Geneva, November 03, 2021 – Global Risk Profile (GRP) releases the 2021 Global Corruption Index (GCI). This index is the fourth edition providing an assessment on the state of corruption and other white-collar crimes throughout the world.
This new release comes with major enhancements, including additional measures of risk. The “White Collar Crime” sub-index is enriched with data on banking secrecy, sanctions, international cooperation and beneficial ownership transparency, among others. Along with these developments, professionals will benefit from improved customization possibilities to meet specific needs and concerns.
The 2021 edition of the GCI is also the first to be issued based on data collected post-declaration of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Although a causal effect cannot be inferred, the health crisis is in parallel with a higher perception of corruption and an overall decline in government effectiveness between 2020 and 2021.
This year, Finland ranks on top of the GCI, followed by Norway, New Zealand, Denmark and Sweden. These five countries have been competing in the upper echelon for the last 3 years, consolidating their leading positions in the GCI.
The European continent remains the best performing region, with the lowest risk score (29.7), well ahead of Oceania (39.6) and North America (43.6), respectively 2nd and 3rd in the regional ranking.
The best performers by region are Canada for North America, Uruguay for South America, Finland for Europe, Mauritius for Africa, Singapore for Asia and New Zealand for Oceania.
The United States rank 35th out of 196 countries and territories, while China and Russia stand at the 118th and 120th positions respectively.
High achievers ranked in the top positions of the GCI, such as the UK (8th), the Netherlands (11th), Switzerland (12th), Germany (14th) and Luxembourg (17th), are pulled back due to poor performance in the “White Collar Crimes” sub-index, which notably measures risks related to money laundering and terrorism financing.
Luxembourg presents the highest gap among the top 20 best performers of the GCI, losing 50 ranks between the “Corruption” sub-index (9th) and the “White Collar Crimes” (59th) sub-index. Similarly, Switzerland ranks 6th in terms of corruption, but its position tumbles to 47th for other white collar crimes. This raises awareness on the importance of going beyond corruption by adding other white collar crime measures to obtain a more complete and nuanced risk assessment on a global level.
Countries presenting the highest risks in the GCI are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Libya, Syria and North Korea coming in last.
The complete 2021 GCI results, including interactive data visualization and technical documentation, are available on a dedicated website: risk-indexes.com/global-corruption-index
About the GCI
Since 2018, the Global Corruption Index (GCI) measures both public and private corruption (based on its perception and experience) as well as other white-collar crimes, such as money laundering and terrorism financing issues. Featuring up-to-date data, the GCI’s 2021 edition offers a risk score, rank and evaluation for as many as 196 countries and territories based on a set of 43 variables.
About GRP
Global Risk Profile (GRP) is a leading Swiss company specializing in third-party risk management related services. Since its foundation in 2009, GRP places Due Diligence at the heart of its activities. Its services now range from compliance software solutions to Due Diligence checks and investigations with various coverage and scope, suitable for both multinationals and small businesses.