Telegram: A Powerful Messaging Platform with Endless Benefits

In the digital age, instant communication has become an essential part of our lives. With the advent of various messaging applications, Telegram has emerged as one of the most popular and powerful platforms. Offering a wide range of features and benefits, Telegram has revolutionized the way we connect and communicate with others. In this article, we will explore the manifold advantages of Telegram and why it has gained such immense popularity.

Enhanced Privacy and Security

One of the key features that sets Telegram apart from other messaging apps is its strong focus on privacy and security. Telegram employs end-to-end encryption for secret chats, ensuring that only the intended recipient can access the messages. Additionally, Telegram offers self-destructing messages, two-factor authentication, and the ability to hide one’s phone number. These robust security measures provide users with peace of mind and make Telegram an ideal platform for sensitive conversations.

Seamless Cross-Platform Experience

Telegram is designed to provide a seamless user experience across multiple devices. Whether you’re using it on your smartphone, tablet, or computer, Telegram synchronizes your messages in real-time. This synchronization allows you to start a conversation on one device and seamlessly continue it on another without any interruption. The ability to access Telegram on multiple platforms ensures that you’re always connected and never miss an important message.

Versatile Communication Channels

Telegram offers a wide array of communication channels to suit different needs. In addition to one-on-one chats, users can create and participate in group chats with up to 200,000 members. These groups can be public or private, providing a platform for discussions, collaboration, and sharing information. Telegram also supports channels, which are ideal for broadcasting messages to a large audience, such as news updates, announcements, or public discussions.

File Sharing and Cloud Storage

Sharing files has never been easier than with Telegram. The platform allows users to send and receive various file types, including documents, photos, videos, and more. The file size limit for Telegram is generous, making it a convenient solution for sharing large files that may exceed the limits of other messaging apps. Moreover, Telegram provides cloud storage for users to save their files, ensuring easy access from any device without taking up valuable storage space on their devices.

Bots and Automation

Telegram boasts a robust bot platform, which enables users to automate tasks and access various services within the app. Bots are essentially AI-driven accounts that can perform a wide range of functions, such as providing news updates, weather forecasts, language translation, to-do lists, and much more. Bots add an extra layer of convenience and customization to Telegram, allowing users to tailor their experience and receive automated assistance right within the app.

Also read related articles : Instagram: Opening the Doors to a Vast Visual and Social World

Customization and Personalization

Telegram offers a plethora of customization options to make the app truly your own. Users can personalize the app’s appearance by choosing from a wide selection of themes, colors, and chat backgrounds. Additionally, Telegram allows users to create and join communities based on their interests, hobbies, or professional affiliations. This sense of belonging and personalization fosters a vibrant and engaging user experience.

Platform for Businesses and Communities

Telegram has gained popularity among businesses and communities due to its versatile features and extensive reach. Many organizations utilize Telegram to engage with their audience, provide customer support, and share updates. Telegram’s support for large group chats and channels makes it an excellent platform for hosting online communities, interest groups, or even educational forums. The ability to integrate bots and automate certain tasks further enhances its value for businesses and communities alike.

In conclusion, Telegram has transformed the way we communicate by offering a secure and feature-rich messaging platform. With its emphasis on privacy, seamless cross-platform experience, versatile communication channels, file sharing capabilities, automation through bots, customization options, and its suitability for businesses and communities, Telegram has undoubtedly earned its popularity. Whether you’re looking for a secure messaging app for personal use, a platform for group collaboration, or a channel to reach a broader audience, Telegram provides all the necessary tools and benefits to meet your communication needs.

Instagram: Opening the Doors to a Vast Visual and Social World

Instagram has become one of the largest social media platforms in the world with more than one billion active users every month. Launched in 2010, Instagram was originally known as a photo-sharing platform, but has since grown into a space that allows users to share moments, express creativity, connect with people around the world, and even influence cultural trends. In this article, we will explore Instagram further and see the benefits it provides users.

Expression of Creativity:

Instagram provides a space for users to express their creativity through photos and videos. The available filters, effects and editing tools allow users to produce attractive and aesthetically pleasing content. Thus, Instagram becomes a platform that allows individuals to develop their visual identity and share their work with the world.

Community and Social Network:

Instagram is a place where users can connect with friends, family, celebrities, and even people with similar interests around the world. Through features such as comments, likes, and direct messages, users can interact with others, share opinions, provide support, and build extensive social networks.

Marketing and Promotion:

For businesses and brands, Instagram has become an important platform when it comes to marketing and promotion. Tools like Instagram Business and Instagram Ads allow advertisers to target the right audience and promote their products or services effectively. With a large active user base, Instagram provides an opportunity for businesses to increase their visibility, build their brand and reach potential customers.

