As one of the leading global civil society organizations in the fight against corruption, Transparency International have been publishing Corruption Perception Index annually since 1995. Transparency International is active in 118 countries across the globe.
Turkey keeps declining in the Corruption Perception Index!
Turkey’s score and rank in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has been decreasing rapidly since 2013. According to the 2017 CPI results, Turkey’s score decreased by 1 point to 40, and its rank decreased to 81 out of 180 countries. Turkey has been declining in the index for 4 consecutive years and has lost 10 points and 28 ranks between 2012-2017.
Turkey has the lowest score when compared to the European Union member states. Turkey ranks 13th in G20 countries and its score is second lowest among 35 OECD member states.
New Zealand (89), Denmark (88) and Finland (85) have scored the highest in the CPI 2017. Syria (14), South Sudan (12) and Somalia (9) have the lowest scores in 2017. Five countries that have lost the most points in the index between 2012 and 2017 are; Saint Lucia (-16), Bahrain (-15), Syria (-12), Turkey (-10) and Guinea (-8).
2017 results once again prove that perception regarding corruption is directly related to rule of law, press freedom, civil society strength, freedom of association and speech. Violations in these areas have concerning outcomes for corruption perception. Violation of the Public Procurement Law, countless changes introduced and new exceptions defined are paving the way to systemic failures and undermining fundamental institutions for good governance. In the previous year, 40% of investments and procurement of goods and services were concluded outside the scope of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and in 27.7% that was in the scope of the PPA, open tendering methods were not used. Countless cases of nepotism and clientelism in public appointments and promotions in 2017 are also among the prominent reasons behind the erosion Turkey is experiencing in the Corruption Perception Index.
Transparency International Board Member and Transparency International Turkey Chair E. Oya Özarslan have argued that,
“Turkey losing 10 points in the last 5 years have put 28 countries ahead of us in the index and this damages our competitiveness in the global arena. Rule of law, transparency and accountability are the only way out of this situation”.
Methodology of the Corruption Perception Index
Corruption Perception Index 2017 was prepared using the research of at least 3 international institutions and portrays the perceptions of experts, civil society organizations, representatives of business and public sector on corruption. According to the research methodology, 0 represents the highest corruption perception and 100 represents the lowest corruption perception.
This year, Turkey’s score was identified by the contents and results from 8 international surveys: Global Insight Country Risk Ratings, Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index, IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, Bertelsmann Foundation Sustainable Governance Index, World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, PRS International Country Risk Guide, Varieties of Democracy Project, Economist Intelligence Unit Country Ratings
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