Trace International recently released its 2023 Trace Bribery Risk Matrix where it ranks 194 countries around the world in terms of bribery risk. In details, the matrix aims at informing companies that are willing to conduct international business of the possibility of being asked to pay a bribe by a government official. The total risk score represents the weighted average of four major domains namely “interactions with the government” (40% risk weight), “anti-bribery deterrence” (15% risk weight), “governmental and civil service transparency” (22.5% risk weight) and “capacity for civil oversight” (22.5% risk weight).

Norway ranked first in the world in the 2023 Trace Bribery Risk Matrix with a risk score of 5, followed by New Zealand (risk score of 10), Switzerland (risk score of 10), Sweden (risk score of 10) and Denmark (risk score of 12) only to name a few.

Jordan came in first in the region and 69^th globally with a risk score of 43, followed by the United Arab Emirates (79^th globally with a score of 46), and Tunisia (86^th globally with a score of 47). On the other end, Iraq ranked 166^th globally with a high risk score of 68, followed by Libya (179^th globally with a score of 74) and Syria (192^nd globally with a score of 88).

Locally, Lebanon positioned 5^th regionally and 127^th globally with a total risk score of 57. In details, Lebanon was assigned a score of 55 in terms of interactions with government given the medium regulatory burden and high expectation of bribes. It also scored 78 in anti-bribery deterrence on the back of the low quality of anti-bribery enforcement and 64 in governmental and civil service transparency as governmental transparency was deemed poor according to Trace International. Similarly, Lebanon was assigned a score of 38 in capacity for civil oversight as media freedom/quality and civil society engagement were viewed as medium by Trace International.