Georgia assigned with score of 56 in Corruption Perceptions Index
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Friday, January 24
Georgia has been assigned a score of 56 and shares 44th place with Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, and Latvia in the 2019 edition of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which was published by the Transpar¬ency International Secretariat yesterday. The report ranks 180 countries.
In the ranking, 100 points indicate the lowest level of per¬ceived corruption while 0 – its highest level.
Compared with last year’s results, Georgia’s score has been decreased by two points. Accord¬ing to the survey’s methodology, a two-point change is considered statistically insignificant.
Georgia still ranks top in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region. However, the lack of progress in terms of Georgia’s score in recent years points to the stagnation of anti-corrup¬tion reforms in the country.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are the two countries in the region whose score increased signifi¬cantly in 2019 compared with 2018, it has changed by seven and five points respectively
According to the analysis of Transparency International Secretariat of the CPI results for Eastern Europe and Cen¬tral Asia, “state capture and the concentration of power in private hands remain a major stumbling block in the region. Undue influence over key in¬stitutions continues to present the utmost challenge to politi¬cal integrity in Georgia, which dropped two points on the CPI since last year.”
Georgia’s 2019 CPI score indicates that the country has not addressed the problems highlighted in last year’s report, such as a lack of accountability of the law enforcement bodies; corruption and political inter¬ference in the judiciary; state capture; government-sponsored attacks on independent civil society and absence of an inde¬pendent anti-corruption inves¬tigative agency.
As the report recommends, to improve the situation in Geor¬gia in terms of corruption, it is important to take steps toward the strengthening of the coun¬try’s anti-corruption system and democratic institutions.
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published for the 27th time yesterday, is based on expert opinions of the level of corruption in the public sector. Since 2012, the survey has been conducted using a new method¬ology that allows comparing the results of different years. CPI is prepared based on the research by reputable international or¬ganizations, each containing the assessment of the situation prevailing in various countries concerning corruption.
According to CPI 2019, the level of perceived corruption is the lowest in Denmark and New Zealand (87 points) and the highest in Somalia (9 points).
Georgia’s score in CPI 2019 is based on the following stud¬ies: Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index, World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, Global Insight’s Country Risk Rating, Freedom House’s Nations in Transit, Varieties of Democracy Project.
