New Delhi, February 17, 2025 – Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2025 paints a grim picture for Bangladesh, ranking it 13th from the bottom among 180 countries with a dismal score of 24 out of 100. This marks a further slide from its 2024 position, underscoring a persistent failure to curb deep-rooted graft despite recent political upheaval.
The South Asian nation trails only Afghanistan in the region, placing it among 96 countries below the global average of 42 and 122 nations scoring under 50. Experts label Bangladesh’s corruption crisis as ‘severely acute,’ with systemic issues plaguing politics, administration, and public services.
The July uprising last year sparked hopes of dismantling the alleged kleptocracy, briefly boosting optimism for ‘de-kleptification.’ Yet, the interim government’s inability to lay solid foundations for reform has dashed those expectations. Corruption persists at national and local levels, with the administration failing to model transparency, integrity, and accountability.
Countries like Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, and Angola – once peers or worse off – have climbed higher through bold institutional overhauls, digital public services, and aggressive prosecutions of high-level corruption. Bangladesh, by contrast, lacks a comprehensive reform roadmap, risk analysis, or management strategy.
State reforms via ordinances have faltered amid political and bureaucratic pushback and selective enforcement. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) shows negligible progress, undermining its independence and effectiveness. A culture of ‘now it’s our turn’ revenge looting threatens to entrench corrupt networks further.
Globally, the CPI signals worsening corruption even in democracies, but it offers a roadmap: strong political will, transparent governance, elite prosecutions, and protection for media and civil society. For Bangladesh, urgent, strategic action is imperative to reverse this downward spiral and restore public trust.