Guyana up by one point on TI index, flagged for harassment of media, civil society

While Guyana has gone up by one point from 39 to 40 on the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) Report 2025, the country was flagged for “harassment and intimidation of independent media and civil society” which “curtail oversight and accountability”.

The country is now ranked 84 out of the 184 countries included in the report ranked by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The results are given on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

The report of the Germany-based transparency group was released today.

In the Americas the CPI report found that there was no progress in the fight against corruption as the region scored an average of 42 out of 100. According to the report, since 2012, 12 of the 33 countries have significantly worsened, “while only Dominican Republic (37) and Guyana (40) have significantly improved, highlighting a decade of stalled or reversed efforts”. It was pointed out that years of government inaction in the region have eroded democracy, enabled organised crimes, and directly harmed citizens by undermining human rights, public services, and security.

In the fifth full year of the PPP/C’s government, the perception of corruption in Guyana saw a slight reduction as the country received a one-point increase in its score in the CPI index.

Last year, Guyana’s score was 39 and it ranked 92 out of the 180 countries compared to 87 and 85 in 2023 and 2022 respectively.

The 2023 report, as in 2022,  had concluded that the country had improved slightly and had again given it a score of 40, which was one point higher than 2021’s score.

In 2021 the country went down by two points from the previous year with a score of 39 and ranking of 87 out of 180 countries.

From 2012 Guyana saw scores of 28, 27, 30, 29, 34, 38, 37, 40, 41 and 39 with 2022, 2023 and 2025 seeing scores of 40.

Last year as well the report found that in Guyana state capture by economic and political elites “fosters misappropriation of resources, illicit enrichment and an environmental crime”.

“Although the country has created anti-corruption institutions and laws, transparency and law enforcement are very low, and attacks on dissenting voices, activists and journalists are increasingly common,” the report had said of Guyana.

Guyana still remains way below the leaders in the region, Barbados (68) and The Bahamas (64).  It is also below Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada and St Lucia.  Suriname, which has been above Guyana for some years has now dropped to 38.

 

The CPI report shows that corruption remains a serious threat in every part of the world, although there are limited signs of progress.

“Leaders must act to tackle abuses of power and the wider factors driving this decline, such as the roll-back of democratic checks and balances, and attacks on independent civil society,” the report said.

It pointed out that anti-government protests in many parts of the world show that people are fed up with unaccountable leadership and are demanding reform.

This year, the highest ranked nation was Denmark (89), for the eighth time in a row, with a score of 89. Only a small group of 15 countries, mainly in Western Europe and Asia-Pacific, manage to get scores above 75.

“Of these, just five reach scores above 80. Meanwhile, over two thirds of countries (68 per cent) fall below 50, indicating serious corruption problems in most parts of the planet. At the bottom of the index, the countries scoring below 25 are mostly conflict-affected and highly repressive countries, such as Venezuela (10) and the lowest scorers, Somalia and South Sudan, which both score nine,” the report said.

According to the report while 31 countries have significantly reduced their corruption levels since 2012, “the rest are failing to tackle the problem – they have stayed stagnant or got worse during the same period. The global average has fallen to a new low of 42, while more than two-thirds of countries score below 50. And people are paying the price, as corruption leads to under-funded hospitals, unbuilt flood defences and blights the hopes and dreams of young people”.

And there is a concerning picture of long-term decline in leadership to tackle corruption. Even established democracies, like the US, UK and New Zealand, are experiencing a drop in performance. The absence of bold leadership is leading to weaker standards and enforcement, lowering ambition on anti-corruption efforts around the world.

“At the same time, many states are increasing restrictions on civic space. By making it hard or dangerous for citizens, NGOs and journalists to challenge abuses of power, they are reducing transparency and accountability. This allows corruption to flourish,” it added.