LocationsIraq’s CPI 2025: From Starting Reform to Earning Trust
February 10, 2026
Dr. Yama Torabi, Project Manager - Anti-Corruptin and Arbtration Initiatives - UNDP Iraq
When Iraq scored 28 out of 100 in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), few Iraqis were surprised, since corruption has long shaped how people experience government – when getting a liscensce or approval takes connections, when free services can come at a cost and when trust in public institutions feels fragile.
The real question is not, “does corruption exist?” , but rather, “what does this score say about where the country is today, and where it could be going?”.
The CPI is often misunderstood as a simple ranking, but in reality, it is a “confidence meter”, that reflects how businesses, citizens and international investors and partners perceive the reliability of state institutions: whether rules are applied consistently, and if accountability is real or selective and whether reforms are temporary or lasting.
For Iraq, the CPI matters because it influences important decisions. Investors, lenders and development partners use it to judge risk – to decide how to engage with Iraq. Will investments be short term or long term? Speculative or productive? Concentrated or broad-based? When viewed through this lens – the country’s 2025 CPI score sends a meaningful signal. For Iraq, that signal is mixed – “reform is visible, but trust in its durability is still evolving.”
Reform has begun – now comes the hard part
Over recent years, Iraq has taken clear steps to strengthen its anti-corruption framework. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy (2021–2025) helped align institutions around shared priorities. A follow up strategy for 2025-2030 was prepared and awaits formal adoption, signaling an intention to sustain reform beyond a single political cycle.
This transition matters more than it may seem. Perception indicators like the CPI tend to move slowest precisely when plans,announcemnts and initial steps have to transform into everyday practice and become institutionaised and comprehensive. Within this evolving landscape, institutions such as the Commission of Integrity, both at federal level and in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, are increasingly expected to do more than just investigate cases. Rather, they are expectd to deliver a wider integrity system, one that includes preventions, oversight, coordination and cooperation across the state.
This reflects a crucial shift in thinking: corruption is not only a legal problem, it is a governance problem, and thrives when authority is left unchecked, rules are unclear and enforcement feels uneven.
Why reform often stalls – and why Iraq is at a turning point
Experience across countries shows that many countries stall - after strategies are adopted, but before institutions convincingly show that rules apply across sectors, actors, and political moments. Iraq appears to be navigating this demanding consolidation phase. One examplewhere this progressin to a comprehensive approach can be challenging is digitalization.
Digital services help – but technology alone is not enough
Iraq’s expansion of digital public services, such as passports national IDs and services offered through the government portal has already made a difference. Fewer face-to-face interactions mean fewer opportunities for petty corruption. Standardized procedures improve transparency. For many citizens, these changes are both welcome and tangible. By standardising procedures and increasing traceability, these services demonstrate how technology can curb certain everyday corruption risks when applied in focused and well-governed ways.
International experience suggests however that digitalisation contributes to credibility gains only when it is embedded within broader governance reform. In Georgia, for example, rapid improvements in integrity and service delivery followed decisive administrative reforms that reduced discretion and strengthened state capacity, creating conditions in which digital tools could be deployed quickly and with effect. In Estonia, by contrast, digital transformation unfolded more gradually, alongside sustained institutional reform over time, embedding accountability, interoperability, and trust into the state’s operating model. Despite different trajectories, both cases point to the same conclusion: digitalisation delivers integrity gains when it reinforces predictable rules and institutional discipline, not when it substitutes for them.
The implication is that digitalisation is not primarily a technical intervention, but a governance choice. Where rules are clear, oversight functions effectively, and institutions behave consistently, technology can reinforce trust and constrain discretion. Where these conditions are absent, digital systems risk reproducing, or even concentrating, existing power asymmetries. This is why the growing emphasis on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) matters. DPI shifts attention from individual digital services to the underlying ecosystem (shared registries, interoperable platforms, data governance frameworks, and accountability mechanisms) through which credibility is built at scale. When governed coherently, such ecosystems allow digitalisation to move from isolated integrity gains to system-wide effects on trust and institutional reliability.
What the CPI also hints at – but does not fully capture
The CPI reflects more than laws and strategies – it mirrors concerns Iraqis feel every day, for example: “is enforcement even or selective?” , “do rules apply across sectors and political moments?”, and “can oversight bodies work without pressure?”. Where accountability feels inconsistent, confidence erodes - even when formal frameworks exist. Where institutions behave predictably, trust grows.
In Iraq, these credibility challenges increasingly intersect with environmental and climate pressures. Water scarcity, land degradation, and climate-related investment needs put new demands on public institutions, procurement systems, and regulatory oversight. Where integrity mechanisms are weak or uneven, environmental stress can intensify corruption risks, distort development priorities, and undermine public trust. In this sense, CPI scores also reflect confidence in the state’s ability to manage climate-related transitions transparently and fairly.
From reform intent to reform credibility
Iraq’s low CPI 2025 score does not mean reform has failed. Rather, it highlights a trust gap between reform intentions and lived experience. Closing this gap requires moving beyond isolated actions toward reforms that are embedded in daily institutional practice and protected from political fluctuations.
It is within this logic that the UNDP’s engagement in Iraq, including through projects such as the Anti-Corruption and Arbitration Initiatives for Envrionmental Justice (ACAI II), should be understood. The emphasis is not on quick wins or visibility, but on supporting the institutionalisation of reform, strengthening coordination, reinforcing governance-oriented digitalisation, and fostering conditions in which integrity and fairness become predictable features of public administration.
Perception indicators such as the CPI tend to respond slowly. But when they move, they tend to reflect reforms that are real, consistent and sustained. Iraq’s CPI trajectory suggests that reform is underway but needs to go much further. The central challenge now is to ensure that this momentum translates into institutional trust, and trust into long-term prosperity. The task requires discipline and sustained commitment.