Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) global average. The CPI ranks 180 countries/territories by perceived public-sector corruption on a 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean) scale, aggregating 13 expert and business surveys. The global average is a headline measure of the world's institutional integrity; it has stagnated near 43 since the current methodology began in 2012 and recently slipped to a record low.
How to read it
Higher is better — readings above the norm count as better.
Measured value over time. Its norm (50.0 index score (0-100)) is far off this scale, so the series stays worse than norm throughout — the deviation badge shows the gap.
Each driver linked to this indicator, strongest pull first, on the same timeline above. Markers are the facts that moved that driver. These are modelled influences — treat them as correlational unless a documented causal edge is shown.
Higher state-capture pressure depresses perceived integrity and pulls CPI scores down; the persistent global stagnation near 43 reflects this counter-force.
Stronger, credible enforcement raises perceived control of corruption, the core component of CPI; the global effect is diffuse and slow, hence medium strength.
Capturing courts removes a key check on graft and impunity, enabling corruption and lowering perceived public-sector integrity (CPI).
Supranational rule-of-law pressure (infringement actions, conditionality) defends oversight institutions, modestly supporting control of corruption over the long run.
Projected scenarios from the Factrail model. These describe what may happen under stated assumptions — they are not confirmed facts and may change as new data arrives.
Horizon: Dec 31, 2026 – Dec 31, 2029
On current trends — enforcement capacity eroding since its 2017 peak while state-capture pressure rises — the global Corruption Perceptions Index average is projected to keep drifting just below 43, with no return to the 50 integrity threshold over the forecast horizon.
Assumptions
Assumes no major new global enforcement wave and no systemic shock; UNCAC obligations remain in force but capture pressure continues edging ahead of enforcement gains in the aggregate. CPI methodology is unchanged, so the series stays stable and slow-moving. Projections are perceptions-based estimates, not measured corruption levels.
This indicator’s slice of Factrail’s verified causal web — the people, facts, drivers and welfare indicators it connects to. Select any node to trace a path.
Loading network…
This is a projected scenario, not a confirmed fact.
Updated
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) global average. The CPI ranks 180 countries/territories by perceived public-sector corruption on a 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean) scale, aggregating 13 expert and business surveys. The global average is a headline measure of the world's institutional integrity; it has stagnated near 43 since the current methodology began in 2012 and recently slipped to a record low.