Afghanistan falls 12 places to 162 in global corruption index

Afghanistan has fallen 12 places to 162nd position in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2023 compared to the previous year, Transparency International said in a report released Tuesday.

Afghanistan has scored 20 out of 100 in the new index, ranking 162 out of 180 countries and territories.
Last year, Afghanistan stood at the 150th spot with a score of 24.

In the new ranking, Afghanistan is placed above countries including Libya, Turkmenistan, North Korea, Yemen, and Syria.

Denmark with a score of 90 tops the index for the sixth consecutive year, with Finland and New Zealand following closely with scores of 87 and 85, respectively.

“Corruption will continue to thrive until justice systems can punish wrongdoing and keep governments in check.” François Valérian, Chair of Transparency International, said. “When justice is bought or politically interfered with, it is the people that suffer. Leaders should fully invest in and guarantee the independence of institutions that uphold the law and tackle corruption. It is time to end impunity for corruption.”

This comes as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has repeatedly said that corruption has been reduced to nearly zero since it took power in August 2021.