Corruption in Iraq

Corruption is pervasive at all levels of government in Iraq. In 2021, President Barham Salih stated that US$150 billion of oil money had been stolen and smuggled out of Iraq in corrupt deals since the 2003 U.S. invasion. Endemic corruption pervades Iraq's oil and gas sectors, which still accounts for more than 99 percent of the country’s exports and 85 percent of the government’s budget. The Iraqi economy is predominantly a cash economy, making it almost impossible to trace the amount or the path the money follows.

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index scores 180 countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean") and then ranks the countries by their score; the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. From 2013 to 2022, the Corruption Perceptions Index indicated that the Iraqi public sector was seriously corrupt but improving: Iraq's score remained constant or rose every year, rising from 16 to 23 over the nine years. Its 2022 score of 23 ranked it 157th of 180 countries. For comparison, the best 2022 score was 90 (ranked 1), the worst score was 12 (ranked 180), and the average score was 43.