The Republic of Moldova has ranked 78th out of 180 countries in the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), scoring 43 points. Moldova’s “ranking neighbors” include Bulgaria and China (both with 43 points) and Albania (42). Estonia scored 76 points, Lithuania 63, Latvia 59, Romania 46, and Hungary 41.
Denmark leads the CPI 2024 with a score of 90 points, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84). At the bottom of the ranking are fragile, conflict-affected states such as South Sudan (8), Somalia (9), Venezuela (10), and Syria (12).
Over the past five years, several countries have significantly improved their CPI scores, including Côte d’Ivoire (45), the Dominican Republic (36), Kosovo (44), Kuwait (46), the Maldives (38), Moldova (43), and Zambia (39). Meanwhile, some nations have seen notable declines, such as Austria (67), Switzerland (81), the United Kingdom (71), Belgium (69), the United States (65), Belarus (33), Kyrgyzstan (25), Russia (22), Sri Lanka (32), and Venezuela (10).
Corruption and the Climate Crisis
Corruption and the climate crisis—two of humanity’s challenges—are closely linked. Amid record global warming and extreme weather events, the erosion of democracy and declining global leadership have worsened efforts to combat climate change. Corruption makes this fight even more difficult. Most countries highly vulnerable to climate change have a CPI score below 50.
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Transparency International warns that billions of dollars in climate funds are at risk of being stolen or misused. Millions of people face unnecessary risks as corruption undermines climate projects meant to protect them. For instance, in South Africa (41), over $56 million is stolen monthly from Eskom, the state-owned energy supplier. In Somalia (9), climate change has devastated the country’s agricultural economy.
The human cost of corruption is also rising—environmental activists frequently face intimidation, violence, and even murder. Nearly all 1,013 killings of environmental defenders recorded in 2019 occurred in countries with CPI scores below 50. The international community must take strong measures to increase transparency and accountability to ensure the effective use of climate funds.
The 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, released by Transparency International, highlights that global corruption remains alarmingly high while anti-corruption efforts are weakening. The ranking assesses 180 countries and territories based on 13 external sources, including seven specific to Moldova. The CPI reflects perceived public sector corruption, as said by experts and businesspeople, using a scale from 0 (total corruption) to 100 (completely corruption-free).
More than two-thirds of the countries in CPI 2024 scored below 50, meaning that approximately 6.8 billion people—85% of the world’s 8 billion population—live in countries with significant corruption issues. The global average remains unchanged at 43 points, underscoring the urgent need for anti-corruption measures and warning of a critical global obstacle to implementing climate action.