2019 Corruption Perceptions Index Released

The newest edition of the Corruptions Perception Index (CPI) issued by Transparency International has just been released and the 2019 results are staggering. Several countries have made strong progress in reducing the prevalence of corruption in their political and commercial environments.

Two of the 35 CitiIQ Consideration measurements deal directly with corruption.

Ethical Compass is weighted heavily in the city score due to its position in the Basic Needs Dimension. It recognizes the high value of “trust” needed for the people of any community or city to thrive. Trust comes directly from the degree of confidence people have in the honesty and transparency of their leaders- and in each other.

A Fair & Just System forms part of the Competitive Dimension. This recognizes a municipal structure where there is a fair legal system, minimal crime, equality in the distribution of funding, support for the needs of all the people, and wise use of taxpayer money. Trading partners, infrastructure investors and stakeholders of all kinds are attracted to cities where stability and fairness rules the day. A lack of confidence has significant implications to economic efficiency and investment.  

Much like CitiIQ, the Corruption Perceptions Index uses a scale from 0 to 100 for the perceived level of corruption in a country. A preliminary analysis of the 180 countries scored illustrates that nearly 66% of the countries have scores below 50, with the average total score of 43.

Highest 5 country scores were from:

1.     Denmark (87)

2.     New Zealand (87)

3.     Finland (85)

4.     Singapore (85)

5.     Sweden (85)

Lowest 5 country scores were from:

1.     Venezuela (16)

2.     Yemen (15)

3.     Syria (13)

4.     South Sudan (12)

5.     Somalia (9)

In order to address corruption from a wholistic human-centric perspective, the CitiIQ measurement system uses Ethical Compass and Fair & Just System as two primary measures.