Haryanti Puspa Sari, Robertus Belarminus, Jakarta – Indonesia's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) dropped to 34 in 2025. This is a 3-point decrease from last year's score of 37.
"Indonesia's score this year is 34, and out of 180 other countries, Indonesia is ranked 109", said Transparency International Indonesia (TII) Program Manager Ferdian Yazid at the virtual launch of the 2025 Corruption Perception Index on Tuesday February 10.
Yazid said that not only did Indonesia's CPI score drop, but Indonesia's ranking also dropped 10 places, from 99 in 2024 to 109. "Indonesia's ranking in the CPI has dropped significantly, from 99 in 2024 to 109 in 2025", he said.
Yazid said that within the Southeast Asian (ASEAN) region, Indonesia ranks fifth with a score of 34. Meanwhile, Singapore remains in first place with a CPI score of 84, followed by Malaysia (52), East Timor (44) and Vietnam (41).
"Then below Indonesia is Laos (34), Thailand (33), the Philippines (32), Cambodia (20) and Myanmar (16)", he said.
Yazid noted that there are several countries with similar scores to Indonesia namely Algeria, Laos, Malawi, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Meanwhile, the 10 countries with the highest 2025 CPI scores are Denmark (89), Finland (88), Singapore (84), New Zealand (81), Norway (81), Sweden (80), Switzerland (80), Luxembourg (78), the Netherlands (78) and Germany (77).
"The bottom 10 countries with the worst CPI scores are usually fragile states in Central America, Latin America, and Africa. For example, the lowest is Venezuela, which was recently attacked by [US President] Donald Trump, followed by Somalia and South Sudan. So, countries in conflict are usually also vulnerable to corrupt practices", he said.
Yazid said that the World Economic Forum EOS data source, which was only launched in 2024, contributed to Indonesia's highest CPI score, with a score of 65.
Then the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (26, down 19 points), the Bertelsmann Foundation Transform Index (30, down 9 points), the PERC Asia Risk Guide (34, down 4 points), the Economist Intelligence Unit Country Ratings (34, down 1 point), the PRS International Country Risk Guide (33, stagnant). Next, the Global Insight Country Risk Ratings (32, stagnant), the World Justice Project-Rule of Law Index (27, up 1 point) and the Varieties of Democracy Project (23, up 1 point).
"Scores that experienced a decline from nine data sources, there were four that experienced a decline, said Yazid.
Yazid explained that aspects measured in the CPI include bribery, diversion of public funds, the prevalence of officials using public office for personal gain, the government's ability to eradicate corruption and uphold effective integrity.
"To legal protection for whistleblowers, journalists and investigators reporting bribery and corruption cases as well as civil society's access to information regarding public affairs", he said.
Meanwhile aspects not measured include citizens' perceptions or experiences of corruption, tax fraud, illicit financial flows, money laundering and the informal economy and markets.
Indonesia's score lower than East Timor
On the same occasion, Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said he felt discouraged by the 2025 CPI score which has dropped to 34. He said that Indonesia's position is below Vietnam, Malaysia and East Timor.
"I'm quite discouraged seeing Indonesia as only being on par with Laos and below Vietnam, below Malaysia, let alone Singapore. It's even ranked below the new country of East Timor, which before [independence] was one of the most corrupt and poorest provinces in Indonesia", said Hamid.
Hamid said that Indonesia is only on par with Bosnia & Herzegovina and Nepal, which have experienced political turmoil due to widespread corruption. He stated that the TII findings should be used as a basis for a serious evaluation in fixing corruption eradication.
"The Corruption Perception Index findings from Transparency International should be used as a form of self-criticism and also as a serious evaluation material for Indonesia to fix corruption eradication, democratic decline, and also judicial independence", he said.
Hamid said that democracy is a system of government that is believed to be able to control corruption and protect human rights. He agreed that a strong democracy will control corruption more effectively than a country with democratic flaws.
"The TII index shows a retreat of democracy which I think is again is of concern, yes. Because Indonesian democracy in eradicating corruption for example is no longer strong, no longer strong in suppressing corruption", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Skor Korupsi Indonesia Melorot Usai Sempat Naik, Lebih Buruk dari Timor Leste".]
