Corruption in Sri Lanka

Corruption in Sri Lanka is considered a major problem in all levels of society, from the top echelons of political power to minor staff levels.

According to Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Sri Lanka scored a 36 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Sri Lanka ranked #101 among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked #1 is perceived to have the most honest public sector. This is one place better than the 2021 CPI. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score in the 2022 CPI was 90 (ranked #1), the worst was 12 (ranked #180), and the average was 43. For comparison with regional scores, the best score among Asia Pacific countries was 87, the worst was 17 and the average was 45.

Corruption directly affects the welfare of citizens by decreasing public investments in health, education, infrastructure, security, housing and plantations. One of the more recent forms of corruption is through public procurement because of the lack of transparency with transactions that happen within the government.

Weak whistleblower protections undermine citizens' willingness to stand up against corruption. Despite some recent institutional reforms by the government to fight corruption, whistleblower protections need to be improved. The problems are long-standing, and despite ongoing calls for reform, and many attempts to improve the situation, there is little evidence of progress. Most of the Sri Lankan population consider bribery to be just a fact of life and that bribing a public official is necessary to get most jobs done.

Officials and politicians who have been involved in corruption have been either given presidential pardons or have escaped to foreign countries to escape punishment. A number of incidents have occurred where corrupt individuals were freed without penalty due to their political connections. Although the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption exists, its powers have been curbed by powerful politicians and business tycoons and, in most cases, the commission has not been able to act in an independent manner.

Successive governments have often pledged to eradicate corruption but, practically speaking, this has been an impossible task due to years of mismanagement and a lack of good governance. The political parties and politicians have often pledged to end corruption during election times, in the hopes of winning over voters.

Corruption in Sri Lanka is considered as an ongoing serious national issue which has dampened economic growth and lowered quality of life for most Sr Lankans. High income inequality/disparity and increased poverty have contributed to the prevalent corruption culture in Sri Lanka. Corruption has always been a hot topic in Sri Lanka and has been a root cause of Sri Lanka's worsening economic situation since 2019.

Corruption was among many issues which provoked the 2022 nationwide protests. These were massive demonstrations against the administration of Gotabaya Rajapaksanand their impetus stemmed from the inability of general public to fulfill their basic needs and wants due to shortages, rolling power cuts, hyperinflation, the decline in disposable income and the lack of foreign reserves to import basic essentials.