ISLAMABAD – Pakistan ranked 124 out of 180 countries in the CorruptionPerceptions Index (CPI) 2020link released byTransparency International on Thursday, slipping by four spots from theprevious year’s ranking amid increased anti-corruption efforts.

The index for 2020 draws on 13 expert assessments and surveys of businesspeople.

On a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), Pakistan assigneda score of 31, a point lower than its score on the 2019 index.

Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for the year 2020 has raised concernsabout the integrity of the present government and anti-corruption drive.

The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index report highlighted the impact ofcorruption on government responses to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,comparing countries’ performance in the index to their investment inhealthcare and the extent to which democratic norms and institutions havebeen weakened during the pandemic.

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels ofpublic sector corruption, drawing on 13 expert assessments and surveys ofbusiness executives.

On the global scale, a look at individual nations reveals that the threecountries with the lowest perceived corruption levels are Denmark, NewZealand, and Finland while South Sudan, Somalia, and Syria being at theother end of the spectrum.