Fight against corruption: Ukraine rose to the 116th spot on the global score

Author

Kira Ivanova

In 2022, Ukraine improved on the global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by one point to rank 116th among 180 countries with a score of 33. This was reported by Transparency International Ukraine.

In the last 10 years, Ukraine’s score has increased by 8 points. The last year’s score of 33 is the highest score Ukraine has earned since the updated СРІ methodology was implemented.

Transparency International Ukraine pointed out that the anti-corruption investigations that shook up Ukraine in January 2023 hadn’t impacted last year’s ranking.

"Ukraine has shown that our fight against corruption continues even in war conditions. However, we should understand that the entire success of the anti-corruption reform over the past decade can quickly come to naught. The latest high-profile corruption cases concerning, in particular, procurement during the war with Russia, are difficult to explain not only to Ukrainians, who, each on their own front, are fighting for our freedom, but also to foreign partners. If the data that do not pose a threat to security continue to be closed, the e-declaration of officials will not be restored and, in general, Ukrainians will have extremely limited opportunities to learn about the work of the government, we will lose our positions faster than we can imagine," warned Andrii Borovyk, Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine.

Fight against corruption: Ukraine rose to the 116th spot on the 2022 global score. Infographics by Transparency International Ukraine

What Ukraine needs to do to further improve its 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index: recommendations from Transparency International Ukraine

Transparency International Ukraine reiterates that a year ago, it gave five recommendations about fighting corruption to increase Ukraine’s СРІ score. Four of them were implemented partially, and one wasn’t implemented at all.

Recommendations implemented under martial law:

the head of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office was appointed;
the 2021–2025 Anti-Corruption Strategy was adopted, although it lacks a number of important provisions.

Transparency International Ukraine argues that Ukraine has failed the reform of the Constitutional Court: on December 20, 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed draft law No. 7662, which contains significant risks and contradicts the updated opinion of the Venice Commission.

Fight against corruption: what Ukraine did in 2022. Infographics by Transparency International Ukraine

The organization recommends implementing four comprehensive steps that will help improve the level of the fight against corruption and contribute to the effective recovery of Ukraine in 2023.

1. Complete competitions and elect professional, independent, and honest heads of anti-corruption ecosystem bodies: the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), and the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP).

2. Conduct the reform of constitutional justice, considering the opinions provided by the Venice Commission. Conduct a transparent competition for the selection of judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. Reelect bodies of judicial self-government to ensure the normal functioning of judicial institutions and launch a full-fledged judicial reform.

3. Open data where it is possible and does not harm the interests of security and defense. Resume the submission of electronic declarations and their verification by the NACP. Resume the submission of reports by political parties. Restore the functionality of agencies that has been limited due to the war, except for obvious and justified exceptions.

4. Use the Prozorro electronic system for procurement to rebuild Ukraine after the Russian invasion. Ensure effective control and monitoring of procurement.

"The implementation of these steps can not only improve the results of Ukraine in the CPI, but also strengthen the trust of international partners in our country. In particular, it will contribute to the effective reconstruction after the war and the successful European integration of Ukraine," Transparency International Ukraine stressed.

Fight against corruption: what Ukraine should do in 2023. Infographics by Transparency International Ukraine

Global trends in the CPI

Algeria, Angola, Mongolia, the Philippines, Salvador, and Zambia scored 33 points, the same as Ukraine. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Gambia, Indonesia, Malawi, Nepal, and Sierra Leone are all one point ahead of us — they all have 34 points. The Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Niger have one point less than Ukraine.

Our country ranks higher than Russia, which lost one point last year and, with 28 points, now ranks 137th. The scores of Hungary (42 points, 77th) and of the Russian satellite Belarus (39 points) declined again.

Poland lost 1 point but remained the leader in the CPI among our neighbors — with 55 points, it ranks 45th. The countries that improved their scores are Slovakia — 53 points (+1, 49th), Romania — 46 points (+1, 63rd) and Moldova — 39 points (+3, 91st).

The Corruption Perceptions Index 2022 shows that most countries have not made significant progress in the fight against corruption in more than 10 years. However, the scale of the problem is enormous: the global average remains unchanged at 43 points out of 100 for the eleventh year in a row, and more than two-thirds of countries (122) have serious problems with corruption, scoring less than 50 points.