Transparency International: The UAE and Saudi Arabia are at the forefront, and Syria is receding in the list
Transparency International reports that corruption is still rampant across the Middle East and North Africa, with the region averaging a new level of 38 out of 100.
The UAE ranked first for the seventh time in a row, according to the latest report on the country’s rankings for combating corruption in the Middle East and North Africa.
Syria Ranked Next to Last
Syria was at the bottom of the list, ranked 178th (before the last) in 2022 on the Corruption Perceptions Index, and Syria received only 13 points in the transparency index, just like North Korea, while Somalia was at the top of the list with 12 points, just one point behind Syria.
Conflicts fuel corruption
“At the bottom of the list for the region and the world, Yemen and Syria show the tragic impact of protracted conflict,” the group said in its report.
In already weak and conflict-ridden systems, corruption robs resources from the state, further weakening governments’ ability to fulfill their role of protecting peoples and enforcing the rule of law, further exacerbating grievances and leading to internal conflicts.
Middle East states relegated to the same league
The International Monitoring Board (IACA) issued the Corruption Perceptions Index 2022 and reviewed a track record of transparency and anti-corruption in 180 countries, but the majority of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa have slipped in their ranking, with the average region reaching a new low of 38 out of 100 on the scale where zero indicates a severe case of corruption.
Countries in the MENA region are struggling to achieve tangible results in the fight against corruption. No country has seen a significant improvement in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in the past decade.
UAE and Saudi Arabia lead
MENA countries ranked among Arab countries in terms of fighting corruption from the bottom up, as follows:
Syria
Yemen
Libya
Iraq
Lebanon
Iran
Egypt
Algeria
Morocco
Tunisia
Kuwait
Oman
Bahrain
Jordan
Saudi Arabia
Qatar State
United Arab Emirates
Turkey’s Undoing
The index ranks Turkey in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, which also includes Russia and Ukraine. Turkey was ranked 101st in the world rankings, falling from 96th and two points from 2021. Transparency International said the country is witnessing a “major decline” in the fight against corruption in recent years.
Ukraine Outperforms Russia
The watchdog ranked Ukraine, one of the few countries to improve in its region, 116 and Russia 137.
The annual Transparency Report ranks 180 countries around the world on a corruption scale since 1995 based on surveys of experts and business people.
