Cuba in 45th place according to the world ranking of corruption

Cuba is among the 50 most corrupt countries in the world, according to theCorruption Perception Index 2022 prepared by the NGO Transparency International.

The score placed the island in 45th place out of 100, where 100 indicates the least corrupt country and number one indicates the greatest problem with this evil. Cuba evenfell one point compared to 2021, points out the list.

For its part, the ranking, which has become the mainglobal indicator of corruption in the public sector, points out the island in 65th place among 180 nations.

The classification is led worldwide by New Zealand, Finland and Denmark as the least corrupt countries, due to the solidity of democratic institutions and respect for human rights that also make them top the list of the most peaceful nations in the world, according to the Global Peace Index.

South Sudan, Syria andSomalia, were identified as the three most corrupt countries in the world, which coincides with the prolonged conflicts in those territories.

The countries that fell the most in the index over the last year were Luxembourg, Canada, the United Kingdom, Austria, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, as well asHonduras, Nicaragua and Haiti in Latin America.

"Despite concerted efforts and hard-won achievements by some, 155 countries have made no significant progress against corruption or have declined since 2012," it said.

Explain ina note that world peace has been deteriorating for 15 years and corruption has been both a cause and a key result of that process.

"Corruption undermines the ability of governments to protect people and erodes public trust, leading to security threats that are increasingly difficult to control. On the other hand, conflicts create opportunities for corruption and subvert the efforts of governments for stopping her," the report explained.

Likewise, it recommends that governments open spaces forinclude citizens in decision making, from activists and businessmen tomarginalized communities and young people, so that everyone as a whole can actively confront corruption.

"In democratic societies, people can raise their voices to help root out corruption and demand a safer world for all," says Transparency International.

Since its creation in 1995, the indexassigns a score to 180 countriesand territories around the world based on perceptions of corruption in the public sector, using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, private consulting and risk assessment companies, think tanks and others. The scores reflect the perspectives of experts and business owners.

The process for calculating the CPI is reviewed periodically to ensure the greatest possible robustness and consistency. The most recent review was carried out by the European Commission's Joint Research Center in 2017.

Although the analysis does not focus on the Cuban case, the island's citizens perceive that corruption is at all levels.

Havana lost more than 63 million pesos in 2021 due to cases of corruption and crimes in companies and state entities. The coordinator of Inspection and Control in the province, Orestes Llanes Mestre, said that that year the capital government received 361 complaints, including complaints, denunciations and anonymous ones.