Since 1995 Transparency International has published an annual Corruption Perception Index, assessing and comparing the perceived level of corruption in the public sector. The 2011 index ranks countries on a scale from 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). Cyprus succeeded in maintaining its position as one of the countries least plagued by corruption, achieving thirtieth place out of 183 countries worldwide.

New Zealand led the rankings as the least corrupt country in the world this year with a score of 9.5. North Korea and Somalia were ranked lowest with scores of 1.0. Only a third of all countries surveyed achieved scores of 5.0 or above. With a score of 6.3 Cyprus was the only country in Southeast Europe to score more than 5.0. Turkey, the second-best country in the region, trailed 31 places behind Cyprus with a score of 4.2.