ANNAPOLIS, Md., Nov. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- TRACE, a non-profit international business association dedicated to anti-bribery, compliance, and good governance, has released the 2024 Bribery Risk Matrix, measuring business bribery risk in 194 jurisdictions.

Originally published in 2014 to meet a need in the business community for more reliable information about bribery risk worldwide, the TRACE Matrix helps companies examine the conditions that underpin business bribery risk.

The updated 2024 matrix reveals substantial movement in scores across countries, with many improvements but also many deteriorations. Some of these changes are driven by the inclusion of new data, while others reflect a shift in components. About 90% of the data sources used to calculate matrix scores have provided an update in 2024, with only one data source, Transparency Index, featuring no updates. Most notably, the most recent World Bank Enterprise (WBES) survey included new economies in its survey scope, providing data on related indicators for the first time. We've observed several non-negligible score changes due to the integration of new surveys in some cases, including, notably, New Zealand, Portugal, and Singapore. For countries that remained relatively stable across other indicators compared to previous years, the inclusion of the new data led to a more pronounced change in the score and ranking.

Approximately 90% of countries have had more than 50% of their indicators updated in 2024. Of those, an overwhelming majority (87%) had more than 40% of their respective indicators change from 2023. On average, 2024 saw a slight drop in a few key indicator areas including:

Press Freedom Index
Independent Judiciary
Bribery Incidence
Bribery Dep
Academics as critics
Freedom of Expression

On average, the following indicators improved:

Percent of firms identifying corruption as a major constraint
Civil Society Participation
Anti-corruption policy

The countries with the biggest improvement in scores include Cambodia, Central African Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chad, Nepal, Samoa, Morocco, and Togo. The countries with the greatest score deteriorations include New Zealand, Lesotho, Sudan, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Andorra.

"The business community plays a central role in the effort to reduce corruption," TRACE President Alexandra Wrage said. "By maintaining high ethical standards in their direct engagement with civil servants and government leaders, multinational companies can help countries improve governance. Companies, however, need to understand the sources and multifaceted character of corruption to better address risk."

Access the TRACE Matrix: TRACEinternational.org/trace-matrix.

Access the Matrix Data Browser: matrixbrowser.TRACEinternational.org.

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