Pakistan’s ranking on the global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) slipped to 136 out of 182 countries in 2025, according to Transparency International (TI), which also identified the country as a dangerous place for journalists investigating corruption.
Pakistan’s Corruption Ranking
The 2025 report, covering 182 countries and territories, represents a one-rank decline for Pakistan compared to the previous year. Despite the drop in ranking, Pakistan’s score on the CPI marginally improved from 27 to 28. The country remains categorized among nations perceived as highly corrupt, alongside Bolivia and Iraq.
Pakistan’s score of 28 is below its recent high of 33, achieved in 2018. The CPI measures perceived public-sector corruption on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 indicating the highest levels of corruption and 100 representing the cleanest.
For comparison, India scored 39 with a ranking of 91, Bangladesh received a score of 24 and a ranking of 150, and Afghanistan scored 16 with a ranking of 169.
Risks for Investigative Journalists
TI’s report highlighted the dangers faced by journalists investigating corruption. The report stated that when journalists are attacked or killed for investigating corruption, accountability is undermined and corruption worsens.
Since 2012, 829 journalists have been murdered worldwide in non-conflict zones, with 150 of those killings linked to corruption-related stories. Five journalists were killed while covering corruption in 2025. Over 90% of these killings occurred in countries with a CPI score below 50, including Brazil, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Iraq.
National Accountability Bureau Recoveries
The report comes after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) claimed recoveries of Rs11.5 trillion ($41 billion) between 2023 and 2025. This figure is more than double Pakistan’s official foreign exchange reserves of $16 billion.
NAB reported recovering approximately Rs6.2 trillion in the last year alone, through the retrieval of encroached state and organizational land, as well as cash. This included reclaiming three million acres of state and forest land, valued at around Rs6 trillion. NAB Sukkur recovered 1.63 million acres worth Rs3.73 trillion, while NAB Balochistan recovered 1.02 million acres valued at Rs1.37 trillion, and NAB Multan recovered 330,000 acres valued at Rs654 billion, along with 51 kanals of state land in Islamabad worth Rs29.4 billion.
The high level of reported recoveries suggests the prevalence of corruption within Pakistan and supports the country’s ranking on the global index.
Pakistan recently released the ‘Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment’ report following pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF’s report indicated significant issues with governance and corruption, prompting the lender to request short- and long-term measures to address these problems, including improvements to the rule of law and the judicial system.
TI noted that small fluctuations in scores are more significant than changes in rank, as rankings can be influenced by the performance of other countries. The report concluded that corruption remains a serious threat globally, though there are limited signs of progress, and leaders must address abuses of power and the factors driving corruption, such as the erosion of democratic checks and balances and attacks on independent civil society.
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