On 25 January, the German-based international NGO Transparency International (TI) published its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for the year 2021, measuring sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople. Armenia ranked 59th, Azerbaijan 128th, and Georgia 45th in this year’s edition of the report.

The report emphasised that the corruption levels on a worldwide scale are at a standstill. It underscored that 131 out of 180 countries have made no significant progress against corruption in the last decade. On a regional level, the report underlined that the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are increasing restrictions on accountability measures and basic civil freedoms that allow corruption to go unchecked. Armenia and Georgia were highlighted as “improvers” in the regional context, both scoring above the global average score of 43.

Armenia’s overall score 49, remaining unchanged in comparison to the previous report. It highlighted that Armenia initially made both significant democratic improvements and positive strides against corruption, climbing 15 points on the CPI over the last decade. However, it was also highlighted that in 2021 the promised anti-corruption and judicial reforms in the country stalled in the wake of the political and economic crisis triggered by the pandemic and renewed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Azerbaijan’s overall score was 30, remaining unchanged in comparison to the previous year. The report stated that Azerbaijan’s authorities targeted political opposition and government critics under the pretext of containing the pandemic.

Georgia’s overall score was 55, which was one point worse in comparison to the previous year but remaining the highest ranked country in the region according to the report. The report emphasised that the concentration of power remained a concern in Georgia, stating that the influence of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, over key institutions in the country met the definition of “state capture.” It also added that the GD has in recent years solidified its grasp on the judiciary and law enforcement bodies, effectively “killing the political momentum needed to fight corruption.”

The worst ranked country in the region was Turkmenistan, with an overall score of 19 (169th globally). Russia’s score was 29 (136th), Turkey’s 38 (96th), while Iran’s score was 25 (150th).