Uzbekistan’s anti-corruption progress stalls as country drops in 2025 global index

The annual index, published by the Berlin-based international non-governmental organization, assesses perceived levels of public sector corruption worldwide. In the 2025 edition, Uzbekistan’s 31-point result places it 124th globally, down from 121st in 2024, when it scored 32 points.

Despite the latest setback, Uzbekistan’s long-term trajectory shows gradual improvement compared to previous years. In 2016, the country ranked 156th with 21 points. Since then, it has steadily climbed in the rankings, reaching 121st place in both 2023 (33 points) and 2024 (32 points), before slipping again in 2025.

Uzbekistan’s CPI performance in recent years:

• 2016 – 156th place (21 points)
• 2017 – 157th (22 points)
• 2018 – 158th (23 points)
• 2019 – 153rd (25 points)
• 2020 – 146th (26 points)
• 2021 – 140th (28 points)
• 2022 – 126th (31 points)
• 2023 – 121st (33 points)
• 2024 – 121st (32 points)
• 2025 – 124th (31 points)

Global leaders and laggards

Denmark topped the 2025 ranking with 89 points, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84). New Zealand and Norway shared fourth place with 81 points each. Sweden and Switzerland scored 80, while Luxembourg and the Netherlands received 78 points. Germany rounded out the top ten with 77 points.

At the lower end of the index, Nicaragua, Sudan, Eritrea, Libya, Yemen, Venezuela, Somalia and South Sudan ranked among the worst performers globally.

Russia recorded 22 points, matching its historical low, and shared 157th place with Chad, Honduras and Zimbabwe.

Central Asia: mixed performance amid regional challenges

Among Central Asian states, Kazakhstan ranked 96th, Kyrgyzstan 142nd, Tajikistan 166th and Turkmenistan 167th.

Transparency International noted that Eastern Europe and Central Asia remain among the lowest-performing regions worldwide, with an average score of just 34 out of 100. According to the report, weak institutions and democratic backsliding have contributed to rising corruption levels and shrinking civic space across the region.

The organization said impunity for corruption is often sustained by vested interests that have captured governments and public institutions.

In Central Asia, the report highlights continued repression and increasing restrictions on civil society. In Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, civil society organizations, particularly non-governmental organizations, face tightening legal constraints. In Kazakhstan, concerns have also grown over the opaque dissolution of the anti-corruption service and the transfer of its functions to the National Security Committee, raising questions about independence, accountability and oversight.

Regarding Uzbekistan, Transparency International acknowledged that official reforms have delivered some progress. However, journalists and bloggers who expose corruption continue to face risks of harassment or prosecution, which the organization says undermines the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts.

Transparency International was founded in 1993 by former World Bank officials and has published the Corruption Perceptions Index annually since 1995.