Corruption: Italy ranks 52nd in the Corruption Perceptions Index. Risks and strategies to counter them

Around the world, corruption shows strong differences from country to country and between geographic areas. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the phenomenon continues to grow in scale and complexity: more than two-thirds of the 180 countries analysed score less than 50 out of 100, indicating high levels of corruption.

At the top of the ranking of the most virtuous states is Denmark with a score of 90, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84). The top 10 is dominated by central and northern European countries such as Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, but also includes Australia and New Zealand. At the bottom of the ranking are Venezuela, Somalia and South Sudan, with a score of 10, 9 and 8 respectively.

The best performance is found in established democracies, which have an average score of 73 points compared to 47 for democracies considered 'weak' and 33 for non-democratic regimes.

In this ranking, Italy ranks 52nd in 2024, with a perceived level of corruption of 54 points. Compared to 2023, our country has lost 10 places in the ranking, although in the long run Italy's ranking has improved from 72nd position in 2012.

Corruption is often also linked to other indicators, such as weak institutions or poor judicial efficiency. Not surprisingly, looking at data from the Rule of Law Index of the World Justice Project, which includes parameters such as fundamental rights, government transparency, and law and order and security, the global ranking bears similarities to the ICC.

In the overall ranking of the Rule of Law Index 2025, Italy ranks 34th out of 143 countries surveyed, while for the item 'Absence of Corruption', our country ranks 39th.

Corruption is not only a social scourge but also an economic one. A Eurobarometer survey from 2025 reveals that about seven out of ten European companies (71%) agree that corruption hinders competition in their country. Moreover, 25 per cent of companies that have participated in a public procurement procedure believe that corruption has prevented them from winning a tender or contract.

Then there is the direct economic damage in terms of lost revenue for companies. According to a report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) analysing employment fraud globally, almost half of the cases considered included some form of corruption, with a median loss of $200,000 per case.