Taipei: Taiwan has achieved a notable position on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2024, securing the 25th spot, which aligns with its highest ranking in the past 25 years, as reported by the Agency Against Corruption (ACC) on Tuesday.
According to Focus Taiwan, the CPI 2024 report, published by Transparency International, indicates that Taiwan scored 67 points, maintaining its score from 2023 while advancing three ranks from 28th among the 180 countries and regions evaluated.
In a news release, the ACC highlighted that Taiwan ranked seventh among the 31 countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region. The nations leading in this region include Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Bhutan, and Japan, with scores of 85, 83, 77, 74, 72, and 71, respectively. The ACC further noted that Taiwan's score surpassed 86 percent of all the evaluated countries and regions.
In the 2024 index, Denmark emerged as the highest-ranked country with a score of 90, followed by Finland with 88, Singapore with 84, and New Zealand with 83. Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland shared the fifth position, each scoring 81. The global average score was reported to be 43.
Transparency International Chinese Taipei (TICT) commented that although Taiwan's score remained unchanged from 2023, its improvement in ranking was attributed to the decreased scores of Austria, France, and the United States. TICT observed that Taiwan's score had actually declined from 68 in 2022, suggesting that continued efforts are needed in promoting government integrity.
TICT also remarked that Taiwan was categorized as a "complete democracy" with an "open" civil space, where citizens can express their opinions freely and journalists can report without threat. Nonetheless, Taiwan's score fell short of the average scores for complete democracies and countries with open civil spaces, which were 73 and 70, respectively, signaling a potential concern for the nation.
The CPI is derived from a combination of at least three data sources from 13 different corruption surveys and assessments, gathered by reputable institutions, including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, as stated by Transparency International. Transparency International, established in 1993, aims to "stop corruption and promote transparency, accountability, and integrity at all levels and across all sectors of society," according to its official website.