Down, Not Out: Singapore Ranked as Fifth Least Corrupt Country

Singapore is the world’s fifth least corrupt country according to the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International, making it the lone Asian country to make it to the ranking’s top 10.

But, despite the high placement, this is the lowest rank that the Lion City has gotten in the last four CPI reports. It placed third in 2018 and 2020, and fourth in 2019 and 2021.

Domestically, however, Singaporeans still maintain an exceptionally high trust on their government. In a survey of 1,000 locals by Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, respondents rated the city-state’s efforts in curbing crooked practices within the public sector at 96%. According to CPIB, “Political determination, heavy punishment for corruption offences, and a zero-tolerance culture for corruption were the top three most important factors that contributed to the low corruption rate in Singapore.”

The CPI ranks 180 countries by perceived levels of corruption within the public sector. Low ratings, with 0 at the bottom, means that a country is highly corrupt, while high ratings, with 100 as the ceiling, pertains to more honest operations.

Here are the 10 least corrupt countries in the world, as per the 2022 CPI report, with their ratings in parentheses:

1 – Denmark (90)

2a – Finland (87)

2b – New Zealand (87)

4 – Norway (84)

5a – Singapore (83)

5b – Sweden (83)

7 – Switzerland (82)

8 – Netherlands (80)

9 – Germany (79)

10a – Ireland (77)

10b – Luxembourg (77)

View the full report here.