Countries by Control of Corruption: Estimate
Denmark leads all 205 ranked countries with a Control of Corruption estimate of 2.38 in 2023, placing it well above the next-highest finisher, Finland, at 2.22. At the opposite end, South Sudan records -1.97, producing a total range of more than 4.3 points between the best and worst performers. That gap reflects the wide dispersion in perceived governance quality captured across the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators dataset.
Ranking 2023
Analysis
Control of Corruption measures the degree to which public power is exercised for private gain, including both petty and grand forms of corruption. The World Bank defines the underlying dataset as follows: 'The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) are a research dataset summarizing the views on the quality of governance provided by a large number of enterprise, citizen and expert survey respondents in industrial and developing countries. Governance consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. This includes the process by which governments are selected, mo[nitored, and replaced].' The indicator code is CC.EST and values are reported as absolute estimates, where higher scores denote less corruption. The 2023 dataset covers 205 countries, with 100% of data points classified as official quality, 100% of countries reporting within the last seven years, and zero extreme outliers detected at the 3-standard-deviation threshold. The full range runs from -1.97 to 2.38, a spread of roughly 220.6%.
The top of the ranking is concentrated in northern and western Europe. Denmark ranks 1st at 2.38, Finland 2nd at 2.22, Norway 3rd at 2.11, and New Zealand 4th at 2.08. Singapore (5th, 2.04) is the only Southeast Asian country in the top ten. Sweden (6th, 2.03) and Switzerland (7th, 2.02) are separated by less than 0.01 points. Luxembourg (8th, 1.93) and the Netherlands (9th, 1.87) follow closely. Outside the top 20 wealthy nations, Seychelles stands out at 14th (1.63) and Bhutan at 20th (1.53), making both notable high performers relative to regional peers. Uruguay (17th, 1.57) is the highest-ranked country in Latin America.
In the middle of the ranking, Botswana (53rd, 0.69) and Rwanda (54th, 0.67) are the strongest performers in sub-Saharan Africa. Six territories including American Samoa, Andorra, Bermuda, Guam, Monaco, and San Marino share an identical score of 1.25 and all occupy rank 27, which reflects a modeled imputation rather than distinct survey data for each. Hungary sits at rank 90 with a score of -0.001, placing it just below the zero threshold alongside China at rank 91 (-0.005). In the lower half, Russia ranks 172nd (-1.10), while Venezuela (202nd, -1.69) and Somalia (203rd, -1.73) precede Syria (204th, -1.75) and South Sudan (205th, -1.97) at the very bottom.
The Control of Corruption estimate is a composite derived from perception-based surveys and expert assessments rather than direct observation of corrupt acts. This means scores reflect views about corruption rather than measured incidence, and can be influenced by media coverage, political events, or shifts in respondent composition. Territories and small jurisdictions with limited survey reach may receive modeled or imputed scores, as illustrated by the six territories sharing an identical value at rank 27. Year-over-year comparisons should be made with caution; the average annual change across the dataset is 37.8%, which is below the 50% volatility threshold but still indicates meaningful fluctuation. The metric does not distinguish between types of corruption, nor does it capture informal or unreported activity that may not appear in surveys.
Methodology
The metric is Control of Corruption: Estimate (indicator code CC.EST), sourced from the World Bank World Development Indicators using data year 2023. Values are absolute estimates where higher scores indicate lower corruption. The source defines the dataset as: 'The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) are a research dataset summarizing the views on the quality of governance provided by a large number of enterprise, citizen and expert survey respondents in industrial and developing countries. Governance consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. This includes the process by which governments are selected, mo[nitored, and replaced].' This ranking covers 205 countries, all of which have data from within the last seven years (100% recency). All 205 data points are classified as official quality (100%). No extreme outliers were identified at the 3-standard-deviation threshold. The value range is -1.97 to 2.38, a spread of 220.6%. Average year-over-year volatility is 37.8%, within the 50% acceptability threshold. Scores are perception-based composites and should not be interpreted as direct measurements of corruption incidence.