Although Chile did not regress compared to 2024, stagnation is a warning sign: inaction in the face of corruption weakens democracy and affects citizens.
On February 10, 2026, Transparency International published the results of the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which measures the corruption perceived by experts and businesspeople in the public sector in 182 countries. On a scale where 0 is “highly corrupt” and 100 is “very clean,” the index assesses bribery, embezzlement, and nepotism, excluding crimes in the private sector.
Chile ranks 31st internationally with 63 points. The highest score given to the country came from the Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index with 82 points, while the lowest score was assigned by the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook with 48 points.
Although Chile maintained its score compared to 2024 (63 points), Transparency International keeps it in the “Decliner” category due to the cumulative loss of 10 points from its historic high of 73 in 2014.
Following the results, Transparency International warns, first, that Maíra Martini, CEO of the organization, calls for strengthening judicial systems, improving oversight of public services and spending, and keeping secret money out of elections; and, second, that restricting civic spaces is dangerous. NGOs, citizens, and the press are the ones who question abuses of power and demand institutional transparency; hindering this allows corruption to thrive.
Chile at the continental level
In the Americas, the podium is made up of Canada (75 points), Uruguay (73 points), and Barbados (68 points), while the worst perceptions in the Americas are Venezuela (10 points), Nicaragua (14 points), and Haiti (16 points).
Despite the “Decliner,” our country ranks 21 points above the continental average (42 points) and overwhelmingly surpasses the region’s largest economies, such as Brazil (35 points) and Mexico (27 points), where corruption has facilitated the infiltration of organized crime. However, Chile’s decline has caused it to cease competing with Uruguay (73 points) for leadership in the Southern Cone.
A striking fact in the region is that we are only 1 point behind the United States (64 points). However, this only reflects how US institutions have suffered severely in terms of their democratic and comprehensive perception, falling 5 points since 2022. Thus, it is striking that Chile, which is well positioned in Latin America, continues to rank below the United States, which is at an all-time low.
A peculiar case in the Americas is that of El Salvador (32 points). The country has fallen in the Index since 2022, but unlike other countries where corruption causes a rise in organized crime, here it was due to weakened accountability and reduced civic space that limited scrutiny and independent oversight of government actions. In short, different situations cause the perception of integrity to react in the same way: downward.
Chile in the world
Globally, the top spots are held by Denmark (89 points), Finland (88 points), and Singapore (84 points), while the worst global perceptions once again fall on South Sudan (9 points), Somalia (9 points), and Venezuela (10 points). The global average score for 2025 is 42, the same as for the Americas, meaning that Chile is once again 21 points above the average.
In this regard, and in an index dominated by European countries in the top 10, Chile is the sixth highest-ranked American country (out of 33) in the world. This means that the country has a perception of integrity better than 83.5% of the planet.
However, when compared to the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the country ranks below the average (66 points). Although it outperforms countries such as Spain (55 points), Greece (50 points), and Hungary (40 points), it remains below the average for developed countries, indicating that, while Chile manages to avoid the corruption crises of its neighbors, it fails to consolidate the standards that characterize the most advanced democracies.
Conclusions
Although Chile has not fallen behind since 2024, stagnation is a warning sign. The Index has reflected this: government inaction in the face of corruption weakens democracy, deteriorates the public sector, and allows organized crime to flourish, with the population being the most affected in terms of security, human rights, and quality of life.
If measures are not taken to restore the integrity of the last decade, legal certainty—a key asset for foreign investment—will cease to be a guarantee in our country.
You can review the complete index here.
For more information on these topics, please contact our Compliance Group:
Rodrigo Albagli | Partner | ralbagli@az.cl
Yoab Bitran | Director Compliance Group | ybitran@az.cl
Loreto Osorio | Associate | losorio@az.cl
Sebastián Achondo | Associate | sachondo@az.cl
Felipe Barrera | Associate | fbarrera@az.cl
Be part of our multimedia platform and you can receive the latest legal news, events, podcazt and webinars.
