Public Sector Corruption Index in Iraq
Iraq: Public Sector Corruption Index was 0.741 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.741
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
42nd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.885
in 2003
All-time low
0.585
in 1920
Years of data
106
1920–2025
Public Sector Corruption Index in Iraq, 1920–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, public sector corruption index in Iraq stood at 0.741.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public sector corruption index in Iraq peaked at 0.885 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0.585, in 1920.
Iraq ranks 42nd of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 106 years of available data.
Public Sector Corruption Index in Iraq, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 0.585 | — |
| 1921 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.585 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.62 | +6.0% |
| 1933 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.628 | +1.3% |
| 1942 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.628 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.675 | +7.5% |
| 1959 | 0.644 | -4.6% |
| 1960 | 0.617 | -4.2% |
| 1961 | 0.617 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.617 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.686 | +11.2% |
| 1964 | 0.686 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.686 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.686 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.686 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.715 | +4.2% |
| 1969 | 0.715 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.694 | -2.9% |
| 1971 | 0.68 | -2.0% |
| 1972 | 0.68 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.68 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.68 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.68 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.68 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.68 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.68 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.715 | +5.1% |
| 1980 | 0.782 | +9.4% |
| 1981 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.782 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.811 | +3.7% |
| 1992 | 0.811 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.811 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.811 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.811 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.811 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.811 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.811 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.811 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.834 | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 0.834 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.857 | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 0.885 | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 0.835 | -5.6% |
| 2005 | 0.835 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.835 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.835 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.835 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.835 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.835 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.835 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.835 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.873 | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 0.831 | -4.8% |
| 2015 | 0.871 | +4.8% |
| 2016 | 0.871 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.848 | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 0.815 | -3.9% |
| 2019 | 0.84 | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 0.818 | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 0.741 | -9.4% |
| 2022 | 0.741 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.741 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.741 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.741 | +0.0% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 0.741 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.5295, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 0.741 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.595, 1.2× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0.585 | 0.585 | 0.585 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.613 | 0.585 | 0.62 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.6272 | 0.62 | 0.628 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6343 | 0.628 | 0.675 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.6711 | 0.617 | 0.715 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6849 | 0.68 | 0.715 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.782 | 0.782 | 0.782 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8081 | 0.782 | 0.811 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.842 | 0.834 | 0.885 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8454 | 0.815 | 0.873 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7538 | 0.741 | 0.818 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More social development data for Iraq
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 322,345 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0058 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0069 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public sector corruption index in Iraq?
- Public sector corruption index in Iraq was 0.741 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest public sector corruption index recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 0.885 in 2003.
- What is the lowest public sector corruption index recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.585 in 1920.
- How does Iraq rank for public sector corruption index?
- Iraq ranks 42nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is public sector corruption index rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iraq data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Public Sector Corruption Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 106 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of the extent to which public sector employees engage in bribery and theft. The index ranges from 0 to 1 (highly corrupt).