Thailand corruption worsens as bribery indicator plunges

Thailand’s corruption situation is at a worrying level, as Transparency International (TI) released the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2025 on February 10, 2026.

Thailand scored 33 out of 100, ranking 116th globally. This reflects deeply rooted corruption problems. Within ASEAN, Thailand has dropped to 7th place, down from 5th previously.

Countries in ASEAN that scored higher than Thailand include Singapore with 84 points, Brunei with 63, Malaysia with 52 and Vietnam with 41. Indonesia and Laos both scored 34, close to Thailand, raising concerns over the country’s governance credibility.

The CPI assessment is based on nine data sources, which can be grouped into three categories:

1. Sources where Thailand’s score improved

The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), which measures perceptions of how corruption affects social, economic and political institutions based on survey data, gave Thailand 45 points in 2025, up from 41 in 2024. This marks a third consecutive year of improvement.

The World Economic Forum (WEF), which surveys businesses on the extent to which bribes are required in various processes, gave Thailand 35 points in 2025, up from 34 in 2024. However, this remains lower than the 42–45 range recorded between 2020 and 2022.

The Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem), which assesses corruption in the executive, legislative and judicial branches, including bribery and conflicts of interest, based on expert surveys in ASEAN, gave Thailand 30 points in 2025, up from 29 in 2024.

2. Sources where Thailand’s score declined

The Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index (BFTI), which evaluates the effectiveness of anti-corruption enforcement and law enforcement against offenders based on expert interviews, gave Thailand 30 points in 2025, down from 34 in 2024. This marks a third consecutive year of decline.

The Economist Intelligence Unit Country risk Ratings (EIU), which measures transparency and oversight of public budget spending based on expert assessments, gave Thailand 34 points in 2025, down from 35 in 2024, continuing a two-year decline.

The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (IMD), which assesses the extent of bribery and corruption based on surveys of executives, gave Thailand 26 points in 2025, down sharply from 36 in 2024. This represents a significant drop compared with 43 points in 2022–2023.

The World Justice Project (WJP), which evaluates the extent to which public officials abuse their positions based on expert surveys, gave Thailand 32 points in 2025, down from 34 in 2024.

3. Sources where Thailand’s score remained unchanged

S&P Global Insight Country Risk Ratings (GI), which assesses the extent to which business operations involve corruption based on expert surveys, gave Thailand 32 points in 2025.

The PRS International Country Risk Guide (PRS), which evaluates corruption linked to political power, patronage systems and relationships between politics and business, based on expert surveys, gave Thailand 33 points in 2025.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) summarised the CPI findings, highlighting that improving Thailand’s CPI score requires clear political will from the government, alongside cooperation between the public sector, private sector and civil society.

Transparency International has provided the following recommendations:

1. Establish a justice system and judicial institutions that are independent, transparent and accessible, protected from political or economic interference. Legal processes must be reasonable and subject to scrutiny, and courts should publish rulings and relevant data.

2. Address undue influence over political decision-making by ensuring transparency in political funding. The public should be able to know who finances political parties and candidates, or who influences major policy decisions, whether financially, politically, through conflicts of interest or lobbying, with such activities subject to public scrutiny.

3. Ensure that those affected by corruption can access justice. Individuals and communities harmed by corruption must be able to seek redress either directly or through civil society organisations, enabling remedies and strengthening effective law enforcement.

4. Promote civic space and anti-corruption reporting, which are fundamental freedoms, including media freedom and the right to access information. Individuals and groups should be able to participate in promoting transparency and integrity in government and business, while decision-makers must fully protect civil society and whistleblowers.

5. Enhance transparency and oversight in public services and national budget management. The state must provide fair and efficient public services such as healthcare and education, alongside strict monitoring systems for public budget management to ensure funds are used in the public interest.

Parliament and oversight bodies must have the authority to scrutinise budget management and public spending. Oversight institutions must be capable of maintaining auditing standards and should allow diverse groups to participate in monitoring mechanisms.

6. Prevent, detect and punish corruption and large-scale illicit financial flows. Strong domestic checks and balances, combined with robust national and international prevention and detection measures, are essential to curb and expose large-scale or national-level corruption and cross-border money laundering.

The implementation of international laws domestically will play a key role in strengthening the justice system, enabling the prosecution of offenders and the recovery of stolen assets hidden abroad.