Global Risk Profile (GRP) releases the 2022 edition of the Global Corruption Index (GCI), providing an assessment on the state of corruption and other white-collar crimes throughout the world.

After 4 years of competition between Finland (best performer in 2019 and 2020) and Denmark (best performer in 2018 and 2021) for the top spot, this year Norway takes the lead of the Global Corruption Index (GCI) for the first time. Norway's success is followed by four European countries: Finland (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Denmark (4th) and Estonia (5th).

Ranked 9th out of 196 countries and territories, Australia is one of the best performers worldwide, landing between Iceland (8th) and Ireland (10th). Although the risk of corruption and other white-collar crimes is very low in the country, the overall performance of Australia is in slight decline: Australia's risk score raised from 14.4 in 2021 to 15.2 in 2022. This impacted the country's relative position which fell from 7th to 9th in the worldwide rank.

One outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic is the implementation of exceptional financial aid programs globally, unlocking loans and credits at a fast pace. This emergency response triggered new opportunities for corruption, bribery, falsification of submissions and embezzlement of public funds, therefore draining new resources. While the European continent remains collectively well ahead of the other continents (risk score: 30), a slight decline this year may be due to the introduction of 2020-2021 facilitated loans. Next in line, Oceania (risk score: 40.6) and North America (risk score: 43.8) have also slightly receded this year.

Evaluating not only corruption but also its connected crimes, the Global Corruption Index allows you to spot each country's specific shortcomings. In some jurisdictions, a large performance gap between corruption and other white-collar crimes is observed. Despite a relatively good corruption rank (45th), the United Arab Emirates' very low transparency and oversight ranks it near the bottom for white collar crimes, including money laundering and terrorism financing (ranked 149th).

Similar gaps can be observed in the Bahamas (63rd for corruption, 145th for white-collar crimes) and in Cyprus (38th for corruption, 84th for white-collar crimes).

The year 2022 is also marked by the FIFA World Cup competition to take place in Qatar, a medium risk country in the aggregate GCI scoring. The country ranks 73 out of 196 countries (risk score: 41.56). Qatar's performance is relatively lower when it comes to white-collar crimes risks (rank: 87) as opposed to corruption risks (rank: 71).

In the global scoring, both the United States and China show the first signs of stabilization after slow declines over the last few years. The United States fell progressively from the 24th to the 35th position between 2018 and 2021, before pulling back to the 31st position this year.

After its drop in 2020, China jumped back from the 139th to the 118th position in 2021, and now stabilizes at the 117th position.

The best performers by region are Canada for North America, Uruguay for South America, Norway for Europe, Seychelles for Africa, Singapore for Asia and New Zealand for Oceania.

Countries presenting the highest risks in the GCI are South Sudan, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, North Korea and Syria coming in last.

The complete 2022 GCI results, including interactive data and technical documentation, are available on a dedicated website: risk-indexes.com/global-corruption-index

About the GCI

Since 2018, the Global Corruption Index (GCI) measures both public and private corruption (based on its perception and experience) as well as other white-collar crimes, such as money laundering and terrorism financing issues. Featuring up-to-date data, the GCI's 2022 edition offers a risk score, rank and evaluation for as many as 196 countries and territories based on a set of 42 variables.

About GRP

Global Risk Profile (GRP) is a leading Swiss company specializing in third-party risk management related services. Since its foundation in 2009, GRP places Due Diligence at the heart of its activities. Suitable for both multinationals and small businesses, services now range from Due Diligence checks and investigations with various coverage and scope to compliance software solutions.

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