Bangladesh ranks 13th in most corrupt countries: TIB

Bangladesh has ranked 13th among the most corrupt countries according to global anti-graft movement Transparency International.

The country scored 26 in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).  Bangladesh was 12th in the corruption index last year.   

The information was disclosed by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) during a virtual press conference on Tuesday.

TIB executive director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman presented the CPI report during the press conference.

Mentioning the deficiency of government to implement the zero-tolerance policy against corruption, the report said, the graft in the country was yet to reduce in the country, while the government hardly took any initiative to curb the social menace.

The country is also positioned as the second most corrupt nation among South Asian countries, with Afghanistan being the worst, the report added.

The Transparency International index uses a scale of 0-100 – where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is clean.

Bangladesh's rank counting from the bottom amid 180 countries is 13th in 2021, one step better than the previous year, the TIB report furthered.

Iftekharuzzaman said with its overall performance, Bangladesh's position is "disappointing" in the index.

"A reason behind Bangladesh's disappointing performance is the failure to transform high profile anti-corruption pledges into reality," he added.