Ukraine scored 32 points out of 100 possible in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2021. Our indicator has decreased by one point, and now Ukraine ranks 122nd out of 180 countries in the CPI. 

The information is available on the website of Transparency International Ukraine.

 The African state of Eswatini (Swaziland) is next to Ukraine. Zambia, Nepal, Egypt, the Philippines, and Algeria are one point ahead — with 33 points each.

Comparing to its neighbors, Ukraine continues to be only ahead of Russia — the aggressor neighbor also lost 1 point and now ranks 136th in the list with 29 points. In addition, Hungary’s scores have decreased to 43 points (-1 points, ranking 73rd). Belarus has lost as many as 6 points this year and ranks 82nd with 41 points. Poland has not changed its indicators and remains the leader among our neighbors, ranking 42nd with 56 points, whereas Slovakia, Romania, and Moldova managed to improve their score over the year.

 

This year, Finland has joined the permanent leaders of the CPI Denmark and New Zealand; these three countries are now heading the Corruption Perceptions Index with 88 points. Somalia, Syria, and South Sudan remain at the bottom of the list.

This decrease within the margin of error indicates a period of stagnation, explains Andrii Borovyk, executive director of Transparency International Ukraine. — The authorities are delaying the fulfillment of many important anti-corruption promises. On the one hand, a significant part of the anti-corruption reform was restored after the decision of the Constitutional Court in 2020, and basic laws were adopted to restart the HQCJ and the HCJ. On the other hand, there are still negative practices that invalidate the achievements — such as interference in the Tatarov’s case, delaying the election of the SAPO leadership, excluding certain public procurement tenders for the Constitution Day and the Independence Day from the scope of the specialized law. We must remember that deviation from the anti-corruption agenda plays into the hands of both internal and external enemies of Ukraine.”

 At the beginning of 2021, TI Ukraine provided three systematic recommendations to reduce the level of corruption in Ukraine, but none of them was fully implemented, and two were partially fulfilled. 

This year, we have identified 5 specific steps that will help in the fight against corruption in Ukraine.

  1. To complete competitions and select professional, independent and high integrity heads  of the anti-corruption bodies: the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
  2. To adopt the national Anti-Corruption Strategy and the program for its implementation.
  3. To reform constitutional justice, considering the conclusions provided by the Venice Commission.
  4. To ensure transparent accounting of public property and continue the course of privatization.
  5. To minimize the risks of adopting draft laws which exclude procurement from the scope of the Law of Ukraine “On Public Procurement.”

If these steps are not fulfilled, Ukraine risks losing not only its position in the ranking, but also the trust of its citizens and international partners, Ukrainian and foreign investors. This, in turn, will worsen the economic situation and weaken Ukraine in the confrontation with the external enemy — the Russian aggressor.

 

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The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a ranking calculated by the global organization Transparency International since 1995. The organization itself does not conduct its own surveys. The Index is calculated based on 13 studies of reputable international institutions and think tanks. 9 sources are used to calculate Ukraine’s score.

The key indicator of the Index is not the rank, but the score. The minimum score (0 points) means that corruption effectively replaces the government, while the maximum (100 points) indicates that corruption is almost absent in society. The Index assesses corruption only in the public sector.

 

For reference:

Transparency International Ukraine is an accredited chapter of the global movement Transparency International, with a comprehensive approach to development and implementation of changes for reduction of the corruption level.

TI Ukraine administered and transferred the Prozorro, Prozorro.Sale, eHealth, and Prozvit systems to the state. As an innovation and expert center, we also introduced the City Transparency and Accountability Rankings, and built the DOZORRO and the DOZORRO.Sale communities to monitor public resources.