Maldives climbs 14 points and 55 ranking positions in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2020, released by Transparency International.
The CPI annually scores and ranks countries and territories by their perceived level of public sector corruption, drawing on surveys and expert assessments. The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
Maldives scored 43 on the CPI 2020, and is ranked 75 out of 180 countries in the index. Compared with the 2019 index, Maldives climbed 14 points in score and 55 positions in country ranking.
Following the release of CPI 2020 rankings, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih tweeted that it was encouraging to see that the anti-corruption efforts of the administration have yielded good results. However, he noted the work to root out corruption in the Maldives is nowhere near complete.
In a statement released on January 28, Transparency Maldives called the upward trajectory in the CPI a positive step, although noting the Maldives remains among two-thirds of countries to score below 50. Transparency Maldives echoed the call of Transparency International for the Maldives to strengthen oversight institutions to ensure resources reach those most in need, and to provide such institutions sufficient funds, resources and independence to perform their duties.
The organisation also called to ensure open and transparent contracting to combat wrongdoing, identify conflicts of interest and ensure fair pricing. The organisation further called to publish relevant data and guarantee access to information to ensure the public receives easy, accessible, timely and meaningful information, including on public spending and resource distribution.