Also read related articles : Becoming Successful with YouTube Impact: Strategies for Building a Business on the Video Platform

Inspiration and Trends:

Instagram is a source of inspiration for many users. By following accounts that are relevant to their interests and passions, users can see interesting content, creative ideas, and the latest trends. From fashion to food to travel to art to beauty, Instagram is a rich place for inspiration that can motivate and broaden users’ horizons.

Building a Personal Brand and Career:

For individuals, Instagram can be a platform for building a personal brand and creating career opportunities. Consistent, authentic, and engaging content can help build a loyal audience and open up opportunities for collaboration with other brands or businesses. Along with that, Instagram is also a place that is often visited by companies and employers in looking for prospective employees or potential work partners.

Through the features and benefits mentioned above, Instagram has provided significant benefits for users in various fields of life. From creativity, social engagement, marketing, to inspiration and career development, Instagram continues to open doors to a vast social and visual world, enabling individuals and businesses to connect, be inspired, and thrive in an increasingly digital age.

Becoming Successful with YouTube Impact: Strategies for Building a Business on the Video Platform


YouTube has become a broad and popular platform for content creators from all walks of life. For those looking to take advantage of the huge potential that YouTube has to offer, Danpak YouTube is an important step. In this article, we’ll cover the strategies and important steps you can take to build a successful business on the YouTube platform.

Determining the Right Niche:


The first step in building a business on YouTube is determining a specific niche or area that you want to focus on. Choose something that you are good at and have high interest in, because this will allow you to provide quality and interesting content for the intended audience. For example, if you are good at cooking, you can choose a culinary niche and provide unique recipes or cooking tips.

Competitor Research:


Before you get started, do some research on existing creators in your chosen niche. Analyze their content, the types of videos they upload, and how they interact with their audience. This will help you understand current trends, spot gaps in the market, and develop a strategy that differentiates your content from the crowd.

Professional Channel Setup:


Creating an attractive and professional YouTube channel is the key to attracting the attention of a potential audience. Make sure to use a consistent and attractive graphic design for your logo, header and video thumbnails. Write an informative and engaging channel description, and don’t forget to include links to your website or social media if you have them.

Quality Content:


Content is king on YouTube. Make sure that your video has good production quality, clear sound, and adequate lighting. Plan and script your video beforehand to ensure delivery of a clear and structured message. Provide content that is useful, interesting and entertaining for your audience. Also, interact with comments and feedback left by viewers to build a strong community around your channel.

Consistency and Content Delivery Schedule:


Maintaining consistency in uploading new videos is very important. Create a realistic content delivery schedule and stick to those commitments. This will help your audience to expect new content from you on a regular basis, and will also help you build a strong presence on the YouTube platform.

Also read related articles : Perkembangan Facebook Revolusi Sosial Media yang Mengubah Dunia

SEO Optimization:


As in any other online business, search engine optimization (SEO) is also important for success on YouTube. Choose a catchy and relevant title, and use relevant keywords in your video description. Also, add relevant tags and attractive thumbnails to increase your video’s visibility in YouTube search results.

Promote Your Channel:


Apart from optimizing your videos for YouTube search, you also need to promote your channel on other platforms. Use social media like Instagram, Twitter or Facebook to share video clips or teasers that direct your audience to your YouTube channel. You can also collaborate with other creators in the same niche to increase your channel’s visibility.

Conclusion:


Building a business on YouTube takes time and hard work, but with the right strategy, quality content and consistency, you can achieve success. It’s important to understand your audience, offer valuable content, and promote your channel effectively. By treading with determination and creativity, you stand a chance to develop a successful business on this most popular video platform.

Perkembangan Facebook Revolusi Sosial Media yang Mengubah Dunia

perkembangan Facebook sebagai platform sosial media yang telah merevolusi cara kita berinteraksi, berbagi informasi, dan menjalin hubungan. Mulai dari sejarah awal pendirian hingga dampaknya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, Facebook telah mengubah lanskap digital secara signifikan. Artikel ini juga menyoroti beberapa isu terkait privasi dan regulasi yang mengikuti perkembangan pesat Facebook.

Facebook telah menjadi bagian tak terpisahkan dari kehidupan sehari-hari masyarakat modern. Sejak diluncurkan pada tahun 2004 oleh Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook telah mengalami evolusi yang luar biasa, menghubungkan jutaan orang di seluruh dunia. Dalam artikel ini, kami akan menjelajahi sejarah Facebook, manfaatnya, dan permasalahan yang terkait dengan penggunaannya.

