The United States just sank to its lowest position ever in the world’s most widely cited corruption index, dropping to 29th out of 182 countries in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index released today.
The score: 64 out of 100, on a scale where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.
That number should alarm anyone paying attention. It means the world’s largest economy and self-described beacon of democracy is now tied with the Bahamas and outranked by Lithuania, Barbados, and Uruguay. A decade ago, the US scored 74. The slide has been relentless, and the trajectory points in only one direction.
A Decade Of Decline With No Floor In Sight
The CPI, which has been published annually since 1995 and was relaunched with its current methodology in 2012, measures perceived levels of public sector corruption based on assessments from independent experts and businesspeople. It draws on 13 external data sources including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and private consulting firms. This is not a public opinion poll. It is how the professionals who study governance for a living see the United States.
And what they see is a country that has lost four points in a single year after several years of stagnation. The US hasn’t cracked the top 20 since 2017. It dropped from 28th to 29th this year, slipping one more notch in what has become a grim annual tradition.
“We are very concerned about the situation in the United States,” Transparency International CEO Maíra Martini told CNN. “This declining trend might continue.”
The FCPA Freeze Changed The Game
While this year’s CPI data primarily reflects conditions through 2025, Transparency International made a point of flagging what has happened since. The Trump administration’s decision to freeze enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the landmark law that prohibited American companies from bribing foreign officials, sent a clear signal to the rest of the world: the cop was off the beat.
The administration framed the FCPA pause as leveling the playing field for American businesses competing against international rivals who face no such restrictions. Critics saw something very different: a green light for corruption that would ripple far beyond US borders.
Transparency International was blunt in its assessment, writing that “the temporary freeze and weakening of enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act signal tolerance for corrupt business practices, while cuts to US aid for overseas civil society have weakened global anti-corruption efforts.” The organization also raised concerns about actions targeting independent voices and undermining judicial independence.
Transparency International chair François Valerian went further in an interview with DW, criticizing the use of an executive order to turn the FCPA into a national security instrument. He also pointed to the administration’s embrace of cryptocurrency and a fast-track immigration program for wealthy foreigners as potential corruption vectors. “Based on our international experience, such schemes attract corrupt people and may also attract criminals,” Valerian said.
This Didn’t Start With Trump
Here is the uncomfortable truth that gets lost in the partisan noise: the US corruption trajectory has been pointing down for a decade. Valerian himself acknowledged as much, telling DW, “We can’t blame everything on Trump because there were concerning reforms that started before him.”
The Biden years saw the US score stagnate, with previous reports specifically highlighting ethics scandals at the Supreme Court as a significant drag on America’s perceived integrity. The steady erosion of institutional trust, the revolving door between government and industry, and the explosion of dark money in politics all predate any single administration.
What the current moment represents is an acceleration of a pre-existing problem. When the mechanisms designed to check corruption, including independent oversight, whistleblower protections, and anti-bribery enforcement, are actively weakened, the decline does not slow down. It picks up speed.
The Global Picture Is Just As Grim
The US is not declining in isolation. The global average CPI score fell to 42 this year, its lowest level in more than a decade and the first actual drop in that timeframe. More than two-thirds of the 182 countries and territories measured, a total of 122, scored below 50. The number of countries scoring above 80, once a benchmark for clean governance, has shrunk from 12 a decade ago to just five today.
Denmark topped the index for the eighth consecutive year with a score of 89, followed by Finland at 88 and Singapore at 84. At the bottom: South Sudan and Somalia, both at 9, and Venezuela at 10.
The UK also hit its lowest-ever CPI score of 70 following a decade of decline. Canada dropped to 75. Sweden fell to 80. New Zealand slid to 81. The pattern across established democracies is consistent and concerning: the institutional guardrails that were supposed to prevent corruption from taking root are weakening across the board.
Transparency International pointed to a related trend. Since 2012, 36 of the 50 countries with the biggest CPI declines have also experienced a reduction in civic space, meaning restrictions on press freedom, NGO operations, and the ability of citizens to hold their governments accountable. Corruption and authoritarianism, it turns out, travel together.
What Happens Next
The critical thing to understand about this year’s CPI is that it primarily captures data through 2025. That means the full impact of the FCPA freeze, cuts to foreign aid for civil society organizations, and broader governance changes are not yet reflected in the numbers. The 2026 index, when it arrives, will tell a much more complete story.
Transparency International was explicit about this: “Although 2025 developments are not yet fully reflected, actions targeting independent voices and undermining judicial independence raise serious concerns.” Translation: expect the numbers to get worse before they get better.
The organization is calling on governments worldwide to strengthen independent justice systems, ensure transparency in political financing, protect media freedom, and clamp down on cross-border flows of illicit money. It is also worth noting that even high-scoring countries are not off the hook. Transparency International noted that nations like Switzerland and Singapore, despite strong domestic CPI scores, “have faced scrutiny for facilitating the movement of dirty money” across borders.
For the United States, the question is no longer whether the country has a corruption problem. The question is whether anyone in power has the will to reverse a decade-long slide that shows no sign of stopping. The numbers say the answer, so far, is no.