Vietnam's corruption ranking improves amid global stagnation: survey

Transparency International stressed that the media are vital to combating corruption, calling for governments to encourage free speech and independent media. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released by Transparency International February 21, ranks Vietnam at 107th out of 180 economies based on perceptions of experts and businesspeople.

Vietnam scored 35 on a scale based on 0 for deep-rooted, systemic corruption and 100 for a very clean environment. Last year, it was ranked 113th out of 176 countries and territories with a score 33, an improvement from 31 in 2012.

The country’s corruption crackdown intensified last year, with scores of businesspeople and former government officials jailed, a factor that boosted consumer optimism for 2018, according to a Financial Times survey.

Vietnam remained in the bottom half of the 2017 CPI, but was one of the few countries that showed signs of improvement. The majority of economies had made no progress in their efforts to end corruption, the survey found.

More than two-thirds of countries scored below 50, with an average score of 43.

Among the top 10, led by New Zealand, only Luxembourg saw its score go up from 81 to 82, while the rest either remained unchanged or fell.

In Asia Pacific, Transparency International expressed serious concerns over freedom of press and shrinking civic space.

It singled out the Philippines, India and the Maldives as countries that have fewer press freedoms and higher numbers of journalist deaths. 

In the last six years, 15 journalists working on corruption stories in these countries were murdered, as reported by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

At the same time, civil society organizations in Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and China are permanently under threat from authorities, it said.

Transparency International stressed that the media are vital to combating corruption, calling for governments to encourage free speech and independent media.

It said international donors should also consider press freedom relevant to development aid or access to international organizations.

Active disclosure of public interest information, including government budgets, company ownership, public procurement and political party finances, also helps in the corruption fight, it said.