In the OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook 2026, which assesses data from 37 OECD member countries and 25 partner countries, Latvia and Lithuania ranked first and second respectively, both in terms of the transparency requirements enshrined in legislation and their implementation in practice. The Baltic states not only perform significantly above the OECD average, but are also successfully narrowing the so-called implementation gap, which remains a challenge in many other countries.
The OECD assessment indicates that Lithuania is continuing to strengthen its integrity system through clear rules, consistent monitoring and institutional accountability. At the same time, the report points to areas where stronger practical implementation is still needed in order for high standards to become an everyday norm across the public sector.
In this OECD review, Lithuania is assessed as one of the strongest countries in the world in terms of the overall maturity of public sector transparency and anti-corruption arrangements. Lithuania’s overall score for the incorporation of transparency requirements into legislation stands at 86 per cent, while their implementation in practice is assessed at 76 per cent.
Lithuania’s 2022–2033 National Agenda on the Prevention of Corruption and its implementation received a particularly favourable assessment. Lithuania scores 87 per cent for the regulatory framework and 83 per cent for implementation in practice, compared with an OECD average of just 38 per cent and 32 per cent respectively. The report highlights that Lithuania’s national anti-corruption agenda is based on risk assessment, includes outcome indicators, target values, an action plan and a clear monitoring mechanism, and therefore outperforms many other countries in this respect.
Lithuania also performs better than other OECD countries in areas such as the management of conflicts of interest in the public and private sectors, access to public information, lobbying activities, and the implementation of anti-corruption requirements in the work of judges and prosecutors, among others. According to the OECD, this reflects not only a strong legal framework, but also a functioning corruption prevention system with clearly designated responsibilities, oversight, accountability, reporting channels and transparency.
The weakest area identified for Lithuania in this review is the disciplinary liability system for civil servants. Although the regulatory score in this area stands at 67 per cent, broadly in line with the OECD average of 66 per cent, the practical implementation score is only 17 per cent, compared with an OECD average of 22 per cent. The report attributes this to several factors, including a lack of specialised training on how to conduct official investigations, the absence of an electronic case management system for disciplinary proceedings, and the lack of publicly accessible aggregated data on cases initiated, completed or appealed, as well as on sanctions imposed.
The OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook 2026 is a global review of countries’ efforts to strengthen integrity, reduce corruption risks and improve the effectiveness of the public sector. The report underlines that data-driven decision-making, new technologies and robust integrity systems are essential to supporting economic growth and public trust. It compares countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and most European Union member states. The study is not a comprehensive assessment of corruption as a whole; rather, it is based on 254 predefined criteria and 9 quantitative indicators.
More information on the OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook 2026 is available here.
