The 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on Tuesday by Transparency International showed that in 2018 Croatia continued to struggle to control corruption in the public sector, achieving the score of 48 out of a maximum hundred, well below EU average and one point lower than in 2017.
Since it was launched in 1995, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption. CPI ranks 180 countries around the world by the levels of corruption in the public sector perceived by experts and businesspeople, using a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 signals high levels of corruption, and 100 signals a very clean sector.
Most countries fail to curb corruption
In 2018, more than two-thirds of countries scored below 50, with an average score of only 43, Transparency International said in a press release.
“With many democratic institutions under threat across the globe – often by leaders with authoritarian or populist tendencies – we need to do more to strengthen checks and balances and protect citizens’ rights,” said Patricia Moreira, Managing Director of Transparency International.
“Corruption chips away at democracy to produce a vicious cycle, where corruption undermines democratic institutions and, in turn, weak institutions are less able to control corruption,” she added.
Denmark, with 88 points, and New Zealand, with 87 points, top the list, while Somalia, with 10 points, along with South Sudan and Syria, both with 13 points, are at the bottom of the index.
The highest scoring region is Western Europe and the European Union, with an average score of 66, while the lowest scoring regions are Sub-Saharan Africa (average score 32) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (average score 35), they said.
Corruption in Croatia seen as “a widespread phenomenon”
Croatia’s performance continued to worsen since 2015, when it scored 51 points. Both in 2016 and 2017, Croatia’s score fell to 49, leaving it well below the average score of Western Europe and the EU, while in 2018 it dropped further, to 48 points. The lowest scores in the region in 2018 were awarded to Bulgaria (42), Greece (45), and Hungary (46).
Corruption in Croatia’s public sector is perceived as a widespread phenomenon, Transparency International said.
The organisation also warned against non-transparent procedures for appointments and decision-making in Croatia, as well as a lack of willingness to tackle corruption scandals or suspected cases of corruption.
In order to come closer to the EU average score, Croatia was advised to increase transparency of public sector agencies’ work and invest considerable efforts to restore public confidence.
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