'Glaring warning sign' - Israel falls five places in 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index

Israel dropped to 35th place in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index out of 182 countries ranked.

Israel received 62 points out of a theoretical maximum of 100, falling five spots from last year, when it ranked 30th. Despite the decline, Israel’s new ranking is still one place better than in 2021, when it placed 36th.

Retired judge Dafna Avnieli, who heads Transparency International Israel, assessed that Israel’s drop in the ranking constitutes “a glaring warning sign.” Avnieli argued that the country’s lower ranking this year stems from a failure to implement a clear separation of powers and protect institutional watchdogs. She further added that Israeli politicians increasingly tend to put political survival above the public interest, conduct that leads to higher corruption.

Critics in Israel and abroad have argued that the Netanyahu government’s judicial reform plans have undermined Israel’s democratic institutions and thereby contributed to the growing corruption level. A Start-Up Nation Central (SNC) report revealed in 2023 that the government’s judicial reform plans had a negative impact on the Israeli tech sector. The reason was reportedly eroding trust in Israeli institutions among foreign and Israeli investors. The Israeli tech sector is widely seen as the main growth engine of the Israeli economy and the sector that is best integrated into the wider global economy. 

As in previous years, Denmark was ranked first as the world’s least corrupt country with 89 points. The top 10 list was dominated by Nordic and European countries, including Finland (second), Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany. The only non-European countries in the top 10 were Singapore (third) and New Zealand (fourth).

The annual index this year highlighted the impact of corruption on the erosion of democratic values in societies. The new ranking signals rising corruption levels worldwide. A whopping 140 countries scored below 50 points, which the index considers a “red line” for high corruption.

Transparency International CEO Maíra Martini expressed concerns about the growing levels of corruption around the world. 

“At a time when we see dangerous disregard for international norms by some governments,” Martini warned, “we call on leaders to act with integrity and meet their responsibility to provide a better future for people around the world."

Martini stressed that growing corruption is not inevitable and she called on nations worldwide to respect democratic values for the sake of the public. 

The United States dropped to 29th place with 64 points, while the United Kingdom fell to 20th with 70 points. Japan was ranked 18th and France 27th. Italy slipped to 52nd with 53 points, just three above the index’s 50‑point “red line.”

The United Arab Emirates ranked 21st, the highest position in the Middle East. Among others, China placed 75th, Turkey 127th, Iran 154th and Russia 158th. At the bottom of the index, the world’s most corrupt countries were South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela, followed by Libya and Yemen.