According to a report by Transparency International (TI), Denmark is the country with the least corruption in 2025.
This is evident from Denmark's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which has the highest score globally.
The CPI is an index that measures the level of corruption in a country based on the perceptions of experts and business people regarding the misuse of public office, bribery practices, official integrity, and law enforcement.
These perceptions are then converted into a score on a scale of 0-100 points. The higher the score, the more a country is considered free from corruption. Conversely, the lower the score, the more a country is considered corrupt.
In 2025, Denmark achieved a CPI score of 89 points, the highest among the 182 countries surveyed, and far above the global CPI average of just 42 points.
Other countries with high CPI scores globally include Finland, Singapore, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Next are Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Iceland, Australia, Estonia, Hong Kong, and Ireland, with detailed scores as shown in the chart.
"Only a small group of 15 countries, mainly in Western Europe and Asia-Pacific, manage to get scores above 75," said TI in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index report.
"Meanwhile, over two thirds of countries (68 per cent) fall below 50, indicating serious corruption problems in most parts of the planet," they said.
TI also found that countries with full democracy have an average CPI score of 71 points.
While countries with flawed democracy have an average score of 47 points, and authoritarian countries have an average score of 32 points.
"The broader picture shows that democracy and strong, independent institutions are crucial for combatting corruption fully, effectively and sustainably," said TI.