A study by Transparency International has shown that Nepal has not improved its standards in controlling corruption and restoring good governance. According to Transparency International's 2025 survey, Nepal has scored only 34 out of 100 on the 'Corruption Perception Index (CPI),' Nepal's score was 34 in the previous year's report as well.

Despite the same score, Nepal was ranked 107th in the 2024 survey, with 180 countries participating, and 109th in 2025. Transparency International has been including countries with a score of less than 50 in the list of highly corrupt countries. Releasing the details of the report on Nepal on Tuesday, Transparency International Nepal said that Nepal failed to exit the list of highly corrupt countries because the state machinery could not be made effective against corruption.

Transparency International had conducted a survey in 182 countries through the World Bank, World Economic Forum, Global Insight, Wirtelsmann Foundation, World Justice Project and the Varieties of Democracy Project (V-DEM).

The World Bank had conducted a survey on issues such as government decisions, use of resources and accountability of work and actions by employees, access of civil society to state information, and the control of limited individuals with vested interests in the state machinery. Nepal scored 39 points in this, the same score as last year. Nepal scored only 31 out of 100 in a survey conducted by the World Economic Forum on irregularities in import/export, public services, tax payments, public contracts and judicial decisions. The forum had given a score of 30 in 2024. Transparency International Nepal has stated that this time, although there was an improvement of 1 point, it was only modest. In matters related to corruption control, Global Insight had conducted a survey on trade/business, contracts, import/export and the risk of bribery and corruption in daily work. Nepal scored 32 points in it. It had the same score last year. 

  Nepal has scored 34 points in a survey conducted by the Wirtelsmann Foundation on abuse of office by employees and officials, and government measures to control corruption. Nepal had scored the same number of points in 2024. Nepal scored 35 points in 2023, 34 points in 2022, the same 33 points in 2021 and 2020, 34 points in 2019, the same 31 points in 2018 and 2017, and 29 points in 2016.

The World Justice Project surveyed the state of abuse of public office by representatives of the government, judiciary, parliament, and security agencies for private gain, and V-DEM surveyed the prevalence of political corruption in the government, parliament, judiciary, and public sector.

Both organizations have given Nepal the same score of 33/33. World Justice gave it a score of 32 last year, an improvement of 1 point, while V-DEM gave it a score of 1 less than the previous year. This indicates that corruption has increased in the government, parliament, judiciary, and public sector. 

Nepal scored 35 points in 2023, 34 points in 2022, 33 points in 2021 and 2020, 34 points in 2019, 31 points in 2018 and 2017, and 29 points in 2016.

According to Transparency International, Denmark is the least corrupt country among the countries surveyed. Denmark scored 89 out of 100. Finland is second with 88 points, Singapore is third with 84 points, New Zealand and Norway are fourth with 81 points each, and Sweden and Switzerland are fifth with 80 points each. These countries have excelled in areas such as the rule of law, promotion of human rights, civil liberties, and transparency. 

South Sudan and Somalia are ranked first in the list of highly corrupt countries. They have scored 9 points each. Both countries are going through civil wars. Venezuela has 10 points, while Yemen, Libya, and Eritrea have scored 13 points each. Bhutan is the least corrupt country in South Asia. It has scored 71 points. India and Maldives, which are included in the list of most corrupt countries, have the same score of 39. Sri Lanka has scored 35 points. South Asian countries that have scored lower than Nepal are Pakistan (28), Bangladesh (24) and Afghanistan (16). Neighboring country China has scored 43 points. 

Transparency has commented that it is regrettable that the trend seen in controlling corruption remains worrying. Transparency Nepal Chairman Madan Sharma says that the situation has not improved due to the political leadership's failure to commit to controlling corruption. 'It is not possible to fully comply with the law, implement international commitments and strengthen the regulatory system,' he says. 'The government does not seem to be sensitive to closing legal loopholes to prevent internal capital flight, including ensuring civil rights.' 

President Sharma says that in established democratic countries, corruption increases due to the decline in leadership, which weakens democracy and narrows civil liberties, and the pace of development of the country and its people does not progress as expected.  Transparency has commented that it is regrettable that the trend seen in controlling corruption remains worrying. Transparency International Nepal President Madan Sharma says that the situation has not improved due to the failure of political leadership to commit to controlling corruption.

