Corruption Perceptions Index

Transparency International’s annual country score, compiled from surveys of experts and businesspeople. The Philippine score has moved within a narrow band across two decades: 32 in 2025, a minimum of 23 in 2008, a maximum of 38 in 2014, and an average of 30 across 2001 to 2025, with a 2025 rank of 120th of 182.

The caveat is not optional and belongs in the same sentence as the number, every time. The index measures perception, not incidence. It tells you how the country is seen by people who are asked. It does not count a single stolen peso. A film that presents it as a measure of theft has handed its critics the easiest possible correction.

Source: Transparency International, https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2025/index/phl . Series compiled at https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Philippines/transparency_corruption/ . The stated global average differs between Transparency International’s own index page and the aggregator, so the course uses Transparency International’s own figure.

First used in: 0.2 · How we will know what is true