The Philippines has ranked 115th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International, scoring 34 out of 100.

While it improved its score by 1 point from 33 in 2022, the Philippines’ score still remains below the global average score of 43.

According to Transparency International, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) “is the most widely used global corruption ranking in the world” and “measures how corrupt each country’s public sector is perceived to be, according to experts and business people.”

On a scale of 0-100, a country is scored according to the perceived level of public sector corruption, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.

According to the report: “Over two-thirds of countries score below 50 out of 100, which strongly indicates that they have serious corruption problems. The global average is stuck at only 43, while the vast majority of countries have made no progress or declined in the last decade.“

The Philippines’ score hardly moved in recent years, scoring 34 in 2019 and 2020, and 33 in 2021 and 2022.

The CPI uses data sources that cover the following manifestations of public sector corruption : Bribery, Diversion of public funds, Officials using their public office for private gain without facing consequences; Ability of governments to contain corruption in the public sector; Excessive red tape in the public sector which may increase opportunities for corruption; Nepotistic appointments in the civil service; Laws ensuring that public officials must disclose their finances and potential conflicts of interest; and Legal protection for people who report cases of bribery and corruption, among others