UAE has lowest level of public sector corruption in region, report reveals

Efforts in digital governance drive transparency and improve accountability across sectors

The UAE has ranked as the best performing country in the region in tackling public sector corruption. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

The UAE has been named the country with the lowest level of public sector corruption in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Emirates was also ranked 23rd globally in the newly released Corruption Perception Index 2024 by Transparency International, an association dedicated to exposing corruption worldwide.

The UAE was particularly praised for its performance in the digitalisation of services.

“The UAE is building on previous strategic programmes with the 'UAE Digital Government Strategy 2025', designed to support cross-sectoral embedding of digital aspects into overall government strategies,” read a statement attributed to Manuel Pirino and Kinda Hattar, regional advisers for the Middle East and North Africa, Transparency International.

“The strategy has inclusiveness and user satisfaction among its measures of success, and aims to bridge the digital divide to help reduce inequality among citizens.”

The UAE scored 68 out of 100, with the next closest in the region being Israel with 64. The worst performing nation in the region was Syria with 12, with Yemen and Libya not far behind on 13.

“The state of anti-corruption efforts in the Middle East and North Africa region remains bleak,” read the statement.

“The region’s stagnation stems mostly from the near-absolute control of its political leaders, who benefit from the wealth they direct toward themselves, while clamping down on any dissent to maintain their power, allowing conflict to rage across a number of states.”

Not all bad news

While the report painted a challenging picture, there were some signs of encouragement.

“There are also positive trends, with coalition-building between like-minded actors becoming more frequent, in a transnational effort to counter corrupt forces,” read the statement.

“Unforeseen opportunities are also emerging. After the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria, there is a loud demand that the country works towards real democracy, that is truly inclusive and transparent.

“An encouraging development is the effort by countries within the Gulf Co-operation Council to invest in technological solutions in public administration – or 'e-governance'. This shift improves transparency and can help reduce corruption by removing middlemen and facilitators.”

Denmark topped the global rankings with a score of 90, followed by Finland, Singapore, New Zealand and Luxembourg.