Turkey falls behind Zambia and Gambia

For Turkey, which ranked 115th out of 180 countries, this represents the worst corruption perception in its history. Turkey was in 101st place last year. Denmark topped the list, while Somalia was at the bottom.

Since 1995, Transparency International has been measuring corruption perceptions in numerous countries by consulting with country experts and business representatives.

According to a report by the BBC, the organization stated in its assessment of Turkey that "Turkey's rapid decline since 2015 stems from the executive branch becoming very powerful and the erosion of democratic checks and balances."

The organization reported that laws to prevent corruption in Turkey are inadequate, there is a reluctance to implement these laws, and the judiciary is not independent.

Recalling the buildings destroyed in the February 6 earthquakes, the organization stated, "The tragic consequences of the February 2023 earthquakes show that the cost of corruption can be measured in human lives."

The organization's Turkey chapter also said, "Unfortunately, it does not seem very possible to say that we have been able to learn the necessary lessons from the earthquake in the approximately one year that has passed."

In the index, where countries are given a score between 0 and 100, a higher score indicates a lower perception of corruption.

Turkey's score peaked at 50 in 2013. The Transparency Association, the organization's Turkey chapter, stated in its press release, "Fundamental violations regarding budget transparency and accountability in the use of public resources continue. Oppressive policies against the media, civil society, and social movements are also an inseparable part of the picture."

Turkey is included in the organization's Eastern Europe and Central Asia category. The average score for this region is 35, one point above Turkey. Countries such as Georgia, Albania, Belarus, and Moldova have higher scores than Turkey.

The European Union's average score is 64, nearly double that of Turkey. The countries with the worst scores within the EU are Hungary with 42, Bulgaria with 45, and Romania with 46.

The organization's recommendations for Turkey are as follows:

"To bring corruption under control, checks and balances in the country's administration must be strengthened, and the judiciary must be quickly restored to an independent and impartial structure. Turkey must fulfill its obligations arising from international conventions; it must quickly return to the European Union accession process; and practices that rapidly erode democratic principles and values must be ended."

At the top of the global index are Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, and Norway; at the bottom are Somalia, Venezuela, Syria, and South Sudan.