China’s score grew to 41 from 40 a year before, on a 100-point scale where 100 means the least corrupt.
China ranked 77th among the 180 countries scored, up two notches from 2016, according to data published by Transparency International yesterday.
In late 2012, president Xi Jinping announced his anti-corruption campaign. It went into full swing with regional inspections and arrests of several prominent party leaders in 2014.
With the curbs on corruption implemented on all levels of administration, which included prohibitions on luxury spending and gifts, the country’s CPI gradually improved to 37 in 2015 and 40 in 2016.
Singapore and Hong Kong both retained their scores from the year before. Singapore consistently ranks among the 10 least corrupt countries in the world, this year ranking the sixth, on par with Sweden, with the CPI of 84. Hong Kong made it to the top 10%, ranking 13th, on par with Australia and Iceland, and the CPI of 77.
By comparison, Taiwan’s 2017 score was 63, up two points from the year before. It ranked 29th, up two notches in the ranking.
New Zealand led the global ranking with the score of 89, followed by Denmark, Finland, Norway and Switzerland as the top five. The world’s most corrupt countries were those racked with wars and economic collapse: Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen.
| Country | 2017 Rank (out of 180) | 2017 Score* (1-100) | 2016 Score* (1-100) |
| Singapore | 6 | 84 | 84 |
| Hong Kong | 13 | 77 | 77 |
| Taiwan | 29 | 63 | 61 |
| China | 77 | 41 | 40 |
Data: Transparency International. *The higher the score, the less perceived corruption.
The Corruption Perception Index is calculated as an average of scores published by 12 global institutions which quantify the perception of corruption in the public sector. The list of sources includes World Bank CPIA, World Economic Forum, Economist Intelligence Unit, and, specific to Asia, PERC Asia Risk Guide.
