Malta stagnant in 2021 corruption perceptions index

Malta well below European corruption perceptions average despite nudge upwards by one point to 54

Malta edged up gently on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), with a score of 54, up 1 point from the all-time low of 53 in 2020.

Malta’s CPI score – ranking it 49 out of 180 coutries – had been getting worse for several years, reflecting serious corruption challenges that afflict the Mediterranean island nation, and well below the Western European average of 66.

Its score placed it jut below Czechkia, and over Mauritius in the global ranking.

Last year, Malta was dubbed a “significant decliner” in the  2020 CPI, with a score marginally worse than 2019’s ranking, when Malta was in 50th position with a score of 54. Malta then lost six points in the corruption perceptions index for 2018, a full year after the assassination of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.


Corruption Perceptions Index 2021: Global scores
Country / Territory
Region

CPI score 2021

Rank

Denmark

WE/EU

88

1

Finland

WE/EU

88

1

New Zealand

AP

88

1

Norway

WE/EU

85

4

Singapore

AP

85

4

Sweden

WE/EU

85

4

Switzerland

WE/EU

84

7

Netherlands

WE/EU

82

8

Luxembourg

WE/EU

81

9

Germany

WE/EU

80

10

United Kingdom

WE/EU

78

11

Hong Kong

AP

76

12

Canada

AME

74

13

Iceland

WE/EU

74

13

Ireland

WE/EU

74

13

Estonia

WE/EU

74

13

Austria

WE/EU

74

13

Australia

AP

73

18

Belgium

WE/EU

73

18

Japan

AP

73

18

Uruguay

AME

73

18

France

WE/EU

71

22

Seychelles

SSA

70

23

United Arab Emirates

MENA

69

24

Bhutan

AP

68

25

Taiwan

AP

68

25

Chile

AME

67

27

United States of America

AME

67

27

Barbados

AME

65

29

Bahamas

AME

64

30

Qatar

MENA

63

31

Korea, South

AP

62

32

Portugal

WE/EU

62

32

Lithuania

WE/EU

61

34

Spain

WE/EU

61

34

Israel

MENA

59

36

Latvia

WE/EU

59

36

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

AME

59

36

Cabo Verde

SSA

58

39

Costa Rica

AME

58

39

Slovenia

WE/EU

57

41

Italy

WE/EU

56

42

Poland

WE/EU

56

42

Saint Lucia

AME

56

42

Botswana

SSA

55

45

Dominica

AME

55

45

Fiji

AP

55

45

Georgia

ECA

55

45

Czechia

WE/EU

54

49

Malta

WE/EU

54

49

Mauritius

SSA

54

49

Grenada

AME

53

52

Cyprus

WE/EU

53

52

Rwanda

SSA

53

52

Saudi Arabia

MENA

53

52

Oman

MENA

52

56

Slovakia

WE/EU

52

56

Armenia

ECA

49

58

Greece

WE/EU

49

58

Jordan

MENA

49

58

Namibia

SSA

49

58

Malaysia

AP

48

62

Croatia

WE/EU

47

63

Cuba

AME

46

64

Montenegro

ECA

46

64

China

AP

45

66

Romania

WE/EU

45

66

Sao Tome and Principe

SSA

45

66

Vanuatu

AP

45

66

Jamaica

AME

44

70

South Africa

SSA

44

70

Tunisia

MENA

44

70

Ghana

SSA

43

73

Hungary

WE/EU

43

73

Kuwait

MENA

43

73

Senegal

SSA

43

73

Solomon Islands

AP

43

73

Bahrain

MENA

42

78

Benin

SSA

42

78

Burkina Faso

SSA

42

78

Bulgaria

WE/EU

42

78

Timor-Leste

AP

41

82

Belarus

ECA

41

82

Trinidad and Tobago

AME

41

82

India

AP

40

85

Maldives

AP

40

85

Kosovo

ECA

39

87

Colombia

AME

39

87

Ethiopia

SSA

39

87

Guyana

AME

39

87

Morocco

MENA

39

87

North Macedonia

ECA

39

87

Suriname

AME

39

87

Tanzania

SSA

39

87

Vietnam

AP

39

87

Argentina

AME

38

96

Brazil

