2022 Corruption Perceptions Index: Overview of Türkiye

Overview of the Corruption Perceptions Index

In the last week of January, Transparency International ("TI") published its annual Corruption Perceptions Index ("CPI") for 2022. The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.

According to the 2022 CPI, the countries with the highest perception of corruption are Denmark, followed by Finland and New Zealand, while the countries with the lowest perception of corruption are Syria, South Sudan, and Somalia. Based on the results of the CPI, the score for the perception of corruption in the European Union member states as a whole is 64 out of 100. This is above the global average, which is 43 out of 100. Compared to the European Union member states, Türkiye scored lower than almost all member states and ranked last after Hungary. Also, Türkiye ranked 37th among 38 OECD countries and fourth last among all G20 countries.

Türkiye: Over the Years

In the 2022 CPI, Türkiye ranked 101st out of 180 countries with 36 points that year. According to the data of the CPI 2022, Türkiye is among the countries that have lost the most points in the past 10 years. In comparison to the CPI 2021, Türkiye decreased by 2 points and ranked 5 places lower. While Türkiye ranked first in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia countries group in 2013, it ranked eleventh that year. Although there were small increases in the CPI evaluation observed in 2018 and 2020, it is clear that there has been a serious decrease in the ranking over the years.

Unfortunately, Türkiye has been ranked among the countries that have lost the most points in the previous 10 years. Türkiye ranked 101st in this year's index, down from 29th place in 1995 with its first assessment. In addition to this, Türkiye has decreased by a total of 15 places in the last two years alone. The current state in the rankings indicates alarming signals for the country. In the CPI statement for Türkiye, many factors were cited as reasons for the decrease in Türkiye's score and ranking. Some of these noteworthy factors are impunity practices that have normalized and disseminated corruption, fundamental violations of accountability for budget transparency and the use of public resources, repressive policies, allegations about the increase in the amount of undeclared money entering Türkiye after the Russian-Ukrainian war, and non-compliance with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

Conclusion

Overall, CPI reveals how successful countries' anti-corruption laws and their implementations in practice are, the extent of their legislation, and whether it complies with anti-corruption objectives beyond international standards. This year, Türkiye decreased once again in the CPI ranking with a score of 36 out of 100 points and ranked 101st among 180 countries. While Türkiye's decline continues over the years, it is an indication for the country that lawmakers need to address the issue. At the same time, Türkiye's regulatory and executive authorities need to take action to ensure that Türkiye's international reputation does not continue to be tarnished.

Bibliography

2022 Corruption Perceptions Index: Explore the... - Transparency.org

Report_CPI2022_English.pdf (transparencycdn.org)

Yolsuzluk Algı Endeksi 2022 Basın Duyurusu (seffaflik.org)