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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Has Ukraine scored worse on common measures of corruption than Russia?

By Brian A. Gross
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NO

Two corruption indexes list Ukraine as slightly less corrupt than Russia, although both countries score below the global average.

Of the 180 countries included in Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine ranks 122 with a score of 32 while Russia ranks 136 with a score of 29. The organization surveys "experts and businesspeople" from each country on issues such as diversion of public funds, nepotistic appointments and state capture by private interests. Each country is then given a score from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Between 2012 and 2021, Ukraine has scored as low as 26 and as high as 33 while Russia has scored as low as 27 and as high as 30.

The World Bank's Control of Corruption tracker, which gauges "perceptions of the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain," also ranked Ukraine slightly cleaner than Russia in 2020, although the more corrupt country has fluctuated over the years.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Transparency International 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index
Transparency International The ABCs of the CPI: How the Corruption…
World Bank Prevention and Sanction Indicators
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.