Afghanistan has been ranked 165 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which was released on Thursday.

The watchdog stated that Afghanistan scored only 19 out of 100 points in terms of prohibiting corruption.

The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts and business people.

The 2020 CPI report highlights the impact of corruption on government responses to COVID-19, comparing countries’ performance in the index to their investment in health care and the extent to which democratic norms and institutions have been weakened during the pandemic.

In it’s report Thursday, Transparency International stated persistent corruption has had a profound impact on health care systems around the world during the pandemic.

“COVID-19 is not just a health and economic crisis. It is a corruption crisis. And one that we are currently failing to manage,” said the watchdog’s chairperson, Delia Ferreira Rubio.

“The past year has tested governments like no other in memory, and those with higher levels of corruption have been less able to meet the challenge. But even those at the top of the CPI must urgently address their role in perpetuating corruption at home and abroad,” she said.

The watchdog stated that countries that perform well on the index invest more in health care, are better able to provide universal health coverage and are less likely to violate democratic norms and institutions or the rule of law.

Denmark and New Zealand top the index, with 88 points. Syria, Somalia and South Sudan come last, with 14, 12 and 12 points, respectively.

Since 2012, the earliest point of comparison in the current CPI methodology, 26 countries significantly improved their CPI scores, including Ecuador (39), Greece (50), Guyana (41), Myanmar (28) and South Korea (61).

Twenty-two countries significantly decreased their scores, including Bosnia and Herzegovina (35), Guatemala (25), Lebanon (25), Malawi (30), Malta (53) and Poland (56).

Nearly half of countries have been stagnant on the index for almost a decade, indicating stalled government efforts to tackle the root causes of corruption. More than two-thirds score below 50, the report stated.

According to the watchdog, the past year highlighted integrity challenges among even the highest-scoring countries, proving that no country is free of corruption.