Tajikistan recognized as one of the most corrupt countries in the region

In the international corruption perception ranking, Tajikistan ranked second to last in the region. The situation is only worse in Turkmenistan.

At the end of January this year, the international anti-corruption organization Transparency International published the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2023. According to this data, Tajikistan has worsened its position, dropping four places. The country ranked 162nd out of 180 countries and scored only 20 points, compared to 24 points in 2022.

Tajikistan is positioned among countries such as Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Sudan, and Myanmar, which also scored 20 points and ranked 162nd.

The report notes that Tajikistan has fallen among authoritarian states, which are at a historical low this year.

The report uses a scale from zero to 100, where 0 corresponds to a very high level of corruption, and 100 corresponds to a very low level of corruption.

The report was published at a time when the authorities of Tajikistan constantly claim that they are resolutely fighting against corruption.

In 2021, a presidential decree established the “State Strategy for Combating Corruption in the Republic of Tajikistan for the period until 2030.”

However, despite this, compared to 2021, Tajikistan has dropped 5 positions in the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International.

Experts believe this indicates that bribery, nepotism, clannishness, and abuse of power are even more rampant in Tajikistan.

The report also notes that neighboring Kyrgyzstan ranked 141st with 26 points, dropping one position compared to 2022, while Turkmenistan scored only 18 points and ranked 170th. However, Uzbekistan rose 2 positions with 33 points, ranking 121st. Kazakhstan also improved its position, scoring 39 points, and is tied with India at 93rd place.

According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, a troubling situation has developed in Central Asia, considering that the region faces issues such as the lack of the rule of law, rising authoritarianism, and systemic corruption. Authoritarian control by ruling elites over state institutions is widespread, with corruption serving the purposes of maintaining power and evading accountability. The low scores of the countries in the region reflect systemic deficiencies in governance and a lack of independent oversight, where corruption thrives at various levels of society and the state, against a backdrop of violations of civil and political rights, as noted in the report.

“Corruption will thrive as long as justice systems do not begin to punish offenses and keep governments in check. Where justice is bribed or subjected to political interference, ordinary people suffer. Leaders must direct all efforts towards ensuring the independence of institutions that uphold the law and fight corruption. It is time to put an end to the impunity of corruption,” emphasized François Valérian, chair of Transparency International.

Transparency International called on countries around the world to ensure the independence, resources, and transparency of judicial systems necessary for effectively punishing all corruption-related crimes, to guarantee the principle of checks and balances on power, and to implement more sophisticated procedures and laws to help justice authorities protect themselves from and combat corrupt actions.

Transparency International is a non-governmental international organization dedicated to combating corruption and researching the level of corruption worldwide, headquartered in Berlin.

Each year, the organization publishes various studies on corruption, including the Global Corruption Barometer and the Corruption Perceptions Index.