U.S. falls to 29th in global corruption index, score at 64

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index places the United States 29th out of 182 countries, recording a score of 64 on the 0–100 scale and marking the lowest CPI level the country has registered since the index was relaunched with a revised methodology in 2012. The ranking underscores a decade-long downward trend for the United States and forms part of a broader global deterioration documented in the 2025 dataset.

The CPI, which aggregates expert and business assessments of public sector corruption, sets a global average score of 42. In the 2025 results, 122 countries scored below 50; 31 countries improved their scores from the prior year while 50 recorded declines. Denmark tops the table as the least corrupt, while South Sudan and Somalia anchor the bottom of the index.

The U.S. figure is tied with the Bahamas at 29th and was overtaken in the table by Lithuania at 28th. Other benchmark comparisons in the CPI place Barbados at 24th and Uruguay at 17th. The United Kingdom appears at 20th with a score of 70, down from 71 the previous year and a substantial fall from seventh place in 2015, illustrating the report’s broader finding of backsliding in several established democracies.

Transparency International’s leadership framed the U.S. result as alarming. “We are very concerned about the situation in the United States,” Maíra Martini, chief executive officer of Transparency International, said in response to the CPI findings. A formal statement from the organization cautioned that “Although 2025 developments are not yet fully reflected, actions targeting independent voices and undermining judicial independence raise serious concerns.”

Those warnings shift the debate from raw numbers to institutional health. The CPI does not measure direct legal infractions; it measures perceptions of public sector corruption. Nonetheless, experts and civic actors interpret sustained declines in established democracies as signals that governance norms, enforcement practices and transparency safeguards require scrutiny and, where necessary, reform.

The report’s release has immediate policy implications. A score of 64 for a major democracy raises questions about enforcement of ethics rules, the independence of oversight agencies and the resilience of judicial checks. It also complicates international messaging on governance and rule-of-law priorities, particularly as public confidence in institutions is central to both domestic legitimacy and soft-power influence abroad.

Transparency International’s caveat that not all 2025 developments are reflected underscores the need for up-to-date review and follow-up. For policymakers and watchdogs, the CPI provides a benchmark that can guide investigative priorities: trends in enforcement actions, protections for independent media and civil society, and mechanisms that insulate the judiciary from political pressure.

The index places the United States’ decline in a global context of eroding scores and growing concern. Whether the ranking generates legislative or administrative reforms will depend on political actors and enforcement agencies embracing the report’s implications and taking concrete, verifiable steps to restore public trust.