Armenia has shown slight improvement according to Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) out this week. The German-based NGO ranks countries “by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.” Armenia scored 47 out of 100 points on a scale in which a higher number means less perceived corruption. This score is the second-highest of any country in the Eastern European and Central Asia region, with only Georgia ranking higher at 53 points after a decline of 3 points from last year.
Armenia’s result is one point better than last year, and is just one of only 28 countries which managed to improve its score from last year. This puts Armenia in 62nd place globally, ahead of European Union aspirants like Moldova and Ukraine, and even EU members Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. Also in the neighborhood, Azerbaijan ranks 154rd out of 180 with 23 points, Russia is in 141st with 26 points, and Turkey is in 115th with 34 points. Armenia has improved 12 points in the index since Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan came to power in 2018.
However, Transparency International warned that progress against corruption in Armenia now appears to be stalling, primarily due to the limited implementation of anti-corruption reforms put in place by Pashinyan’s administration. This year’s one-point progress is not statistically significant as it is within the range of statistical deviation.
In a press conference yesterday, the head of Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center in Armenia Varuzhan Hoktanyan reflected on the result stating: “We had serious growth in 2018-2019 and the situation had improved quite a bit, it was a powerful result. This was followed by stagnation, then decline. Now it remains the same as it was last year.”
Hoktanyan explained that the index is related to people’s perception of corruption, which can be deceptive with psychological factors playing a role. He added that while the perception of corruption is still not as low as the pre-revolutionary period, the overall decline since 2018 was the result of the revolution’s effects not meeting expectations. He pointed to the conflict and security threats faced by Armenia over the past years as having played a role in this regression and stagnation.
Each country’s score in the CPI is based on a combination of data from corruption surveys and assessments from institutions such as the World Bank, and covers various aspects such as bribery, diversion of public funds, officials using their public office for private gain without negative consequences, and access to information on government activities.
