The country’s score on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index declines by one point but remains identical.
Bangladesh was ranked 147 out of 180 for corruption by Transparency International, which cited a worrying trend of anti-corruption institutions weakening in Bangladesh.
The country’s score on the Berlin-based organization’s Corruption Perception Index 2021 has decreased by one point, remaining at 26.
Bangladesh’s result places it in the bottom fifth of the surveyed nations.
On a scale from 0 to 100, the index measures 180 countries and territories according to their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as perceived by experts and businesspeople.
Finland and New Zealand are the top-ranked nations with a score of 88. The worst is South Sudan with 11 points.
According to the rankings, Bangladesh is the second most corrupt nation in South Asia, with Afghanistan (with a score of 16) being the most corrupt.
India is ranked 85 in the region with a score of 40, Sri Lanka is ranked 102 with a score of 37, Nepal is ranked 117 with a score of 33, and Pakistan is ranked 140 with a score of 28.
“Despite the fact that whistleblowers, journalists, and a vigilant public can help protect funds from corruption, Covid-19 has been used as a pretext to silence criticism. “According to TI, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Singapore are just a few of the nations that have increased digital surveillance to suppress those attempting to hold governments accountable during the pandemic.
“As authoritarian regimes refine their cyber-surveillance technologies, vicious online harassment by government-backed trolls is further restricting freedom of speech.”
The index was compiled using the findings of eight surveys conducted in Bangladesh. The report identifies power abuse, lack of justice, lack of expression, and lack of accountability as the primary causes of corruption.
In terms of scores, Bangladesh has made no progress over the past few years.
“It is disappointing,” said Iftekharuzzman, executive director of Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB), on Tuesday.
“The reason for this is the failure to implement high-profile anti-corruption pledges,” he explained.
Mentioning that the government had failed to reduce corruption, he stated, “Although there is a political commitment from the highest levels of government to demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption, it is not being properly implemented.”
Bangladesh was ranked as the most corrupt nation in the world by Transparency International for five consecutive years, from 2001 to 2005.
Despite the fact that the situation has progressively improved since then, the score has not improved over the past four years.
