Pakistan’s ranking on corruption perception index improves 1 spot: Transparency International

2026-02-10 - 07:06

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s ranking on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2025 has improved by one spots to reach 136 in 2025 out of 182 countries, according to a report released by Transparency International on Tuesday. The CPI ranks 182 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The score for Pakistan increased by one points from 27 in CPI 2024 to 28 in CPI 2025. Meanwhile, the Transparency International Pakistan has conducted National Corruption Perception Surveys. The NCPS 2025 comprises the perception of levels and frequency of corruption perceived by the Pakistani Citizens. TI Pakistan conducted National Corruption Perception Survey 2025 through its Partner Organizations, in all four provinces from 22 September 2025 to 29 September 2025 with 4000 respondents (1000 respondents from each Province). This survey is the perception of the public on important governance issues. This year’s NCPS shows that a majority of citizens (66%) did not pay a bribe to access public service in the past 12 months. At the institutional level, NCPS 2025 highlights a notable improvement in public perception of the Police, with a 6% positive shift compared to 2023. This improvement is significant given the larger sample size—4000 respondents in 2025 versus 1,600 in 2023. At the same time, 77% emphasize low satisfaction with government’s efforts to combat corruption. According to the national data, the police is perceived as the most corrupt sector in Pakistan (24%). At provincial level, the highest perception of corruption in police is in Punjab (34%), followed by Balochistan (22%), Sindh (21%) and Khyber Pakhunkhwa (20%). Tender and procurement ranks second at national level (16%), with Balochistan showing the highest concern (23%) at provincial level, followed by KP (18%), Sindh (14%) and Punjab (9%). While the Judiciary ranks third nationally in perceived corruption (14%). Provincially, in Sindh and Balochistan, public perception of corruption in judiciary is relatively lower at 12% each, whereas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa it is (18%) and Punjab (17%). Nationally, half of respondents (57%) reported that their purchasing power has decreased over the past 12 months, whereas, (43%) of the respondents feel that their purchasing power has increased. At the national level, wide majority (40%) partially and (18%) fully agree that the government has successfully stabilized the economy through the IMF agreement and exiting the FATF grey list. Nationally, three major causes of corruption in Pakistan as per the citizens are: lack of accountability (15%), lack of transparency and limited access to information (15%), and delays in the disposal of corruption cases (14%). At the national level, majority of respondents (59%) perceive the provincial governments to be more corrupt, compared to 41% who point to local governments. This view is shared in Punjab by (70%), Balochistan (58%), Khyber Pakhunkhwa (55%) and Sindh (54%). It added that an overwhelming 78% of respondents nationwide believe that there should be accountability of anticorruption bodies such as NAB and FIA, reflecting a strong public desire for greater oversight and integrity within these institutions. At provincial level, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (82%), Punjab/Sindh (79%) and Balochistan (73%) citizens support accountability of anti-corruption agencies. Among those advocating accountability, the top reasons cited include lack of transparency in investigations by anticorruption bodies (35%), absence of independent oversight of anti-corruption bodies (33%), and misuse of anti-corruption bodies powers for political victimization (32%). The three key measures to curb corruption in Pakistan as per NCPS 2025 are: enhancing accountability (26%), limiting discretionary powers (23%) and strengthening Right to Information laws (20%) in the country. NCPS 2025 revealed that 33% of respondents consider provincial Anti-Corruption Establishments (ACEs) as “non-effective” in combating corruption at the provincial level, whereas, 34% of respondents view them as less effective, indicating the need for enhancing the role of provincial anti-corruption establishments in the fight against corruption. At the provincial level, 39% of respondents in Sindh and 37% in Punjab consider anti-corruption establishments as ineffective in combating corruption. Whereas, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (38%) and Balochistan (31%) consider provincial anti-corruption establishments as “less effective”. The survey also revealed that majority of respondents (77%) were not satisfied with the governments efforts to combat corruption in the country. At provincial levels, Balochistan (80%), Punjab (78%), Khyber Pakhunkhwa (75%) and Sindh (75%) respondents are not satisfied with the government’s efforts to address corruption. As per NCPS 2025, majority of respondents nationally (67%) believe that corrupt or unethical practices in the healthcare sector have a very high impact on people’s lives. Provincially, this perception is highest among citizens in Sindh (69%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (68%), Balochistan (67%) and Punjab (63%). At the national level, 38% of respondents identify hospitals, 23% identify doctors and 21% identify pharmaceuticals as the main site of corruption in the health sector in Pakistan. At provincial level, 49% in Sindh, 46% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 32% in Balochistan consider corruption most prevalent in hospitals. Punjab reports a lower proportion at 26% when it comes to prevalence of corruption in the hospitals. Similarly, Balochistan (35%), Punjab (21%), Khyber Pakhthunkhwa (18%) and Sindh (17%) respondents consider corruption to be most prevalent among the doctors. On prevalence of corruption among pharmaceuticals, Punjab shows highest perception among respondents (30%), followed by Khyber Pakhtukhwa (21%), Sindh (17%) and Balochistan (15%). NCPS 2025 reveals that majority of respondents nationally (55%) support a complete ban on the use of political parties’ names and leadership pictures in public advertisements. Nationally, 42% of respondents believe they would feel safe reporting corruption if strong whistleblower protection laws were in place, the survey revealed. Nationally, an overwhelming 70% of respondents are unaware of any official reporting mechanisms to report corruption and corrupt practices. The findings are consistent across all provinces; Balochistan (76%) Khyber Pakhthunkhwa (73%), Sindh (68%) and Punjab (64%) respondents feel they are unaware about corruption reporting channels. Among the respondents who are aware about corruption reporting channels (30%), only 43% have ever reported corruption or unethical practice. The NCPS 2025 revealed that (51%) respondents at national level believe that the NGOs, hospitals, trusts, medical testing laboratories, educational institutions and other charitable organizations receiving tax exemptions from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should not charge any fees from the public. Majority of respondents nationally (53%) believe that tax-exempted charitable institutions should publicly disclose the names of their donors and donation amounts on their website.