Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

1️⃣ What is the Corruption Perceptions Index?

The Corruption Perceptions Index measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in countries.

Important word: Perceptions.

It does not directly measure actual corruption cases.
It measures expert and business surveys about corruption perception.

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2️⃣ Who Publishes It?

Published annually by:

Transparency International

Prelims trap:

It is NOT published by:

• World Bank

• UNDP

• IMF

• World Economic Forum

Remember this clearly.

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3️⃣ Scoring System

Countries are scored on a scale of:

0 to 100

0 = Highly corrupt
100 = Very clean

Higher score = Lower perceived corruption.

UPSC may test whether higher rank means more or less corruption.

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4️⃣ India’s Latest Rank

📌 Corruption Perceptions Index 2023 (released January 2024):

India ranked 93rd out of 180 countries

India’s score: 39 out of 100

Rank fluctuates slightly each year, but this is the latest official figure for current prelim cycle.

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5️⃣ What CPI Measures

It focuses on:

• Public sector corruption
• Bribery
• Abuse of public office
• Transparency in governance

It does NOT measure private sector corruption directly.

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6️⃣ What CPI Does NOT Measure

❌ Happiness
❌ Economic growth
❌ Poverty
❌ Innovation
❌ Military spending

Do not confuse with other governance indices.

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7️⃣ Static Linkage

Related themes:

• Governance reforms
• Anti-corruption laws
• Lokpal & Lokayuktas
• Transparency & accountability

UPSC may link CPI with governance mechanisms.

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8️⃣ Common Prelims Traps

• Thinking CPI measures actual number of corruption cases.

• Confusing it with Ease of Doing Business.

• Mixing up publisher (Transparency International vs UN).

• Assuming lower rank means less corruption.

• Confusing score scale direction.

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9️⃣ Likely Question Patterns

• Which organisation publishes Corruption Perceptions Index?
• Higher CPI score indicates what?
• CPI measures which type of corruption?
• Which of the following are included in CPI evaluation?

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🔁 Quick Recall Box

✔ Published by: Transparency International
✔ Latest India rank (CPI 2023): 93 / 180
✔ Score: 39/100
✔ Measures perceived public sector corruption
✔ Higher score = cleaner image