Pakistan corruption ranking has improved by a single point on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), but a closer examination of the data and methodology behind the score raises questions about how the ranking is produced, how much of it can be independently verified and how closely international perceptions match the lived experience of ordinary Pakistanis.
The questions carry weight beyond the ranking itself. Corruption and governance indicators form part of the wider information available to foreign investors, businesses, lenders and international institutions when assessing country risk. The CPI is not an investment or credit rating, nor an IMF lending condition, but it can contribute to the broader country-risk picture.
The IMF’s 2025 Governance and Corruption Diagnostic for Pakistan states that corruption and governance weaknesses significantly affect economic growth and investment. Citing research, it noted that every one-point improvement in the CPI is associated with a 4% increase in a country’s investment rate, while stressing that this is an association, not proof of direct causation.
Transparency International’s 2025 CPI, released in February 2026, gave Pakistan 28 out of 100, ranking it 136th among 182 countries, compared with 27 and 135th among 180 countries previously. The score rose by one point while the numerical rank fell by one place. TI says scores are more meaningful than ranks because changes in the number and performance of countries can affect rankings.
Pakistan’s 2025 CPI score was not based on a survey of Pakistani citizens. TI uses 13 external data sources globally, with each country assessed using at least three; Pakistan had eight. The CPI measures perceived public-sector corruption among experts and businesspeople. Five of Pakistan’s eight source scores remained unchanged, two declined and only V-Dem increased substantially.
Bertelsmann stayed at 21, EIU at 18, Global Insights at 32, PRS ICRG at 33 and World Bank CPIA at 39. WEF fell from 33 to 32 and WJP from 26 to 25, while V-Dem rose five points from 14 to 19.
The published 2025 source scores total 219, giving an average of 27.375, compared with TI’s published CPI score of 28. This is not evidence of a mathematical error because TI uses unrounded underlying scores. The exact calculation therefore cannot be reproduced from the published whole-number figures. The key transparency questions are the exact unrounded average and how close it was to the threshold for a score of 28, particularly because V-Dem accounts for the visible improvement.
The five-point rise in V-Dem’s Pakistan score is the only substantial positive movement among the eight CPI sources. V-Dem uses expert assessments and statistical modelling, and its datasets can be revised as new versions are released. The key issue is what changed in Pakistan’s assessment: whether the number or composition of experts changed, underlying indicators were revised, historical observations were updated, or the model or methodology changed. The exact unrounded V-Dem score supplied to TI is also not publicly disclosed in the CPI data. TI referred these questions to V-Dem, which produces the underlying data.
With seven of Pakistan’s eight published source scores unchanged or lower, the five-point V-Dem increase accounts for the only substantial improvement in the source-level data behind Pakistan’s one-point CPI increase.
The eight inputs are also not eight identical surveys. The World Economic Forum uses an executive opinion survey. The World Justice Project combines household and expert information. Bertelsmann relies on expert assessments. V-Dem uses expert coding.
While the one-point rise in Pakistan’s CPI score offers a positive signal, the lack of transparency around the V-Dem increase and the inability to reproduce the exact score from published data highlight the need for cautious interpretation. For investors and analysts, the CPI remains one input among many, and the broader governance picture continues to shape Pakistan’s economic prospects.
Source: Geo News