The Czech Republic moved higher last year in Transparency International’s global Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 39th worldwide.

That marks an improvement from 46th place the previous year, although the country still remains below the European Union average score.

Transparency International evaluated perceived corruption in the public sector across 182 countries and territories.

A score of 100 signals a very clean public sector, while zero reflects severe corruption. The global average slipped to 42 points last year, the first decline in more than ten years, with most countries scoring under 50.

Czechia recorded 59 points out of 100, three points more than a year earlier. Analysts from Transparency International Czech Republic link the still-below-average EU performance partly to what they describe as incomplete implementation of anti-corruption measures during the previous government.

Across Central Europe, Slovakia moved in the opposite direction. Its score fell to 48 points, dropping the country from 59th place to 61st. Poland ranked 52nd with 53 points, while Hungary placed 84th with 40 points, among the weakest results in the European Union.

The Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — all scored higher than the Czech Republic despite joining the EU in the same 2004 enlargement round. Denmark again topped the global ranking, followed by Finland and Singapore.

At the bottom were South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela.

Transparency International also points to a broader trend: several established democracies, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France and Sweden, have seen worsening perceptions of corruption in recent years.

The United States ranked 29th with 64 points, down slightly year on year. China placed 76th with 43 points, Russia ranked 157th with 22, and Ukraine came 104th with 36 points.

Ukraine’s score edged up despite the ongoing war, though the organization urges further safeguards to protect defense and reconstruction funding from misuse.

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