According to the index, Sri Lanka moved up 14 places, rising from 121st in 2024 to 107th in 2025, among more than 180 countries and territories assessed worldwide. The country’s CPI score also improved from 32 to 35, marking a three-point increase over the past year.
The upward movement suggests a positive shift in perceptions among experts and business leaders regarding the integrity of Sri Lanka’s public sector. The CPI measures perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Despite the improvement, Sri Lanka’s current score of 35 remains below the global average of 43, indicating that significant challenges in governance, transparency, and accountability continue to persist.
The CPI is a composite index compiled using data from 13 external sources, including assessments from institutions such as the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. It evaluates a range of factors, including bribery, diversion of public funds, effectiveness of anti-corruption prosecutions, strength of legal frameworks, access to information, and protections for whistleblowers, journalists, and investigators.
Over the past decade, Sri Lanka’s CPI score has shown limited variation, with the lowest score of 36 recorded in 2016 and the highest score of 40 in 2012, highlighting long-standing structural challenges in combating corruption.
Globally, Denmark topped the index for the eighth consecutive year with a score of 89, followed closely by Finland (88) and Singapore (84). At the bottom of the rankings were South Sudan and Somalia, each scoring 9, reflecting severe governance and corruption challenges.
Transparency International noted that while incremental improvements are encouraging, sustained reforms and strong institutional accountability are essential for long-term progress in tackling corruption.
