US hits new low on global corruption index as Trump prompts democratic 'backsliding'

Major global democracies like the U.S. and the U.K. have reached "new lows" in corruption amid Donald Trump's ongoing presidency, according to a report from The Guardian, with a "deterioration" taking place globally as well.

The Guardian on Tuesday reported on the most recent findings of the Corruption Perceptions Index, a measure of the perceived public sector corruption in 182 countries based on input from "experts and businesspeople." Overall, the latest index found a global trend towards greater corruption, with 51 nations seeing their rating decline, compared to only 31 that saw it improve. Denmark topped the list as the least corrupt nation, while South Sudan ranked at the very bottom.

Notably, this year's index registered a "worrying trend" of "backsliding in established democracies," with the U.S. and the U.K. above all seeing their ratings slip as perceived corruption spread. The U.S. saw its rating decline gradually, from 28th to 29th, but that still marks its lowest-ever rating on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Trump's near-countless accusations of corruption during his second term, as well as the continuing fallout of the Epstein files disclosure, were credited with lowering the country's rating, with The Guardian noting that things are likely to get worse in the near future.

"The US could be in line for further decline, judging by the report’s assessment of recent events," the outlet explained. "Transparency International said that while the surveys from which the data for the report was taken were performed during 2025, they did not factor in all of the events that had taken place during that year, the first of Trump’s second presidency."

The index's report continued, further highlighting "the use of public office to target and restrict independent voices such as NGOs and journalists, the normalisation of conflicted and transactional politics, the politicization of prosecutorial decision-making and actions that undermine judicial independence."

The U.K., meanwhile, has seen its standing on the index in decline for a decade, marking its own new low this year in 20th place, down from 7th in 2015. The report credited "supercharged" election donations as a major driving factor, with conservatives in particular taking in increased sums of money from wealthy donors, thereby giving them an outsized impact on U.K. politics. Elon Musk was a notable driver of this after making a $100 million donation to the right-wing Reform U.K. party.

“This persistent decline is not a temporary blip – it risks becoming a defining feature of our political culture,” Daniel Bruce, chief executive for Transparency International UK, said in a statement.

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