stable democracy where the rule of law is paramount has helped make it a magnet for criminals to launder and invest their ill-gotten gains for safekeeping, according to Transparency International. Meanwhile, declining public trust in democratic institutions is also a factor.
In equal 12th place with a score of 76 is Ireland, down one point from last year. The Emerald Isle has strong anti-corruption measures in place but, like some other countries such as Canada, it has issues with money laundering.
Transparency International has warned that 'dark money', or unregulated, illicit financial flows moving through Dublin, is an emerging threat.
Hong Kong's score has increased by two points in the latest CPI, bringing it back to 76 points, roughly its average score since the index began in 1995.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Hong Kong's dedicated anti-graft agency, relentlessly pursues wrongdoers for even comparatively minor corruption offences, which goes a long way towards explaining its relatively high ranking.
The tiny Baltic state of Estonia also scored 76 points, a score that's remained consistent since 2023.
It’s still Eastern Europe's least corrupt country by a wide margin, although several scandals have beset the nation in recent years. In January 2021, for example, the government collapsed, and Prime Minister Jüri Ratas resigned after the launch of a property-related corruption investigation into one of Estonia's coalition parties.
The last country in the joint 12th-place group is Australia. Its score has decreased by a point since 2024’s CPI and is well down from its 2012 peak of 85.
Transparency International highlights ongoing risks regarding hidden political donations and 'dark money' influencing policy, and suggests that recent scandals involving travel entitlements and legal actions against whistleblowers show that more needs to be done to secure public trust.
Iceland's score remains steady at 77, after jumping by five points in 2024.
Iceland has recovered from its worst-ever score in the index of 72, which was attributed to factors including the infamous 'Fishrot' corruption scandal. This saw prominent Namibian businessmen and politicians accused of controlling valuable fishing quotas and diverting them to an Icelandic fishing company for cash.
Germany's score has recovered this year, having dropped to 75 points in the 2024 CPI. However, TI says that a lack of transparency in political party financing remains a problem.
Last year, a representative of the organisation's German bureau specifically referenced a million-euro ($1.2m/£895k) donation to the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from an Austrian sympathiser.
The Netherlands' score has remained at 78 in the latest CPI. This marks a record low for the country, whose score peaked at 84 points back in 2015.
The country's falling score is a cause for concern, according to Transparency International. It ascribes the decline to several factors, including a lack of transparency in lobbying and a reliance on emergency laws.
Tiny Luxembourg drops three points and three places in the rankings this year, losing the gains it made in last year's CPI and falling well short of its 2015 peak of 85.
In recent years, the grand duchy has beefed up its whistleblower protections and buttressed its other anti-corruption initiatives. However, potential overlaps between business and politics leading to conflicts of interest remain a concern.
Switzerland's score is one point lower than it was in 2024, continuing a gradual decline from its 2016 peak of 86. The affluent nation's strict banking secrecy has come under much criticism from anti-corruption campaigners and is seen by many as facilitating large-scale money laundering and other financial crimes.
Elsewhere, a lack of transparency in political lobbying and a shortage of anti-corruption strategies within cantons and municipalities remain concerns.
Sweden is another country whose top-rated credentials are in need of re-polishing. While the country's anti-corruption measures remain impressive by global standards, its score has fallen by nine points since 2015.
Cronyism, shortcomings in public procurement, and the growth of organised crime are among the factors some observers have identified for the fall. Transparency International itself has cited issues in the country's judicial system, particularly flagging the appointment of judges, who are chosen by the government rather than by an independent body, as an example.
Norway's score has dropped by three points since 2023. Its score was 85 in 2021 and an impressive 88 in 2015.
Over the past few years, the wealthy country has been rocked by a wave of political conflict-of-interest scandals. Several ministers accused of wrongdoing have resigned, chipping away at public trust in the political system.
Few nations would be unhappy with taking fourth place on a list like this, but New Zealand did even better in 2023, achieving third place and a score of 85. This year's two-point drop continues the downward trend seen since 2021, when it scored a heady 88 points.
According to Transparency International, the nation's halo is being tarnished by a lack of action on anti-corruption legislation, as New Zealand remains without a dedicated national anti-corruption strategy and a central oversight agency.
We’re now into the final three with Singapore, which retains its impressive 84-point score. The city-state is Asia's least corrupt country, and its government is known for its zero-tolerance approach and squeaky-clean image.
However, not even Singapore is perfect, and in 2024, it experienced a rare ministerial corruption scandal when former Transport Minister Subramaniam Iswaran (pictured left) was found guilty and jailed for receiving gifts worth some $300,000 (£224k) while in office.
Our top two countries remain unchanged from 2024. In second place with 88 points, the same score it achieved last year, is Finland.
Its Ministry of Justice has reinforced the country's already extensive anti-graft efforts with the launch of its first anti-corruption strategy. But while instances of corruption are generally very low in the country, dubious dealings still occur, particularly in the form of structural corruption using unofficial social networks and the misuse of insider information, according to the Global Organized Crime Index.
And the winner, for the eighth year in a row, is Denmark. The nation scores a highly impressive 89 points, one down from its 2024 score. The Scandinavian country may be the world's least corrupt and should be feted for its integrity, but that doesn't mean it’s entirely free from graft.
In 2024, the groundbreaking documentary TV series The Black Swan blew apart Denmark's reputation for being squeaky clean. The series centred on Amira Smajic, a high-profile lawyer known as the 'Ice Queen' for her work laundering money and handling legal loopholes for organised crime gangs. Working with journalists, Smajic secretly recorded her interactions with business leaders, politicians and members of the criminal underworld. Watched by half of the Danish population, the series forced a national reckoning and led to a renewed crackdown on money laundering.
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