Thailand has improved by nine places to 101st out of 180 countries in the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index from 110th in 2021, Transparency International (TI) said on Tuesday.
The country’s overall score improved to 36 out of 100 — with zero being most corrupt and 100 least corrupt — from 35 in 2020, said the Berlin-based organisation whose reports are widely followed.
The world’s least corrupt country was Denmark with a score of 90 points, followed by Finland and New Zealand at 87 each. Singapore was fourth with 83 points.
TI noted that the global average score had remained unchanged for over a decade at just 43. More than two-thirds of countries score below 50, it added.
Thailand has had an uneven record in the TI surveys over the past several years. In 2014, the year Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha staged a military coup, the country was ranked 85th, an improvement from 102nd in 2013. Its ranking rose to 76th in 2015 but plunged to 101st place the following year. It recovered to 96th in 2017 but then began a downward move to 99th in 2018, 101st place in 2019, 104th in 2020 and 110th in 2021.
According to TI, each country’s score is a combination of at least three data sources drawn from 13 different corruption surveys and assessments. The data sources are collected by a variety of reputable institutions, including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
Announcing the release of the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Transparency International said most of the world was still failing to fight corruption: 95% of countries have made little to no progress since 2017.
“Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict — and endanger people everywhere,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, chair of Transparency International.
“The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few.”
