Transparency International


Transparency International e.V. is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil societal anti-corruption measures and to prevent criminal activities arising from corruption. Its most notable publications include the Global Corruption Barometer and the Corruption Perceptions Index.
TI is an umbrella organization with more than 100 national chapters, which engage in fighting perceived corruption in their home countries. TI is a member of G20 Think Tanks as well as Civil Society 20, UNESCO, United Nations Global Compact, Sustainable Development Solutions Network and shares the goals of peace, justice, strong institutions and partnerships of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group. TI is a social partner of Global Alliance in Management Education. TI confirmed the dis-accreditation of the national chapter of United States in 2017 and a new TI USA chapter was established in 2020. According to the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index report, TI was number 9 of 100 in the Top Think Tanks Worldwide category and number 27 of 150 in the Top Think Tanks Worldwide category.

History

Transparency International was founded on 9 February 1993 in The Hague, Netherlands; it was formally registered on 15 June 1993 in Berlin, Germany. According to political scientist Ellen Gutterman, "TI's presence in Germany, and indeed its organizational development and rise from a small operation to a prominent international TNGO, benefited from the activities and personal connections of at least three key German individuals: Peter Eigen, Hansjoerg Elshorst, and Michael Wiehen". The other founding members include: Peter Conze, Laurence Cockcroft, Oby Ezekwesili and Frank Vogl, Fritz Heimann of General Electric, Michael J. Hershman of US military intelligence, Kamal Hossain,
Gerald Parfitt, Jeremy Pope and Roy Stacy.
An important moment in its history was in 1995 when TI developed the Corruption Perceptions Index. The CPI ranks nations on the prevalence of corruption within each country, based upon surveys of business people. The CPI was subsequently published annually. It was initially criticized for poor methodology and unfair treatment of developing nations, while also being praised for highlighting corruption.

Areas of work and products

Transparency International is the global civil society organization leading the fight against corruption. It brings people together in a powerful worldwide coalition to end the devastating impact of corruption on men, women and children around the world. TI's mission is to create change towards a world free of corruption.

The organization defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain which eventually hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority. It develops tools for fighting corruption and works with other civil society organizations, companies and governments to implement them. Since 1995, TI has issued an annual Corruption Perceptions Index ; it also publishes a Global Corruption Report, a Global Corruption Barometer, and a Bribe Payers Index. In the years leading up to 2030, Transparency International is dedicated to leading the global fight against corruption via its strategy: "Holding Power to AccountA Global Strategy Against Corruption 2021–2030". It sets out how the Movement aims to contribute to "a more positive future; a world in which power is held to account, for the common good".

Corruption Perceptions Index

The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. It is a composite indexa combination of pollsdrawing on corruption-related data collected by a variety of reputable institutions. The CPI reflects the views of observers from around the world. The Corruption Perceptions Index has been criticized for measuring perception and not reality. The creators of the index argue that "perceptions matter in their own right, since ... firms and individuals take actions based on perceptions". TI itself agrees with the CPI having limitations, but claims that the CPI is the best tool available for assessing corruption on a high level.
According to the newspaper Le Monde: "In its main surveys, Transparency International does not measure the weight of corruption in economic terms for each country. It develops a Corruption Perception Index based on surveys conducted by private structures or other NGOs: the Economist Intelligence Unit, backed by the British liberal weekly newspaper The Economist, the American neoconservative organization Freedom House, the World Economic Forum, or large corporations. The CPI ignores corruption cases that concern the business world. So, the collapse of Lehman Brothers or the manipulation of the money market reference rate by major British banks revealed in 2011 did not affect the ratings of the United States or United Kingdom." A common counter argument is that it is not plausible to ever measure the true scale and depth of a highly complex issue like corruption with a single number, and then rank countries accordingly.

International Anti-Corruption Conference

First held in 1983, the International Anti-Corruption Conference is a series of international conferences organized by the IACC Council, in association with local governments and organizations, with TI as its secretariat. The conferences take place every two years in different countries.

Global Anti-Corruption Consortium (GACC)

Since 2016, TI has partnered with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. The partnership enables knowledge and evidence gathered through OCCRP's corruption investigations to inform TI's policy and legal advocacy. The programme is co-funded by three governments, including the US, and private donors.

Other key products

  • The Global Corruption Barometer is a survey that asks citizens about their direct personal experience of corruption in their daily lives.
  • The Global Corruption Report picks a specific topic like corruption in climate change for example and provides in-depth research.
  • National integrity system assessments are designed to provide comprehensive analysis on a given country's mechanisms to fight corruption.
  • The Government Defence Integrity Index first published in 2013 measures corruption in the defence sector of 82 countries. Some governments have expressed criticism towards the methodology of the report. TI defended the report and stressed the importance of transparency in the military sector. The plan was to publish the index every two years.
  • The Bribe Payers Index first published in 1999 which ranked nations according to the perceived likelihood that a country's multinational corporations would offer bribes. The last edition was released in 2011 after which the project was closed for funding reasons. The Journal of Business Ethics states "Bribery in international business transactions can be seen as a function of not only the demand for such bribes in different countries, but the supply, or willingness to provide bribes by multinational firms and their representatives. This study addresses the propensity of firms from 30 different countries to engage in international bribery".
  • The Exporting Corruption report first published in 2005. It is a research report that rates the bribery-related performance of leading global exporters, including countries that are signatories of OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

    The movement

Transparency International consists of chapterslocally established, independent organizationsthat address corruption in their respective countries. In Transparency International, the collective of chapters is referred to as The Movement. As chapters are staffed with local experts they are ideally placed to determine the priorities and approaches best suited to tackling corruption in their countries. This work ranges from visiting rural communities to provide free legal support to advising their government on policy reform. From small bribes to large-scale looting, corruption differs from country to country. Corruption does however not stop at national borders. The chapters play a crucial role in shaping its collective work and realizing its regional and global goals. The ambition is for chapters to be self-funded and autonomous. Correspondingly, the Secretariat in Berlin is called a secretariat to differentiate it from a headquarters.

Secretariat

The Secretariat based in Berlin is responsible for global operations whereas chapters are autonomous and responsible for work in their own respective countries. Maíra Martini took office as CEO of the Secretariat on 1 February 2025. She previously held the position of Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Secretariat. The Movement is officially led by the annual membership meeting of all the chapters. Between membership meetings, the TI Board of Directors lead the Movement, but delegate aspects to the CEO. TI's leadership structure includes an International Council, a group of individuals with extensive experience in TI's work. Drawn from diverse geographical, cultural and professional backgrounds, council members are appointed by the TI board of directors to advise them and to support the work of the organization as a whole.

Chapters

Some key chapters include:
Not all chapters choose to adopt the TI name when they get selected to join the Movement. Some examples of that are the Association for a More Just Society, the TI chapter for Honduras; and Corruption Watch, the TI chapter for South Africa.
In April 2015 Russia's Ministry of Justice added TI Russia to its list of foreign agents. On 6 March 2023, TI was declared an undesirable organization in Russia.