Israel slips to 35th place in corruption index amid ‘worrying’ trend in democracies

Israel on Thursday slipped five places to on an annual barometer of perceived corruption worldwide, ranking 35th, as the anti-graft watchdog Transparency International (TI) warned of worsening corruption in democracies more broadly.

Berlin-based TI said the average global score had hit its worst level in more than a decade, with the United States sliding to its lowest-ever score on the group’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, coming in 29th. Only five countries scored above 80 in the 2025 report, down from 12 a decade ago.

The top spot was given to Denmark, with 89 points out of 100, followed by Finland and Singapore. At the bottom were South Sudan and Somalia with nine points apiece, just below Venezuela. with 10. The leading trio was unchanged, and the last three also stayed the same, although South Sudan gained a point to draw level with Somalia.

Israel had a score of 62. Last year, it was ranked 30th with a score of 64. Its lowest score was in 2021, with 59.

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

This year’s report lamented that “too often, we are seeing a failure of good governance and accountable leadership.”

It also pointed to “a worrying trend of democracies seeing worsening perceived corruption.”

As examples, it pointed even to high-scoring New Zealand, down two points at 81, and Sweden, unchanged at 80; as well as Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, which scored 75, 70, 66, and 64 points respectively.

US President Donald Trump, since returning to the White House last year, has upended domestic and foreign politics while ramping up pressure on institutions ranging from universities to the US Federal Reserve.

US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is currently under investigation by Trump’s Department of Justice after resisting pressure from the president to reduce interest rates.

TI raised concerns over “actions targeting independent voices and undermining judicial independence” in the US.

“The temporary freeze and weakening of enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act signal tolerance for corrupt business practices,” the watchdog said of the US.

The Trump administration’s gutting of overseas aid has also “weakened global anti-corruption efforts,” it said.

The US has dropped its score, with the report noting that its “political climate has been deteriorating for more than a decade.”

The group’s index assigns a score between zero (highly corrupt) and 100 (very clean), based on data reflecting the assessments of experts and business executives.

Data sources have previously included the World Economic Forum and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The global average score was 42, its lowest level in more than 10 years.

“The vast majority of countries are failing to keep corruption under control,” the report said, with 122 countries out of 180 posting scores under 50.

The US case illustrates a trend in democracies experiencing a “decline in performance” in battling corruption, according to the report, a phenomenon it also said was apparent in the UK and France.

While such countries are still near the top of the index, “corruption risks have increased” due to weakening independent checks, gaps in legislation, and inadequate enforcement.

“Several have also experienced strains to their democracies, including political polarization and the growing influence of private money on decision-making,” the report noted.

The worst-performing countries in the European Union were Bulgaria and Hungary, both scoring just 40.

The report said the government of Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban, in power since 2010 and facing a tough battle for re-election in April, “has systematically weakened the rule of law, civic space and electoral integrity for over 10 years.”

“This has enabled impunity for channeling billions — including from European Union funds — to groups of cronies through dirty public contracting and other methods,” the report said.