Sejarah Pekembangan Facebook

Pada bagian ini, kita akan melihat perkembangan awal Facebook dari konsep dasar hingga menjadi jaringan sosial terbesar di dunia. Dari peluncuran pertama di kampus Harvard hingga ekspansi global, perjalanan Facebook menawarkan gambaran tentang kesuksesan yang menginspirasi dan tantangan yang dihadapi oleh perusahaan ini.

Manfaat dan Pengaruh Positif

Facebook telah mengubah cara kita berinteraksi dan berkomunikasi dengan orang lain. Artikel ini akan membahas beberapa manfaat dan dampak positif Facebook dalam berbagai aspek kehidupan, seperti menjalin hubungan, berbagi informasi, mempromosikan bisnis, dan menggalang dukungan untuk tujuan sosial.

Baca juga artikel terkait :The Impact of TikTok on Business: Is It Irreplaceable

Isu Privasi dan Keamanan

Ketika Facebook berkembang, juga muncul isu-isu yang berkaitan dengan privasi dan keamanan data pengguna. Kami akan membahas beberapa insiden dan kontroversi yang melibatkan pelanggaran privasi, penyebaran berita palsu, dan manipulasi politik yang terkait dengan Facebook. Selain itu, artikel ini juga akan menyoroti langkah-langkah yang diambil oleh perusahaan untuk mengatasi isu-isu ini dan meningkatkan keamanan platform.

Regulasi dan Tanggapan Pemerintah

Di tengah kekhawatiran terkait privasi dan dampak sosial media, pemerintah di berbagai negara mulai mengadopsi langkah-langkah regulasi terkait Facebook. Artikel ini akan menjelaskan beberapa upaya yang telah dilakukan oleh pemerintah dan badan pengatur untuk mengawasi dan mengatur aktivitas Facebook, serta menyoroti perdebatan yang terkait dengan kemerdekaan berekspresi dan pengawasan.

Masa Depan Facebook

Dalam bagian terakhir artikel ini, kita akan membahas arah perkembangan Facebook ke depan. Dari inovasi teknologi seperti kecerdasan buatan (AI) hingga penggabungan dengan platform lain, seperti Instagram dan WhatsApp, Facebook terus berupaya memperluas pengaruhnya dan beradaptasi dengan perubahan tren digital.

Kesimpulan:

Facebook telah mengubah cara kita berinteraksi dan berkomunikasi di dunia yang semakin terhubung. Meskipun menghadapi tantangan terkait privasi dan regulasi, Facebook tetap menjadi salah satu platform sosial media yang paling berpengaruh di dunia. Dalam beberapa tahun mendatang, perkembangan Facebook akan terus menjadi sorotan, dan sangat menarik untuk melihat bagaimana perusahaan ini akan beradaptasi dengan perubahan dan mempengaruhi masyarakat di masa depan.

The Impact of TikTok on Business: Is It Irreplaceable?

Social media – A known phrase by millions of people and is a digital buzz. Now the world revolves around social media; no one can deny it! Is it irreplaceable? Social media is now revolutionizing the landscape of the digital world. It has taken the world by storm. Irrespective of all the niches like businesses, entertainment, marketing, etc., social media is helping out people to promote themselves.

Nearly 69% percent of marketers use social media to build brand awareness. Moreover, roughly 59% (i.e., 4.70 billion) of the world’s population uses social media. It proves the scope of social media on businesses. Have you ever thought about how social media has penetrated the business world? What are all the changes social media has done to the business markets? Want to be a part of it? Then you shall try using Trollishly and shall enhance your business.

tiktok

If you are unaware, continue reading the article to learn more!

Social Media and Businesses
In today’s world, social media and business have an irresistible bond. The key driver to capturing the audience’s hearts is to use social media effectively. What if it happens? With proper strategies, you shall generate new leads and seamlessly take your business to the next level.

Some of the most prominent social media platforms that businesses using out are,

Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Google+
Instead, businesses may encounter both positive and negative feedback from social media users. Companies may build meaningful relationships with customers through social media. To solidify brand identity, it is essential to use social media.

Why TikTok?

You may wonder why TikTok is given much importance in online marketing. The answer is quite simple. Although, at the advent of TikTok, it remains a funny and entertaining platform, later, it had a significant impact on the business. Even the more prominent brands are leaping onto the TikTok and are shining among the competitors. In addition, companies are driving more sales through the TikTok platform.

Apart from the above, the app quite has several benefits for businesses. Here are the following,

International Audience – TikTok quite has a vast audience base. It is an easy opportunity to connect with audiences from new countries. You can reach the global markets on TikTok by creating TikTok videos. Moreover, you should buy TikTok likes and reap the benefits for further reach.

