The international anti-corruption organization Transparency International has released the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2023.
In the new index, Uzbekistan ranked 121 out of 180, moving up five positions from that in 2022. The country shares this place with Angola, Mongolia and Peru.
Uzbekistan earned 33 points on the 100-point index, progressing from 31 points in the previous year. The index scale ranges from 0 (extremely high corruption level) to 100 extremely low corruption level).
The organization’s regional overview highlights the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Agency, along with legislative improvements and economic liberalization, as the key measures contributing to the significant improvement of Uzbekistan in CPI rating over recent years.
“Importantly, policies and procedures have been established to enforce these laws and criminal charges have been filed against numerous corrupt officials. The government also introduced stronger internal control and audit tools in various ministries and local government offices, such as anti-bribery management systems,” Transparency International experts note.
“However, its authoritarian governance resists moves towards transparency and democracy, exerting control over legislative and public institutions, and using the justice system against critics. This perpetuates corruption and underscores the need for comprehensive reform,” the overview mentioned.
Georgia achieved the highest ranking at the 49th place with 53 points in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which encompasses 19 countries, including Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan followed on the 93rd line with 39 points.
Belarus holds the 98th place in the rating (37 points), while Ukraine takes the 104th spot (36 points). Kyrgyzstan and Russia scored 26 points each, sharing the 141st place.
Tajikistan (20 points) and Turkmenistan (18 points) claimed the 162nd and 170th lines respectively.
The leader of this year’s ranking list is Denmark with 90 points, followed by Finland (87 points) and New Zealand (85 points).
At the bottom of the list are Syria and Venezuela (13 points each), sharing 177th place, and Somalia (11 points), holding the 180th place.
