Cambodia’s corruption ranking worsened in 2024, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), raising concerns over governance and anti-corruption efforts. While the government acknowledged the existence of corruption, it questioned the report’s transparency and accuracy.

The report, released on Tuesday, showed that Cambodia scored 21 points out of 100—down one point from last year, placing it 158 out of 180 countries and second to last in ASEAN, ahead only of Myanmar. 

In Asia-Pacific, Cambodia was among the most corrupt countries, with Afghanistan at the 17th spot, Myanmar (16) and North Korea (15). The report showed mixed results for ASEAN members such as Vietnam, which dipped to 40 from 41 in 2023, Thailand (35 to 34), and Philippines (34 to 33). However, Indonesia climbed to the 37th spot from 34 and Laos (31 to 33). Malaysia was unchanged, while Singapore ranked among the least corrupt countries globally.

The CPI, a key global measure of public sector corruption since 1995, evaluates 180 countries using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies, think tanks and others.

The latest CPI results highlight persistent governance challenges and the slow pace of anti-corruption efforts. While some areas have seen minor improvements, setbacks in institutional integrity, enforcement, and oversight continue to outweigh progress, underscoring the need for stronger political accountability and the rule of law, the report noted. Weak enforcement mechanisms and a lack of political will remain significant obstacles.

Meanwhile, the government maintained that it is actively combating corruption through reforms and the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), but questioned the transparency and credibility of the report’s findings.

“Decline in the CPI underscores an urgent need for robust enforcement of anti-corruption laws and stronger commitment to tackle systemic and grand corruption,” said Pech Pisey, Executive Director of Transparency International Cambodia (TIC). “Although there have been improvements in areas like resource mobilization and local public services, the general trend indicated the persistence of deep-rooted governance issues that require immediate attention.” 

TIC urged the government to intensify its fight against corruption by implementing key measures, including making those involved in corruption accountable, strengthening accountability and oversight, modernizing the anti-corruption legislation, enhancing transparency and public scrutiny, and ensuring fair business practices.

Government spokesperson Pen Bona acknowledged the existence of corruption in Cambodia but defended the government’s efforts to address it through reforms and ACU.

“We have never denied that our country has no corruption,” he said. “If not, why do we need to establish an anti-corruption unit and implement all these reforms?”

He stated that the efforts aim to promote good governance and combat corruption, leading to increased transparency in Cambodia and falling corruption.

Bona remarked that Transparency International’s rating is solely the organization’s assessment, and the government has no comment. However, he questioned whether such organizations are “truly honest and transparent” to provide a reliable evaluation.

Cambodia remains committed to fighting corruption and will continue its efforts, without relying on any external organization’s report as a benchmark.

“We are doing it on our own will to [achieve] the vision of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050,” he said. 

ACU spokesperson Soy Chanvichet dismissed Transparency International’s report as baseless, stating that it does not reflect Cambodia’s reality, but noted that the unit still considers the report as informational in its fight against corruption.

To strengthen anti-corruption efforts, the ACU is implementing three key measures – raising awareness of anti-corruption laws among civil servants, enhancing prevention mechanisms, and enforcing laws on crime suppression.

“These measures aim to achieve the goal of ‘not wanting to be corrupt, not being able to be corrupt, and not daring to be corrupt’,” he said.

In January last year, the ACU arrested former Kep City Governor Kheng Yuan following allegations of abuse of power and money laundering. In November, three officials from Takeo province were placed in pre-trial detention for alleged misconduct and abuse of power.

In early 2025, two military police officers were arrested for accepting bribes to overlook a drug bust involving seven kilograms of narcotics and illegal gambling in late 2024.

According to the 2024 CPI, global corruption levels remain alarmingly high as efforts to reduce corruption remain insufficient. 

“Corruption is an evolving global threat that does far more than undermine development – it is a key cause of declining democracy, instability and human rights violations. The international community and nations must make tackling corruption a top and long-term priority. This is crucial to pushing back against authoritarianism and securing a peaceful, free and sustainable world,” said François Valérian, Chairman of Transparency International.