What Is Behind Ukraine’s Score in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index?

This year, in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine scored 36 out of 100. Read the explanation of Transparency International Ukraine experts to find out what this result means.

The growth of Ukraine by 3 points in the study is one of the best results in the world over the past year. Now we are ranked 104^th out of 180 together with Brazil, Serbia, and Algeria. The average score in the world is 43, and in the EU countries — 64 points.

36 points is the best indicator of our country in the history of the Index. Another 16 countries, such as Estonia, Latvia, and Moldova, also showed the highest indicators this year. During the Yanukovych regime, in 2013, Ukraine was closer to the bottom of the Index with 25 points and was ranked 144^th. Now we are almost in the middle of the list. 23 countries, including Russia, Iran, and Oman, achieved their record-low scores in the Index.

Find out the details about the impact of the 2023 CPI, how Ukraine managed to achieve such a result, how to improve it in the future, and the issues prevailing in this field nowadays.

How was the perception of corruption in Ukraine measured this year?

We understand that for some people, the improvement in the perception of corruption in Ukraine may be unexpected because we have all witnessed numerous scandals recently. But corruption scandals do not necessarily indicate an increase in corruption in the country. On the contrary, in a way, it may be a sign of the activity of anti-corruption bodies, the public, and independent media. This is reflected in Ukraine’s results in the study.

The Index is formed based on 13 different reputable sources, from surveys of businessmen to expert analytics, which allow obtaining a comprehensive, balanced result. Ukraine is studied based on 8 of them; each source allows scoring 100, as in the case with the CPI.

• Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index 2024: 49 points
• World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey 2023: 43 points
• The PRS Group International Country Risk Guide 2023: 39 points
• Freedom House Nations in Transit 2023: 36 points
• Varieties of Democracy 2023: 35 points
• Global Insight Country Risk Ratings 2022: 35 points
• World Justice Project Rule of Law Index Expert Survey 2023: 33 points
• Economist Intelligence Unit Country Risk Service 2023: 20 points

Our country scored the most in the Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index, which covered the period up to January 2023 inclusive; according to it, our score increased by 12 points. This study records high-profile detentions and scandals associated with them that cause such indignation among Ukrainians. Researchers believe that the more corruption is punished by law and openly covered in the media, the less impunity corrupt officials feel.

Therefore, although we do not have the maximum-high indicator in this study, it is obvious that Ukraine is moving in the right direction. And despite some obstacles and shortcomings, the existing anti-corruption ecosystem is functioning and capable of detecting high-profile corruption.

According to the World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey, which was conducted from April to August 2023, Ukraine’s score increased by 8 points. It is interesting that one of its questions is about the typicality of situations when funds from the budget get to individuals or companies as a result of corruption in procurement. On the bright side, the ongoing war did not lead to the total closure of tenders; most procurement transactions are currently carried out in Prozorro, where “everyone sees everything.”

According to the results of 2022, Ukraine was given an additional 5 points by the Varieties of Democracy project; it measures corruption in the public sector. This might have been caused by the fact that at the end of 2022, the comprehensive State Anti-Corruption Program (SAP) for 2023–2025, which provided for 1,187 anti-corruption measures, was developed and waiting to be adopted.

Moreover, continuing judicial reform and streamlining judicial self-government bodies may be the foundation for further anti-corruption efforts.

In the other four studies, the indicators did not change: Freedom House’s Report on Countries in Transition (study period — 2022) — 35 points, Global Insights Country Risk Ratings 2022 — 35 points, World Justice Project Rule of Law Index according to an expert survey in February-June 2023 — 33 points, The Economist Intelligence Unit Country Risk Ratings 2023 (as of September 2023) — 20 points.

In general, the sources measure the perception of corruption through the following indicators: bribery; embezzlement of public funds; nepotism in the civil service; capture of the state; the government’s ability to implement integrity mechanisms; effective prosecution of corrupt officials; excessive bureaucracy; availability of adequate laws on financial disclosure; prevention of conflicts of interest and access to information; ensuring the protection of whistleblowers and journalists.

To sum up, the driving force of our growth in the CPI after the full-scale aggression of Russia began was the intensification of high-profile corruption investigations, the development of the SAP, and the increasing transparency of procurement. The resumption of e-declaration (with the correction of some harmful shortcomings) and political parties reporting, an increase in the staff of the NABU and the HACC, and the strengthening of the institutional capacity of the SAPO were not reflected in our indicator because they did not get into the period under study. In addition, this year’s CPI did not consider some high-profile corruption scandals, which have been mostly happening since the beginning of 2023, and the pressure on investigative journalists and members of the public.

The impact of the CPI and steps Ukraine needs to take to improve its results

In general, the CPI is an important study because not only scientists, journalists, and business but also governments and international organizations regularly rely on it. In particular, our foreign partners use these indicators when establishing further cooperation with Ukraine.

For example, the Anti-Corruption Strategy adopted last year states that focusing on the implementation of anti-corruption policy will allow Ukraine to catch up with the CPI indicators of the Eastern European EU member states in the coming years. In 10 years, it will be possible to achieve the average European indicators in the CPI. The European Commission also referred to Ukraine’s growth in the CPI in its November report.

Ukraine has already grown to the level of an EU candidate country: this year, we have the same number of points as Serbia; moreover, Ukraine overtook Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina and is one point behind Albania.

This is definitely not the end, but only the beginning, because we are still far from the EU average. To move in this direction, Transparency International Ukraine proposes three recommendations.

1. Increase the effectiveness of the fight against high-profile corruption

• Increase the capacity and conduct an objective competitive selection of NABU employees, SAPO prosecutors, and judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court.
• Launch forensic service reform to ensure timely and sustainable access to forensic expertise in high-level corruption investigations.
• Eliminate contradictions in criminal legislation and ensure that criminal cases are considered within reasonable terms.

2. Effectively use the assets of corrupt officials and accomplices of russia for the needs of the state

• Amend management selection procedures and conduct an independent audit of the ARMA’s activities.  Increase the efficiency of asset management and sale.
• Improve confiscation mechanisms and the legal framework for asset recovery, aligning them with international standards.
• Improve the processes of blocking (pro-)Russian assets (as sanctions preceding confiscation) and introduce criminalization of sanctions circumvention.

3. Launch the reform of the Accounting Chamber and the State Audit Service of Ukraine

 For the effective use of funds in conditions of their critical shortage, it is necessary to ensure the proper operation of the Accounting Chamber and the State Audit Service:

• Develop and approve a draft law on reforming the Accounting Chamber and update the procedure for selecting its management and members.  Prior to the legislative reform, the selection and appointment to the Accounting Chamber should be suspended.
• Shift the focus of the monitoring of public procurement by the State Audit Service from post-control to prevention. Monitoring and identifying significant violations should precede the conclusion of a contract to prevent losses and other negative consequences.

This is only part of the changes the country needs, but we consider them to be crucial for Ukraine’s further progress, including in the issue of European integration.

The results of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the most cited global study on the perception of corruption in the public sector, are presented annually by the international movement Transparency International. Therefore, before the subsequent presentation, Ukraine has time to keep up the positive dynamics in the CPI.