The latest global corruption index indicates that Afghanistan has made improvement in the fight against the menace.
The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Afghanistan in 165th place on the list of 180 countries with a score of 19, the same it scored the previous year.
In 2019 index, Afghanistan was ranked 173rd with a score of 16.
Compiled by the non-governmental organization Transparency International, the index scores countries between zero and 100, zero being highly corrupt and 100 very clean.
Afghanistan is tied with Burudi, Congo, Turkmenistan, and Guinea Bissau in the 165th spot.
With a score of 19, Afghanistan is a significant improver on the CPI in Asia, climbing 11 points since 2012. The country instituted significant legal and institutional reforms and recently announced plans to establish a new anti-corruption commission, the Transparency International said.
“COVID-19 is not just a health and economic crisis. It’s a corruption crisis. And one that we’re currently failing to manage,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair, Transparency International.
The top countries on the CPI are Denmark and New Zealand, with scores of 88, followed by Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland, with scores of 85 each.
The bottom countries are South Sudan and Somalia, with scores of 12 each, followed by Syria (14), Yemen (15) and Venezuela (15).
