Iraq’s Position On Corruption Index Unchanged

(Reuters)

Every year Transparency International releases its Corruption Perceptions Index which uses several factors to rank countries around the world. The new 2022 Index was just released and Iraq had the same rank and position as it did in 2021.

 

Iraq had a score of 25 out of 100 with 0 being the worse and 100 being the best. That placed it 157 out of 180 countries that were ranked. That was the same score and rank as it had in 2021.

 

After the 2003 invasion Iraq was routinely ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International. As the war subsided its score has slowly improved. That change seemed to be more about other countries doing better or worse rather than Iraq making any real reforms to stop corruption. That was shown when the new Sudani government took power in November 2022 and it was revealed that officials stole around $2.5 billion from the Iraqi tax authority. The reason the government has done nothing about this chronic problem is because the ruling parties survive off of corruption. They loot the state to enrich themselves and reward their followers. That means there is no incentive for them to do anything about graft. That will keep Iraq with a poor score on the Corruption Index.

 

Iraq’s Recent Scores On Corruption Perceptions Index

2022 Score 23

2021 Score 23

2020 Score 21

2019 Score 20

2018 Score 18

2017 Score 18

2016 Score 17

2015 Score 16

 

Middle East Countries Ranked On Corruption Perceptions Index

Syria Score 13, Rank 178/180

Yemen Score 15, Rank 176.180

Libya Score 17, Rank 171/180

Lebanon Score 24, Rank 150/180

Iran Score 25, Rank 147/180

Iraq Score 23, Rank 157/180

Egypt Score 30, Rank 130/180

Algeria Score 33, Rank 116/180

Morocco Score 38, Rank 94/180

Tunisia Score 40, Rank 85/180

Kuwait Score 42, Rank 77/180

Bahrain Score 44, Rank 69/180

Oman Score 44, Rank 69/180

Jordan Score 47, Rank 61/180

Saudi Arabia Score 51, Rank 54/180

Qatar Score 58, Rank 40/180

Israel Score 63, Rank 31/180

UAE Score 67, Rank 27/180

 

SOURCES

 

Jalabi, Raya, “Iraq reels from $2.5bn tax ‘heist of the century,’” Financial Times, 11/17/22

 

Transparency International, “Corruption Perceptions Index 2021,” 1/25/22

- “Corruption Perceptions Index 2022,” 2/1/23