Bangladesh has ranked 178th in the latest global bribery risk index, putting the country among the riskiest in South Asia.
The latest report of TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix 2019 has revealed the country's risk-score is 72 in 2019, which was 70 a year earlier, indicating such risks keep growing in Bangladesh.
In the index-India ranked 78th, Pakistan 153rd, Afghanistan 168th, and Myanmar 157th.
Each country was given a score from 1.0 to 100 in four domains.
This score is a composite of the four domain scores, which are weighted and combined to produce the overall country risk score.
A higher score indicates a higher risk of business bribery.
Assessments of whether a given domain score is "good" or "poor" are made relative to all other jurisdictions within that domain.
According to this year's data, Somalia, South Sudan, North Korea, Yemen and Venezuela presented the highest risk of bribe demands.
In contrast, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland presented the lowest bribery risk.
The matrix measures business bribery risk in 200 countries, territories, and autonomous and semi-autonomous regions.
The overall country risk score is a combined and weighted score of four domains: Business Interactions with Government; Anti-Bribery Deterrence and Enforcement; Government and Civil Service Transparency; and Capacity for Civil Society Oversight, including the role of the media.
The domain scores are derived from nine sub-domains.
The matrix was originally developed in 2014 in collaboration with RAND Corporation. It is updated annually by TRACE.
With the 2019 edition of the matrix, TRACE has also launched the Bribery Risk Typology and interactive map, which provides comparative context for interpreting matrix scores based on factors such as state fragility and economic complexity.
In the area of business interactions with the government, Bangladesh receives a poor score of 86 based on a high degree of government interaction, a high expectation of bribes, and a high regulatory burden.
In case of anti-bribery deterrence and enforcement, the country receives a poor score of 63 in this domain, based on a low quality of anti-bribery dissuasion and a low quality of anti-bribery enforcement.
As for government and civil service transparency, Bangladesh receives a medium score of 60 based on medium governmental transparency and poor transparency of financial interest.
In the domain of capacity for civil society oversight, the country receives a poor score of 64 based on a low degree of media freedom or quality and a low degree of civil society engagement.
Headquartered in the U.S, TRACE is a globally recognised anti-bribery business organisation and leading provider of third party risk management solutions.
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