Tbilisi, 3 December 2014 - Georgia is ranked 50th among 175 countries with the score of 52 (out of the maximum 100) in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by the Transparency International Secretariat today.

Georgia’s CPI score was 52 in 2012 (ranked 51st), 49 in 2013 (ranked 55th) and 52 again in 2014 (ranked 50th). Since, according to the CPI methodology, only an increase or a decrease of the CPI score by 4 points or more indicates a significant change in the perceived level of corruption in a country, these results show that the corruption perception level has remained stable in Georgia over the last three years and there has been no significant progress or backslide during this period of time.

According to the 2014 CPI, Denmark (score of 92), New Zealand, (91) and Finland have the lowest levels of perceived corruption, while North Korea and Somalia have the highest with a score of 8.

With the score of 52, Georgia ranks highest among the 19 countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Georgia also scored higher than a number of EU member states: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Romania. Among the post-Communist countries, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia and Hungary are ranked higher than Georgia.

Georgia has taken a number of steps toward improving its anti-corruption policies in recent years:

• Greater transparency of political party and electoral campaign financing
• Introduction of legal requirements and standards for proactive publication of information
• Effective operation of the State Audit Office
• A transparent system of electronic public procurement

At the same time, a number of important issues need to be addressed in order to achieve further progress and establish an effective system for the prevention of corruption in Georgia:

• Establishment of an independent anti-corruption body that will have the necessary powers and resources for the prevention of complex types of corruption (including corruption-related crimes committed by high-ranking officials)
• Establishment of the mechanisms for the enforcement of legal provisions designed for the prevention of conflict of interest and corruption, including a mechanism for the verification of the content of public officials’ asset declarations
• Establishment of an independent and professional civil service that will be free of political influence. Establishment of an effective and transparent system for recruitment and dismissal in the civil service that will exclude the possibility of politically motivated decisions and nepotism in this area
• Establishment of an independent investigatory mechanism for the investigation of crimes committed by law enforcement officers
• Safeguarding of institutional independence of the supervisory and regulatory institutions (e.g. the State Audit Office, the State Procurement Agency, the Competition Agency, the Georgian National Communications Commission, the Civil Service Bureau) and prevention of political interference in their operations
• Reduction of the excessively big share of simplified procurement in public procurement

A more detailed analysis of the situation in Georgia in terms of corruption and anti-corruption policy will be provided in the Georgian National Integrity System Assessment that Transparency International Georgia will published in February 2015.

The Corruption Perceptions Index has been published by the Transparency International Secretariat annually since 1995. Since 2012, the index has been compiled with a new methodology, making it possible to compare results from different years. The CPI is a composite index and is produced based on the studies conducted by a number of authoritative organizations. Georgia’s 2014 CPI score is based on data from the following sources:

1. Berteslmann Foundation Transformation Index
2. World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment
3. World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey
4. World Justice Project Rule of Law Index
5. Global Insight Country Risk Ratings
6. Freedom House Nations in Transit

Data updated on September 14 / 2017