THE United States plummeted down an index released today that serves as a barometer of public-sector corruption worldwide.

The US dropped from 69 points to 65 and from 24th place to 28th on the Transparency International (TI) annual Corruption Perceptions Index. 

TI pointed to criticism of the US judicial branch. It noted that the US Supreme Court adopted its first code of ethics in 2023, “but serious questions remain about the lack of meaningful, objective enforcement mechanisms and the strength of the new rules themselves.”

Other Western nations on the decline included France, which dropped four points to 67 and five places to 25th; and Germany, down three points to 75 and six places to 15th. 

Germany tied with Canada, which was down one point and three places.

Many countries had their worst showing in more than a decade.

TI found that 47 countries out of the 180 it surveyed had their lowest score last year since it started using its current methodology for its global ranking in 2012. 

It said of its 2024 survey that “global corruption levels remain alarmingly high, with efforts to reduce them faltering.”

The group also pointed to worldwide risks from corruption to efforts to combat climate change.

It said that a lack of transparency and accountability mechanisms increases the risk of climate funds being embezzled or misused, while “undue influence,” often from the private sector, obstructs the approval of ambitious policies.

The organisation measures the perception of public-sector corruption according to 13 data sources, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and private risk and consulting companies. 

It ranks 180 countries and territories on a scale from a “highly corrupt” 0 to a “very clean” 100.

The global average remained unchanged from 2023 at 43, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring under 50, TI said. 

Denmark held on to first place with an unchanged 90 points, followed by Finland with 88 and Singapore with 84. New Zealand dropped from third to fourth, shedding two points to 83.

South Sudan slid to the bottom of the index with just eight points, displacing Somalia, although the latter country’s score dropped to nine.