France, Feb. 1 -- A worldwide erosion of justice and the rule of law is hindering efforts to combat corruption, a report by Transparency International has warned.

A total of 23 countries hit their worst levels since the inception of the group's Corruption Perceptions Index three decades ago.

Globally most countries made little to no progress, with over two-thirds scoring below 50 out of 100 on the CPI2023 rankings.

High-scoring democracies such as Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK, as well as authoritarian countries like Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, have seen a decline in their efforts against corruption.Democracy is suffering

"When corruption is ignored democracy suffers," Transparency International'swestern Europe coordin...