Malta’s international ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published on Tuesday shows a further decline, reaching an all-time low.

Malta scores 46 out of 100 in the annual report prepared by Transparency International, which ranks Malta 65th globally.

Malta’s international ranking is on the same level as Kuwait, Montenegro and Romania.

In the last two years, Malta ranked 51 out of 100. This is the first time the country’s score dipped under 50 since it first featured in the Index in 2012.

The CPI is the leading global indicator of public sector corruption, providing an annual comparative snapshot of 180 countries and territories. The Index for 2024 is calculated using data from 13 external sources.

Since 2015, Malta’s score has dropped by 14 points and is now significantly below the Western Europe and European Union (EU) regional average of 64 out of 100.  The CPI ranks Malta as a flawed democracy.

The report highlights the criminal charges against former prime minister Joseph Muscat, former ministers Konrad Mizzi, Chris Fearne and Edward Scicluna, and former government officials like Keith Schembri in the fraudulent Vitals hospitals concession case.

“Systemic corruption in public procurement persists in several EU countries. In Malta, the former prime minister, and former ministers and officials, are currently facing criminal charges relating to corruption concerning the transfer of three public hospitals to a private company in a deal estimated at €4 billion,” the report states.

Out of the Western European and EU regions, only Bulgaria and Hungary rank lower than Malta.

With regards to the rest of the region, the report says that anti-corruption efforts fall short, hindering the region’s response to the climate crisis and other challenges like fraying rule of law and overstrained public services.

Transparency International Chair François Valérian said, “Corruption is an evolving global threat that does far more than undermine development – it is a key cause of declining democracy, instability and human rights violations. The international community and every nation must make tackling corruption a top and long-term priority.”

This is crucial to pushing back against authoritarianism and securing a peaceful, free and sustainable world, Valérian added. “The dangerous trends revealed in this year’s CPI highlight the need to follow through with concrete action now to address global corruption.”

The report stresses that two of the biggest challenges humanity faces are strongly intertwined: corruption and the climate crisis:

“While billions of people around the world face the daily consequences of climate change, resources for adaptation and mitigation remain woefully inadequate. Corruption intensifies these challenges, posing additional threats to vulnerable communities.”