Corruption in Thailand

Corruption in Thailand is a national issue.[1] Thai law provides criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption. Thailand's 2014 military junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), stated that fighting corruption would be one of its main focus points, a common practice for military dictatorships following Thailand's frequent military coups. Despite the promises, officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity, and the NCPO engaged in corrupt practices itself.[2][3]

Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, which scored 180 countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), gave Thailand a score of 34. When ranked by score, Thailand ranked 107th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[4] For comparison with regional scores, the best score among the countries of the Asia Pacific region[Note 1] was 84, the average score was 44 and the worst score was 16.[5] For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).[6]

"Even though Thailand has the legal framework and a range of institutions to effectively counter corruption, all levels of Thai society continue to suffer from endemic corruption."[7][failed verification]

In the 2022 edition of its Best Countries rankings, U.S. News & World Report evaluated global perceptions of 85 developed countries based on 73 country attributes.[8] On the country attribute "Not Corrupt", countries were scored on a scale from 1 to 100[9] and then ranked by score. Thailand, with a Not Corrupt score of 64.3, [10] was ranked #35 in the list of least corrupt countries, where the #1 country (Sweden, with a score of 100)[11][12] was perceived to be the least corrupt of all. Among the 16 Asian countries evaluated,[Note 2] Thailand was ranked #4,[13] where the Asian country with the best Not Corrupt score, Japan, received a 99.9.[14]

  1. ^ Vanijaka, Voranai (7 May 2018). "Scandals confirm what we already know". Opinion. Bangkok Post. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016; Thailand". US Department of State. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  3. ^ Chachavalpongpun, Pavin. "Thai Junta Beset By Corruption Scandals". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  4. ^ "The ABCs of the CPI: How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated". Transparency.org. 11 February 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  5. ^ Mohamed, Ilham; Haihuie, Yuambari; Ulziikhuu, Urantsetseg (11 February 2025). "CPI 2024 for Asia Pacific: Leaders failing to stop corruption amid an escalating climate crisis". Transparency.org. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  6. ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index 2024: Thailand". Transparency.org. 11 February 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  7. ^ "Business Anti-Corruption Portal: Thailand". Business Anti-Corruption Portal. GAN Integrity Solutions. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  8. ^ U.S. News Staff (27 September 2022). "Methodology: How the 2022 Best Countries Were Ranked". U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Data Explorer". n.d.,%22selected%22:[]} |language=en |work=U.S. News & World Report |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=27 May 2023}}
  10. ^ "Thailand". U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C. n.d. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  11. ^ "These Are the Least Corrupt Countries". U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C. n.d. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Sweden". U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C. n.d. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  13. ^ "These Are the Least Corrupt Countries". U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C. n.d. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Japan". U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C. n.d. Retrieved 27 May 2023.


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