Tuesday 11 / February / 2025
Muscat: The results of the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index revealed notable progress for Oman as it is ranked 50th globally out of 180 countries, and 4th in the Arab world, advancing 20 places compared to its ranking of 70th in 2023, with a score of 55, up from 43 last year, marking an increase of 12 points.
This is according to the Corruption Perceptions Index, issued annually by Transparency International from its headquarters in Berlin.
The progress reflects the Sultanate of Oman’s commitment to adopting the best international practices in protecting public funds, improving their efficiency, and promoting integrity,
Dr. Hamyar Nasser Al Mahrouqi, spokesperson for the State Audit Institution (SAI), commented on the release of the index, saying: "Ranking in the 4th place in the Arab world is important as it enhances the Sultanate of Oman’s reputation and affirms that the country is a good environment for work and investment. The index is considered a reliable global measure, as Transparency International follows a rigorous process to assess the perceived level of corruption in the public sector, covering 180 countries worldwide."
He added that Oman’s progress was the result of prioritizing the protection of public funds and enhancing the values of integrity, which the State Audit Institution, in collaboration with other authorities concerned, has been focusing on.
This progress, explained Dr. Hamyar, reflects the diligent, collaborative efforts between SAI and the National Competitiveness Office, as well as other relevant authorities to improve Oman’s position in the index. SAI works on several fronts, including audit related fields and enhancing institutional and community awareness of public funds and public office through awareness programs and activities in accordance with the annual media plan, aligning with Oman Vision 2040 and the National Integrity Enhancement Plan, he added, pointing out that SAI also continues to issue the Community Summary in both Arabic and English, accompanying the annual report submitted to His Majesty the Sultan.
Dr. Hamyar emphasized the importance of the participatory roles of relevant entities in strengthening Oman’s position in the index, as well as the societal roles in adhering to various legislations. He said; “This helps achieve continuous progress in the index. Moreover, efforts are underway to increase the number of institutions assessing Oman in this index, as well as engaging with international organizations that provided feedback on Oman’s ranking in this index, to identify the reasons and clarify the actions taken by the government to improve the working environment and address the causes of violations or leniency in this regard.”
Dr. Hamyar noted that Transparency International is a non-governmental organization dedicated to measuring corruption perceptions, with the aim of creating a change towards a world free of corruption. It works by placing anti-corruption efforts on the global agenda and collaborating with governments, businesses, and civil society organizations to develop and implement anti-corruption measures. The Corruption Perceptions Index is one of the most widely circulated reports on measuring the perceived level of corruption.
Dr. Hamyar added that six international data sources were used to calculate the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency International consolidates the data and scores from these institutions and places them on the Corruption Perceptions Index scale. The organization follows several steps, including identifying data sources that meet precise standards, standardizing the data and scores from these sources on a scale from 0 to 100. A score of 0 indicates the highest level of perceived corruption, while 100 indicates the lowest. The final score is then calculated by averaging the points achieved by each country on the index, based on the standardized data provided by the sources.
