Lisbon, Feb. 10, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal has seen a negative trend in its Corruption Perceptions Index, in line with Europe, and although it is not possible to establish a "causal link", Transparency International Portugal points to at least "a correlation" with growing populism.
The chair of Transparency International Portugal (TIP), José Fontão, told Lusa that there seems to be a correlation between what the index reflects and "this degradation of institutions, this growth of more populist political actors who attack institutions as they stand".
But that does not mean that a direct cause-and-effect relationship can be drawn, he added.
The 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual analysis by Transparency International that combines various indices and was released on Tuesday, places Portugal 48th, down from 43rd in 2024.
Portugal had its worst-ever result in 2024, and the situation worsened in 2025 with this drop in the index.
In 2025, the country scored 56 points (one less than the previous year) on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (high integrity in the fight against corruption), in an index assessing perceptions of corruption in the public sector across 182 states.
For José Fontão, more worrying than the drop in positions on the list is Portugal's downward trend, which has been accentuated for four years and may extend until 2015, despite slight positive fluctuations.
The chair of TIP explains the result of Portugal's fall in The Economist magazine's index (Economist Intelligence Unit Country Ratings), one of eight considered gathering information about the country and which measures "the accountability of government institutions and the allocation of public funds, as well as the misappropriation of public funds, whether by civil servants, political agents, or even political parties.
The succession of court cases involving government officials, political bodies, and parties has contributed to the deterioration of Portugal's position, argued José Fontão.
"This whole series of cases has had a major impact on the public sphere, and these conditions affect perceptions, and these perceptions are captured by our index, indirectly, through other indices that address issues of governance and corruption. It is obvious that all these cases, whether Spinumviva, the Operation Influencer searches, or all the other known cases, must somehow contribute to a perception of corruption in Portugal," he said.
Portugal shares a rating of 56 points with countries such as Grenada and Costa Rica, immediately above the Portuguese state on this list, and is surpassed by Saudi Arabia (57 points), Botswana and Rwanda (both with 58 points), the latter two with whom it shared the same rating in the 2024 index, and, also with 58 points, it is still surpassed by Slovenia and Qatar.
Immediately behind Portugal in the ranking are Cyprus, Fiji and Spain, all with 55 points, followed by Italy and Poland with 53 points.
Defending the "robustness" of the index, with an internationally validated methodology, José Fontão warns that Portugal is surpassed in the list by countries such as Qatar, about which doubts have been raised regarding the legitimacy of the means used to organise the last World Cup there.
"The corruption perception index measures perceptions of corruption in the public sector. It does not measure democracy, it does not measure authoritarian regimes, it does not measure human rights," he says.
The TIP president says that "a correct reading" of the index is that Portugal, Western Europe and the countries with which Portugal directly compares itself have allowed a deterioration in the perception of corruption in the public sector, and questions "what will be done to prevent this", emphasising the impact that these levels of perception have on people's lives, investment, the perception of justice and other development indicators "that harm us all".
He calls on the political powers to take action, namely to strengthen institutions such as the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism (MENAC), to evaluate policies and legislation, and to put an end to "isolated measures", which should be replaced by a "long-term strategy", something that depends solely on "political will".
"This index, like any other tool designed to assist public policy, can be exploited for political purposes and can be used for political ends in a good and honest way or in a dishonest way. Now, what is important for us is that the index is read by reading what can be read there," said José Fontão.
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