Bangladesh was perceived as the 10th most corrupt country among 180 countries in the globe in 2023 by the experts and businesspeople, according to the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
Among the South Asian countries only Afghanistan was perceived more corrupt than Bangladesh, according to the CPI published on Tuesday by the Transparency International (TI), a global anti-graft watchdog.  
Among corruption issues that CPI measures include bribery, diversion of public funds, state capture by narrow and vested interests.
According to the index, Bangladesh was perceived 12th most corrupt country in 2022 and this time it slipped two steps down meaning it walked backward in fighting corruption in 2023.
Over two-thirds of countries scored below 50 out of 100, which strongly indicate that they have serious corruption problems. The global average is stuck at only 43, while the vast majority of countries have made no progress or declined in the last decade. Some 23 countries fell to their lowest scores to date this year.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), in a press conference, at Dhanmondi in the capital said the perception index for Bangladesh was based on eight surveys.
The surveys are – World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey, Economist Intelligence Unit’s Country Risk Ratings, World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index, Political Risk Services International Country Risk Guide, Bertelsmann Foundation’s Transformation Index, Global Insight Country Risk Ratings, World Bank’s Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, and report of Varieties of Democracy Project Dataset. The data collection period for CPI is November 2020 to September 2023.  According to the CPI based on the surveys, Bangladesh scored 24 in 2023, out of 100 in the CPI 2023 and 26 in 2022.

In the perception index, Somalia is ranked the most corrupt followed by Venezuela and Syria while Denmark is ranked the least corrupt, followed by Finland and New Zealand.
In the South Asia, Afghanistan scored 20, Bangladesh 24, India 39, Sri Lanka 34, Maldives 39, Pakistan 29 and Bhutan 68,
In South Asia, except for Bhutan, seven other countries scored an average index score of less than 43 points but the extent and depth of corruption in South Asia as a whole are very worrying, TI said.
Speaking at the conference, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said that Bangladesh’s score indicates a deepening crisis of democracy and it is highly alarming and embarrassing.

He said, “Bangladesh’s score, which has fluctuated between 25 and 28 from 2012 to 2022, has now dropped to 24, the lowest in 12 years. This marks a significant regression, placing Bangladesh at the 10th position from the bottom, a rank not seen since 2008. Besides, the current score is two points below the 12-year average of 26.”
He attributed the degradation to the failure of the government to translate its “zero tolerance” policy against corruption into concrete actions, resulting in the concentration and widespread prevalence of corruption.

“A huge volume of information surfaced regarding corruption in the public procurement and distribution system as well as other government activities. But no exemplary and effective steps were taken to curb and alleviate these things,” he added.
TIB Chairperson Advocate Sultana Kamal, its Director (Outreach and Communication) Sheikh Manjur-E-Alam, and Advisor (Executive Management) Professor Dr Sumaiya Khair were present at the programme among others.