Cyprus has fallen three places in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 49th among 182 countries worldwide. The country also recorded a one-point drop in its score, according to the annual index published on Tuesday.
Cyprus ranking and score
Cyprus is ranked 49th out of 182 countries in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, down from its position in 2024. According to the index published by Transparency International, Cyprus received a score of 55 points, compared with 56 points the previous year.
The index uses a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 represents countries perceived to be free of corruption and 0 indicates countries perceived as highly corrupt.
What the index measures
The Corruption Perceptions Index measures how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be, based on assessments by experts and business executives.
Among the factors assessed are bribery, misappropriation of public funds, the use of public office for private gain without consequences, the ability of governments to curb corruption in the public sector, excessive bureaucracy that may increase corruption risks, nepotistic recruitment practices, laws requiring public officials to disclose financial interests and potential conflicts of interest, legal protection for whistleblowers, state capture by powerful private interests, and access to information on public affairs and government activities.
What the index does not cover
The index does not reflect citizens’ direct perceptions or personal experiences of corruption. It also does not assess tax evasion, illicit financial flows, money laundering, corruption in the private sector, the role of intermediaries such as lawyers or accountants, or informal economies and markets.
Countries with the highest and lowest scores
The top ten countries with the highest scores are Denmark, Finland, Singapore, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany and Iceland.
The bottom ten countries are North Korea, Syria, Nicaragua, Sudan, Eritrea, Libya, Yemen, Venezuela, Somalia and South Sudan.
In the accompanying report, Transparency International notes that the global order is under strain due to competition among major powers and a growing disregard for international rules. Armed conflicts and the climate crisis are described as having deadly consequences, while societies are becoming increasingly polarised.
The organisation states that addressing these challenges requires principled leadership and strong, independent institutions that operate with integrity to protect the public interest. It adds that failures in good governance and accountable leadership are observed all too frequently.
For the first time in more than a decade, the global average score of the Corruption Perceptions Index has declined, falling to 42 out of 100. A total of 122 out of 182 countries scored below 50, indicating widespread difficulty in keeping corruption under control.
At the same time, the number of countries scoring above 80 has shrunk from 12 a decade ago to just five this year.
Transparency International also highlights a particularly concerning deterioration in perceived corruption in the United States, Canada and New Zealand, as well as in several European countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Sweden.