Turkey is ranked 78th out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2018 released by Transparency International on Tuesday, Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported.
Scoring 41 on a scale of 100, Turkey was put in the category of “Countries to Watch.”
The report also pointed out that Turkey was among five countries that showed the sharpest decline in the CPI over the last five years, along with Hungary, Syria, Bahrain and St. Lucia.
Transparency International’s analysis with regard to Turkey established a direct correlation between perceived corruption and the issues of rule of law, freedom of the press, the strength of civil society and freedom of assembly as well as freedom of speech, arguing that the violations that occur in these areas prevent the country from rising above the global average.
Lack of separation of powers, lack of judicial independence, non-observance of the merit system, tender and privatization processes that go against the laws on public procurement in disregard of the public interest and the constant weakening of essential democratic institutions were also cited in the analysis as outstanding problems that led Turkey to be categorized with countries lacking democratic traditions.
The CPI report also observed an overall increase in global corruption, with two-thirds of the countries scoring below 50 on the scale of 100.
Scandinavian countries dominated the top of the list with Denmark ranking first, followed by New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and Finland, while South Sudan, Syria and Somalia shared the lowest rankings.