Ukraine scored 36 out of 100 in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), ranking 104th out of 182 countries. Argentina and Belize scored the same. Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Gambia, Lesotho, and Zambia were just one point ahead of Ukraine, while Brazil and Sri Lanka scored one point lower.
“Last year was not a breakthrough year for anti-corruption change. On the one hand, we managed to secure reform of the ARMA. On the other, we did not see many reforms that should already have been underway. Instead, we witnessed a vote in the Verkhovna Rada in July last year that triggered a strong public reaction and protests during the war. Thanks to those protests, we were able to defend the independence of the anti-corruption bodies, and the resulting +1 point in the Corruption Perceptions Index can be viewed as a positive sign. This is the result of the work of the HACC, the NABU, and the SAPO—and the result of society’s efforts in defending their independence,” said Andrii Borovyk, Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine.
According to TI Ukraine, factors that positively influenced Ukraine’s rating included:
- Approval of Ukraine’s roadmaps for EU integration
- First independent audit of NABU
- Start of ARMA reform
- Appointment of a new head of the Economic Security Bureau
- The Mindich case and other high-profile NABU-SAPO investigations
- Agreement of a priority reform plan between Ukraine and the EU
Negative factors included:
- Lack of a commission to select members of the Accounting Chamber
- Attempts to dismantle the anti-corruption system and undermine NABU and SAPO independence
- Inertia at the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP)
- End of international experts’ participation in the Selection Commission for the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ)
- Increase in top corruption suspects fleeing justice
- Negative activity of temporary investigative committees probing possible corruption in law enforcement, courts, and judicial bodies
“The current score reflects a period in which Ukraine defended the independence of anti-corruption institutions, continued implementing the 2023–2025 State Anti-Corruption Programme, and actively developed a new five-year Anti-Corruption Strategy. Whistleblowers received their first court-mandated rewards, lobbying regulation came into force, and the reform of asset management was implemented. This period was also marked by numerous corruption exposures and an increase in convictions of high-level officials,” the National Agency on Corruption Prevention noted.
The NACP highlighted positive trends: since 2013, Ukraine has gained 11 points and risen 40 positions in the CPI. Over the four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine added four points compared to 2021. The agency emphasized that Ukraine remains the only country in the world to improve its anti-corruption performance during a major war and territorial occupation.
The Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated annually by Transparency International since 1995.