Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 29: India dropped six ranks and fell on the 86th position out of 180 countries on the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2020, as its overall score plummeted only by one point to 40 from 41 in 2019, on a scale of 0-100, where zero indicates highest corruption level while 100 is cleanest. 

The CPI ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts and business people. At 40, India’s score is below the average score of the Asia-Pacific region (31 countries) and global average, the CPI 2020 report stated. India's overall score is also two points less than that of China, which docked at 78th position, with a score of 42. Pakistan, however, scored just 31 points, falling at the 144th position on the index.

New Zealand and Denmark (88 each) topped the list followed by Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and Singapore (85 each). Meanwhile, Australia and Hong Kong were among the top performers with scores of 77 each. The bottom of the global ranking had South Sudan and Somalia with scores of 12 each.

The CPI 2020 also noted that the level of corruption was high in countries that are least equipped to tackle COVID-19 crisis. "COVID-19 is not just a health and economic crisis. It is a corruption crisis and one that we are currently failing to manage. The past year has tested governments like no other in memory, and those with higher levels of corruption have been less able to meet the challenge,” a report by TOI quoted Delia Ferreira Rubio, Transparency International chief.

The latest edition of CPI highlighted the impact of corruption on government responses to COVID-19, comparing countries’ performance in the index to their investment in health care and the extent to which democratic norms and institutions have been weakened during the pandemic.