Panama is level with Sierra Leone and at one of its lowest points in the  Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International (TI), released Tuesday, January 30, 2024, in Berlin. 

In the perception index (in which “0” is the opaquest score and “100” is the most transparent), Panama obtained 35 points, dropping one point from its previous rating (in 2022) and now occupies position 108 in a list of 180 countries evaluated.

“The lack of judicial independence undermines the rule of law, encourages corruption, and leads to impunity for the corrupt and the powerful. Given that the average score for the region remains at 43 and that two-thirds of countries are below 50, it is imperative to address this issue to effectively fight corruption,” the report states.

In the perception index (in which “0” is the opaquest score and “100” is the most transparent), Panama obtained 35 points, dropping one point from its previous rating.

Panama returns to the same score it had in 2013 and 2020. Its best rating so far has been 39, which it obtained in the 2015 index.

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The best positioned in the 2023 ranking are Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand, with 90, 87 and 85 points, respectively. The three worst in the world are Somalia (11 points) Venezuela and Syria, both tied with 13 points.

At the regional level, the best qualified are Canada (76 points), Uruguay (73), and the United States and Barbados, tied with 69 points. The worst is Venezuela, followed by Haiti and Nicaragua, both with 13 points.

“The lack of judicial independence undermines the rule of law, encourages corruption, and leads to impunity for the corrupt and the powerful. Given that the average score for the region remains at 43 and that two-thirds of countries are below 50, it is imperative to address this issue to effectively fight corruption,” the report states.

Panama returns to the same score it had in 2013 and 2020. Its best rating so far has been 39, which it obtained in the 2015 index.

Panama is the same as Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Nepal, Sierra Leone, and Thailand, which also received 35 points.