GDP per capita linked to lower corruption
Comparing GDP per capita in international and market dollars with Public Sector Corruption Index across 169 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.75
- Holding size constant
- -0.62
- Countries compared
- 169
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
A possible link between GDP per capita and public sector corruption could be through institutional stability and economic development, which may reduce opportunities for corruption. However, a careful reader should be cautious about potential confounders like education levels, which could influence both GDP per capita and corruption perceptions. The relationship may also be influenced by cultural factors.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. This correlation does not necessarily imply that higher GDP per capita causes lower corruption, as other factors like institutional reforms or historical context may be driving the relationship.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.