Czech Republic Improves in Corruption Index

The Transparency Index rates countries on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

In 2013, the Czech Republic scored 48 points, which rated 57 out of 175 countries surveyed. In 2014, that improved to 51 points and 53.

Last year, however, the Czech Republic made a leap to 55 points – good for 37 out of the 168 countries ranked. The five point swing tied Rwanda and Kuwait for the largest gain of any country on the list.

What could be the reason for the perceived change in Czech corruption in recent years?

Highly publicized cases of police crackdown on corrupt public officials might have something to do with it. Last summer, former Minister of Health David Rath was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison on bribery charges.

Among EU countries, however, the Czech Republic still has room for improvement. Only Latvia (40), Hungary (50), Slovakia (50), Croatia (50), Greece (58), Romania (58), Italy (61), and Bulgaria (69) rank lower.

Below is an interactive map of CPI’s corruption rankings worldwide. Dark red represents highly corrupt, while bright yellow represents very clean:

EU nations feature heavily at the top of the list, taking 7 out of the 10 top positions. Still, while these countries are relatively clean at home, the survey is careful to note that many may have dodgy records overseas.

Across the globe, we still have a long way to go: 68% of countries worldwide have serious corruption problems.