Pakistan slipped two places on the corruption perceptions index (CPI) for 2024 to 135 as against 133 it scored for 2023 amid prevailing climate change related challenges, a Transparency International report revealed it on Tuesday.
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories according to the levels of public-sector corruption perceived by experts and businesspeople. It relies on 13 independent data sources and uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
The index highlights the stark contrast between nations with strong, independent institutions and free, fair elections, and those with repressive authoritarian regimes. Full democracies have a CPI average of 73, while flawed democracies average 47 and non-democratic regimes just 33. T
his highlights that although some non-democratic countries might be perceived as managing certain forms of corruption, the broader picture shows that democracy and strong institutions are crucial for combatting corruption fully and effectively.
“Pakistan has a score of 27 this year, with a change of -2 since last year, meaning it ranks 135 out of 180 countries,” TI said.
It highlighted that Pakistan suffered unprecedented climate vulnerabilities the last few years, yet systemic governance gaps and policy implementation barriers – including delays in implementing regulations and establishing institutions under the Climate Change Act of 2017 – have left its climate finance far below the projected US$348 billion needed by 2030.
Transparency International’s 2024 CPI revealed that governments across Asia Pacific are still failing to deliver on anti-corruption pledges. After years of stagnation, the 2024 average score for the region has dropped by one point to 44.
This is especially devastating considering corruption’s detrimental impact on climate change – the biggest challenge humanity faces.
