PRESS RELEASE – January 25, 2017
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) – an annual survey by Transparency International that scores and ranks countries based on the perceived level of corruption in that country – was released today by Transparency International.
The last time in which the Maldives was included in the CPI was in 2011. The CPI is calculated using a composite assessment consisting of a minimum of 3 separate sources. Between 2012 and 2016 the lack of three separate sources to triangulate information for the CPI has precluded the Maldives’ inclusion.
On a scale of 1-100 with 100 indicating that the country is perceived to be corruption free and 0 indicating that the country is perceived to be highly corrupt, the Maldives scores low at only 36 indicating that corruption remains an urgent concern within the country. Out of a total of 176 countries the Maldives is ranked 95.
This accords with the 2013 Global Corruption Barometer surveys which yielded that the Maldivian public is extremely skeptical regarding the integrity of individual institutions, including the Parliament, Judiciary and Executive and furthermore are concerned about the high level of corruption that pervade the entire state.
This is the first time the Maldives has been included in the CPI since the methodology used to calculate the CPI was updated in 2012. Because of the update in the methodology CPI scores before 2012 are not comparable over time. Hence the Maldives’ score in 2016 is not comparable to its score and rank in 2011. Furthermore, CPI is a relative scale and thus stark deteriorations in corruption perceptions of other countries – which will improve our ranking automatically – does not correspond with an improvement in the Maldives’ level of corruption. It is also important to note that fewer countries have been included in 2016 in comparison to 2011.
In comparison to other South Asian countries, Maldives ranks identically to Sri Lanka whilst Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan are ranked lower than the Maldives. Conversely, India and Bhutan are ranked higher than the Maldives.
At a time when massive corruption scandals including the MMPRC grand corruption case are still fresh in public memory and remain unanswered, it is imperative that we increase our efforts to combat corruption and hold the Government and state institutions accountable.
METHODOLOGY
Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index has been published since 1995. The CPI draws on data sources from 13 different studies by 12 international institutions specializing in governance and business climate analysis for 176 countries, and reflects the opinions of experts, civil society organizations, and business people on public sector corruption. The Index has a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean) in order to rank the countries.
This year, Maldives’ score was identified by the contents and results from 3 international surveys: Global Insight Country Risk Ratings; World Bank – Country Policy and Institutional Assessment; and Varieties of Democracy Project.
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