AME

38

96

Indonesia

AP

38

96

Lesotho

SSA

38

96

Serbia

ECA

38

96

Turkey

ECA

38

96

Gambia

SSA

37

102

Kazakhstan

ECA

37

102

Sri Lanka

AP

37

102

Cote d'Ivoire

SSA

36

105

Ecuador

AME

36

105

Moldova

ECA

36

105

Panama

AME

36

105

Peru

AME

36

105

Albania

ECA

35

110

Bosnia and Herzegovina

ECA

35

110

Malawi

SSA

35

110

Mongolia

AP

35

110

Thailand

AP

35

110

El Salvador

AME

34

115

Sierra Leone

SSA

34

115

Egypt

MENA

33

117

Nepal

AP

33

117

Philippines

AP

33

117

Zambia

SSA

33

117

Algeria

MENA

33

117

Eswatini

SSA

32

122

Ukraine

ECA

32

122

Gabon

SSA

31

124

Mexico

AME

31

124

Niger

SSA

31

124

Papua New Guinea

AP

31

124

Azerbaijan

ECA

30

128

Bolivia

AME

30

128

Djibouti

SSA

30

128

Dominican Republic

AME

30

128

Laos

AP

30

128

Paraguay

AME

30

128

Togo

SSA

30

128

Kenya

SSA

30

128

Angola

SSA

29

136

Liberia

SSA

29

136

Mali

SSA

29

136

Russia

ECA

29

136

Mauritania

SSA

28

140

Myanmar

AP

28

140

Pakistan

AP

28

140

Uzbekistan

ECA

28

140

Cameroon

SSA

27

144

Kyrgyzstan

ECA

27

144

Uganda

SSA

27

144

Bangladesh

AP

26

147

Madagascar

SSA

26

147

Mozambique

SSA

26

147

Guatemala

AME

25

150

Guinea

SSA

25

150

Iran

MENA

25

150

Tajikistan

ECA

25

150

Lebanon

MENA

24

154

Nigeria

SSA

24

154

Central African Republic

SSA

24

154

Cambodia

AP

23

157

Honduras

AME

23

157

Iraq

MENA

23

157

Zimbabwe

SSA

23

157

Eritrea

SSA

22

161

Congo

SSA

21

162

Guinea Bissau

SSA

21

162

Chad

SSA

20

164

Comoros

SSA

20

164

Haiti

AME

20

164

Nicaragua

AME

20

164

Sudan

SSA

20

164

Burundi

SSA

19

169

Democratic Republic of the Congo

SSA

19

169

Turkmenistan

ECA

19

169

Equatorial Guinea

SSA

17

172

Libya

MENA

17

172

Afghanistan

AP

16

174

Korea, North

AP

16

174

Yemen

MENA

16

174

Venezuela

AME

14

177

Somalia

SSA

13

178

Syria

MENA

13

178

South Sudan

SSA

11

180

2021 saw the arrest of three men accused of having supplied the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, as well as the guilty plea of one of the assassination’s triggermen.

The CPI ranking for Malta is compiled by TI’s official partner, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.

With an average score of 66 out of 100, the Western Europe and European Union (EU) region still tops the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), but progress there has stagnated.

“A worrying new normal is fast being established, as accountability and transparency measures neglected or rolled back during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unrestored, and public trust falls in the wake of procurement scandals,” Transparency International said.

Even top performers are showing concerning signs of backsliding, and the region continues to be rocked by corruption revelations – including exporting corruption to other parts of the world. The long-term consequences of inadequate anti-corruption action are already evident in Hungary (CPI score: 43) and Poland (56), with concerns that Slovenia (57) will soon join them.

Denmark (88) has been joined by Finland (88) at the top of the CPI, followed by Norway (85) and Sweden (85). Bulgaria (42), Hungary (43) and Romania (45) remain the worst performers in the region.