ANNAPOLIS, Md., Nov. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TRACE, a non-profit international business association dedicated to anti-bribery, compliance and good governance, has released the 2022 Bribery Risk Matrix, which measures business bribery risk in 194 jurisdictions. According to this year's data, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Syria and Venezuela present the highest commercial bribery risk, while Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark present the lowest.

Other notable findings:

• The United States ranked 16^th and scored 19 out of 100. The enforcement environment hasn't improved since a slump during the Trump administration, and the free press environment continues to decline.
• Ukraine ranked 103^rd and scored 52 out of 100. While governmental anti-bribery enforcement declined in the lead-up to Russia's invasion, Ukraine has made significant strides in e-government services, and in reducing state ownership of the economy and red tape. [Please note most of the data used in the 2022 Matrix was gathered prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.]
• Germany, Austria and Poland experienced backsliding in areas TRACE considers to be key factors in the business bribery risk environment.
• Hong Kong's rank and score worsened again, continuing a trend that began in 2020.

Originally published in 2014 to meet a need in the business community for more reliable information about bribery risk worldwide, the TRACE Matrix addresses the likelihood of encountering bribe demands when doing business in a given jurisdiction.

"While there have been encouraging signs of decreasing tolerance for corruption, the problem remains grave and widespread," TRACE President Alexandra Wrage said. "In this climate, it is critical that the business community bolsters its efforts to tame the illicit economic incentives that threaten to undermine order and good governance. With this year's edition of the Bribery Risk Matrix, TRACE continues to provide companies with the information they need to assess and manage bribery risk in the markets where they operate."

The TRACE Matrix helps companies examine the conditions that underpin business bribery risk: (1) the nature and extent of government interaction with the private sector; (2) societal attitudes toward bribery and the government's ability to enforce anti-bribery laws; (3) governmental transparency; and (4) civil society's ability to monitor and expose corruption.

The TRACE Matrix is publicly available at TRACEinternational.org/trace-matrix. Access the Matrix Data Browser at matrixbrowser.TRACEinternational.org.