Jamaica has slipped four places on the 2024 Transparency International corruption ranking.
Based on the list released Tuesday, Jamaica fell to 73rd in 2024 from 69th in 2023. Some 180 countries are listed.
But Jamaica's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) remained at 44, where 0 is considered highly corrupt and 100, very clean.
Transparency International measures the perception of public sector corruption according to 13 data sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum and private risk and consulting companies.
Based on the latest survey, Jamaica is the third highly corrupt country in the English-speaking Caribbean behind Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
During the last five years, Jamaica's CPI has consistently been at 44.
But, Transparency International did not offer reasons for Jamaica's CPI remaining unchanged.
A CPI score below 50 means a country has a serious corruption problem.
A poor CPI signals prevalent bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that do not respond to citizens' needs.
Meanwhile, Barbados has the distinction of being ranked the least corrupt country in the English-speaking Caribbean for five consecutive years.
The country received a CPI score of 68 out of 100; ranking 23 out of 180 countries.
Denmark, Finland and Singapore are the top three performers.
On the flip side, the worst performers are South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela.
Since its inception in 1995, the CPI has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption.
Meanwhile, Transparency International says global corruption levels remain alarmingly high, with efforts to reduce them faltering.
The group says the global average remained unchanged from 2023 at 43, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring under 50.
It also pointed to worldwide risks from corruption to efforts to combat climate change.
It argues that a lack of transparency and accountability mechanisms increases the risk of climate funds being embezzled or misused, while undue influence, often from the private sector, obstructs the approval of ambitious policies.
The watchdog says one solution to tackle corruption and make sure funds are used efficiently would be to have better metrics and frameworks for climate transparency and accountability.
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