Iceland Maintains Top-Ten Spot in Global Corruption Index

2026-02-11 - 12:57

Iceland has retained its position among the world’s least-perceived-corrupt nations in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by Transparency International – Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 official report. As reported by RÚV, the country scored 77 points on the CPI’s 0-to-100 scale, placing it joint 10th out of 182 countries and territories assessed; the same rank and score as last year. What's the Story? Iceland ranked joint 10th out of 182 countries in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, scoring 77 points Denmark ranked first with 89 points; South Sudan and Somalia ranked lowest with 9 points Index based on assessments by foreign experts and domestic officials, using a 0–100 scale measuring perceived public-sector corruption The Ministry of Finance Fjármálaráðuneytið. Photo: Golli Least, moderate, high The CPI measures experts’ and business leaders’ views of public-sector corruption, where higher scores denote perceptions of cleaner governance. Denmark topped the 2025 index with 89 points, followed by Finland on 88. Singapore (84), New Zealand (81) and several other European states also scored highly. South Sudan and Somalia were joint lowest with nine points. According to the CPI methodology, rankings reflect assessments across multiple independent sources and offer a comparative view of how corruption is perceived in the public sector globally. Scores and positions can shift only marginally from year to year. Iceland’s continued presence in the top tier suggests a stable perception of public-sector transparency relative to most countries worldwide. Observers note the index does not directly measure actual corruption but rather the perception of it among informed respondents.