Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index has delivered its verdict on the world's self-appointed guardians of good governance: they are, per the data, getting measurably worse at governing themselves. The United States recorded its lowest score since the current methodology was introduced, dropping to 64 out of 100 and sliding behind Lithuania in the global rankings — a sentence that would have seemed like satire a decade ago.

The United Kingdom fared no better, also hitting a historic low. France joined the parade of democratic underperformers, reaching an all-time trough on the same index. The organisation compiling the rankings noted a pattern of eroding institutional independence, the blurring of private interest and public office, and prosecutorial systems increasingly resembling personal favours rather than justice.

Transparency International was careful to note that the 2025 survey data underpinning the index did not yet fully capture the consequences of that year's political events — meaning the next edition could be even more entertaining. In the meantime, the United States government was reportedly busy dismantling the very anti-bribery enforcement apparatus that might have arrested the decline. The Index, unbothered, simply updated its spreadsheet.