The United States registered a historic low in an important global ranking on corruption, marking its worst position since the implementation of the current methodology in 2012. The country fell to 29th place among 182 nations evaluated in the Corruption Perception Index, prepared by the German NGO Transparency International.
The index measures the perception of independent experts and businesspeople about the levels of corruption in the public sector. In the current classification, the United States appears tied with the Bahamas and is behind nations such as Uruguay, Lithuania and Barbados.
For the eighth consecutive year, it was considered the nation with the lowest perception of corruption in the public sector.
The contrast between the Nordic countries, which traditionally occupy the top positions, and the American decline raises questions about the factors that have contributed to this negative perception of public institutions in the United States.
The Corruption Perception Index is considered one of the main global tools for assessing how different countries deal with corrupt practices in their public institutions.
The methodology allows for consistent comparisons over the years, making the fall of the United States even more significant as it represents a deteriorating trend in the perception of the integrity of American institutions.
