KATHMANDU, Jan 28: The status of corruption in Nepal has worsened in comparison to last year, as Nepal has ranked 117th of the 180 countries across the world. Nepal lost four places from 2019, scoring just 33 points, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by Transparency International (TI) on Thursday. In 2019, Nepal ranked 113 with a score of 34.

According to the report, Denmark and New Zealand both are leading the table as the cleanest country (with less corruption) with a total score of 88 out of 100 (very clean). Two African countries --South Sudan and Somalia—are considered the most corrupt countries. They are at the bottom of the table with only 12.

A score of below 50 is considered indicative of poor governance. Ranked fourth after Afghanistan (19), Bangladesh (26) and Pakistan (31), Nepal remains one of the most corrupt countries in South Asia.  The least corrupt in South Asia is Bhutan with a score of 68. Similarly, the Maldives (43), India (40) and Sri Lanka (38) are also cleaner countries than Nepal.

The index is calculated based on the surveys carried out by the World Bank, World Economic Forum, Global Insight, Bertelsmann Foundation, World Justice Project and V-DEM in the past one year (2019/20). 

According to the report, the major reasons behind the rising level of corruption in the country include insufficient anti-graft efforts by the government, widespread abuse of authority and deep rooted corruption in the public sector. Similarly, bribery in the trade and business sector, poor implementation of the right to information and impunity are also prevailing in the country which have been fueling corruption, according to the TI. 

TI has been publishing CPI since 1995. Nepal has been included in the list since 2004.

Corruption in Nepal in the past nine years
Year         Scores        Rank

2012        27            139/176

2013        31            116/177

2014        29            126/175

2015        27            130/168

2016        29            131/176

2017        31            122/180

2018        31            124/180

2019        34            113/180

2020        33            117/180

 
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