Armenia is placed 77th (up from 105th last year) among 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions index 2019 released by the Transparency International.
Other countries in the region are placed as follows: Georgia is 44th, Turkey – 91st, Azerbaijan 126th, Iran – 146th.
Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union Russia and Kazakhstan are ranked 137th and 113th respectively, Belarus is 66th, Kyrgyzstan is 126th.
New Zealand tops the tanking followed by Denmark and Finland.
“Following the revolution in 2018 and the formation of a new parliament, the country has demonstrated promising developments in advancing anticorruption policy reforms,” the report says.
“Despite these improvements, conflicts of interests and nontransparent and unaccountable public operations remain impediments to ending corruption in the country. While improving political integrity will take time and resources, increasing public trust in law enforcement and the judiciary are critical first steps in ensuring appropriate checks and balances and improving anti-corruption efforts,” Transparency International said.
In Armenia, political will and implementation of anti-corruption policies are important, while fundamental and urgent change of political culture and governance is crucial, the report stresses.