The questionable activities of political, administrative and interest groups that tarnish the country's international image are the main challenges to restoring good governance, says Padmini Pradhanang, former president of Transparency International Nepal. 'The country's image has been tarnished for the past ten years, corruption and unrest are rampant, and those who exploit through position, power and power are becoming increasingly powerful,' she says. 'The impact of this has been tarnishing the country's international image.'

The tendency to misuse the state machinery that works for good governance as a weapon to fulfill political deals has also added to the challenge of maintaining good governance and bringing the guilty to justice. Following the Gen-G movement against corruption in Bhadra, the House of Representatives is being dissolved and elections are being held on 21 Falgun. In the same election, political parties have fielded candidates ranging from those who have been found guilty by the courts to those facing cases in the courts on corruption and other charges. 

Former Prime Minister and Nepal Communist Party co-coordinator Madhav Kumar Nepal, who is facing corruption charges in the Patanjali land scam case, has become a candidate in Rautahat-1. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) President and former Deputy Prime Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who is facing cases in half a dozen courts in cooperative fraud, organized crime and money laundering cases, has entered the election from Chitwan-2. 

Congress leader Tek Bahadur Gurung, who has been convicted by a special court in a corruption case and is currently facing a case in the Supreme Court, has contested from Manang. Former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Vijay Kumar Gachhadar, who is facing a case in the Supreme Court in the Lalita Niwas government land embezzlement case, is contesting the election from Sunsari-3. 

UML has fielded Milan (Chakre Milan) Gurung, who is known as a gangster and has been in and out of jail for various crimes, in the election from Gorkha-2. Laxmi Mahato Koiri, who is facing a case for murdering an Armed Police Force officer, is a candidate from UML in Mahottari-1. Although he was acquitted by the Mahottari District Court, a case is pending against him in the Janakpur High Court. 

The government itself did not want to move forward with the draft law prepared by the Election Commission to prevent tainted people from contesting elections. The draft has been stuck in the Home Ministry for two years. Parties have also repeatedly obstructed the formulation of laws to control corruption. The bill related to authority was stalled in Parliament due to the dispute over whether the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority can investigate policy decisions made by the Council of Ministers or not. This bill has become inactive with the dissolution of the House of Representatives after the Gen-G movement. 

It has been 12 years since the European Commission banned Nepali airlines from flying in its skies, citing lack of improvements in the aviation sector. During this period, Sushil Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba from the Nepali Congress, KP Sharma Oli from the UML, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal from the Maoist (currently CPN) became prime ministers repeatedly. But the government did not take effective steps to get out of the blacklist.  

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international forum that monitors money laundering, has placed Nepal on the ‘grey list’ for two years from 2025. Nepal was placed on the 'Grey List' after failing to work effectively in areas such as money laundering/control of financial investments in terrorist activities, effective regulation of banks and financial institutions, monitoring of transactions, effective risk-based monitoring of high-risk cooperatives, casinos, 'Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones (DPMS)' and the real estate sector, and identifying illegal service providers that transport money, including hundi, without hindering financial inclusion. It has been a year since it was placed on the list, and if the indicators set are not met within the remaining time, the 'Grey List' will continue, and if reforms are neglected, there is a risk of being blacklisted.   It has been 12 years since the European Commission banned Nepali airlines from flying in its skies, citing lack of improvements in the aviation sector.

The government's tendency to protect people involved in crime and suspects rather than taking steps to get out of the 'Grey List' has not moved forward towards improving Nepal's image. Nepal was also on the 'Grey List' in 2008 and 2014, and was removed from the list after some policy reforms. 

The last time the government formed on the foundation of the Gen-G movement decided to withdraw the money laundering and organized crime cases filed against the accused in cooperative fraud and crimes under its cover through the Attorney General's Office. This has also increased the risk of pushing Nepal's image into a worse position. Ministers of both previous governments did not make their assets public after assuming public office. Ministers of the government formed after the Gen-G movement have also not made their assets public.