Trace International recently released its 2024 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 2024 Trace Bribery Risk Matrix with a risk score of 7, followed by Switzerland (risk score of 10), Sweden (risk score of 11), Denmark (risk score of 12) and Australia (risk score of 13) only to name a few.

Jordan came in first in the region and 69^th in the world with a risk score of 43, followed by the United Arab Emirates (78^th globally with a score of 45), and Kuwait (94^th globally with a score of 49). On the bottom end of the list came Algeria which ranked 162^nd globally with a high risk score of 67, followed by Libya (182^nd globally with a score of 75) and Syria (192^nd globally with a score of 86).

Locally, Lebanon positioned 7^th in the region and 132^nd in the World in Trace International’s Bribery Risk Matrix, scoring 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 75 in anti-bribery deterrence on the back of the low quality of anti-bribery enforcement and 66 in governmental and civil service transparency as governmental transparency was deemed poor. Similarly, Lebanon was assigned a score of 41 in capacity for civil oversight as media freedom/quality and civil society engagement were viewed as medium by Trace International.