Canada Ranked As One Of The World's Least Corrupt Countries But We're Not At The Top

According to a new ranking of the world’s least corrupt countries, you can rely on Canada to be pretty trustworthy!

The latest Corruption Perceptions Index report has found Canada to be in the top 11 when it comes to trustworthiness, while the United States ranks in the top 25.

What is the Corruption Perceptions Index?

On January 28, 2021, Transparency International released its 2020 version of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

Each year, the organization ranks 180 countries and territories based on their perceived levels of public sector corruption.

To do this, the agency uses 13 different "expert assessments and surveys" of business leaders, based on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

In the 2020 edition, the report found that “persistent corruption is undermining health care systems and contributing to democratic backsliding amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

This year, the average score was 43 out of 100, with nearly 70% of countries scoring less than 50.

Where does Canada rank?

In the 2020 CPI report, Canada ranked 11th place with a score of 77 points.

It placed in the same spot as the United Kingdom, Australia and Hong Kong.

While it’s pretty high on the list, Canada has fallen in the rankings since 2018.

Back then, Canada came in 9th place.*

This year, New Zealand and Denmark came in first with 88 points, with Finland, Switzerland, Singapore and Sweden closely behind.

Also considered top-ten trustworthy countries were Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany.

Which countries are at the bottom of the list?

One country that is continuing on a downward trend, according to the report, is the United States.

It’s received its worst score since 2012 with just 67 points, which leaves the country in 25th place.

According to the CPI, it’s fallen in rank due to “alleged conflicts of interest and abuse of office at the highest level."

The report also mentioned, “weak oversight of the US$1 trillion COVID-19 relief package [which] raised serious concerns and marked a retreat from longstanding democratic norms promoting accountable government.”

While the States ranks mid-table, it’s far from the bottom of the list.

In last place with just 12 points is Somalia and South Sudan, which rank in 179th place.

Countries like North Korea, Libya, Sudan, Venezuela, Yemen and Syria are also at the bottom of the ranking.

*Editor's Note: This article has been updated.