Prioritize Video Marketing – Now, the trend is video marketing. Most businesses have already been popular in creating videos. TikTok is a great way to expand your audience reach. In addition, if you want to get more fame on the platform, you should consider video marketing

Easy to Connect With the Audience – Using TikTok features, it is easy to communicate with the audience. With comments, TikTok Live, duets, stitches, etc., increasing your interactions on the platform is easy.

Impacts of TikTok on the Businesses
By using TikTok, you shall target your audience specifically. If your competitors are using it effectively, you have to know that it seriously impacts the audience. TikTok is the only platform focusing on the Gen Z group. But, it is also serving as one of the best marketing channels. So before the market becomes oversaturated, you shall stay ahead of the competitors.

  1. Influencer Marketing

Now the TikTok platform is flourishing with influencers. For brands, influencers serve as a backbone for their growth. So TikTok is the platform that helps brands to connect with influencers. Even they are affordable and significantly support your brand growth. For example, the influencers and the brand shall post the same content so that the reach would be higher and higher.

  1. TikTok Advertising

Even though TikTok is not a fully-fledged platform for advertisements, it shows plenty of options for advertising. There are five popular advertising types that brands shall leverage and create ads. Moreover, even with small amounts, the brands shall do TikTok advertisements and promote their business. Furthermore, you should try using Trollishly and improve your online presence.

  1. Original and Engaging Content

TikTok’s content is original and engaging. So the audience finds the TikTok content is quite authentic. If brands generate a significant presence on the TikTok, there are high chances of becoming popular on the platform. Sometimes, the brand’s marketing goal would align differently from the platform strategy. But in TikTok, the case would be much different, whereas any business niche shall utilize TikTok to the fullest.

  1. TikTok Features

After the advent of TikTok, many people have become addicted to the features of the TikTok. The duets and stitches have become the most popular and significantly impacted the audience’s minds. So many marketers are using it to gain fame. Moreover, if your content is excellent, you shall substantially impact the TikTok platform

  1. Networking

Through TikTok, you shall network with more people. So you can create more impact on the audience. The more the audience watches your video, the more engaged you are. Sometimes, word of mouth helps boost your business. So you shall engage with other TikTok users too

  1. TikTok Trends

As you know, TikTok trends are not only trending on the TikTok but also on other platforms. So if you are a business marketer, you must be more careful about the trends. You have to notice which trends are blooming and which are not. If you get with the trends, you shall win your competition on the platform. TikTok trends change daily, so keep your eyes on the TikTok for you page.

Wrapping Up

In recent years, TikTok has enormously impacted marketing, branding, business, etc. So you have to be creative, experiment with different types of content, and check which affects the audience the most. You might get surprising results. So marketers make use of the impact that TikTok has created. TikTok is never diminishing, and it always has supported business growth. Similarly, business growth is a slow process, so be patient with your success. If you find the article worth reading, leave your comments below.

Imperial Launches New Scholarship for Sub-Saharan Africa Phd Students

bankofsouthernsudan.org – Imperial has launched a new scholarship programme to support PhD students from sub-Saharan Africa. The scholarship will be for students joining the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is supported by an endowed gift from the late Professor Shawki Saad, a Professor of Civil Engineering at Khartoum University in Sudan.

The programme will support four students and will fully cover the cost of tuition fees and support students with a stipend and travel costs. The new scholarship programme builds on a previous scholarship for students from Sudan.

The new scholarship programme was announced alongside a student prize for sustainability-related research in sub-Saharan Africa. The student prize and scholarship will help College efforts to tackle global systemic challenges in engineering and sustainability.

Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, explained that the generous support from the Professor Shawki Saad Endowment Fund and Africa Plus Partners will help bring through the next generation of rising stars in engineering and strengthen College links with sub-Sarahan Africa.

Professor Ochieng said: “We want to attract the brightest students from across the globe and this generous new scholarship will help to nurture and develop the next generation of engineering leaders.

“The world is facing many global challenges and the developing world is often much more adversely impacted.

“If we are to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges such as sustainable transport and water security we need to ensure that engineering research is supported and we have a pipeline of skilled, young engineers in sub-Saharan Africa that can make a vital impact on society.”

This scholarship is open to research projects in areas including: Transport, Fluid Mechanics, Environmental and Water Resources, Structures, Systems, Materials, and Geotechnics.

Global Study: 70% of Business Leaders Would Prefer a Robot to Make Their Decisions

bankofsouthernsudan.orgPeople feel overwhelmed and under qualified to use data to make decisions and this is hurting their quality of life and business performance, according to a new study—The Decision Dilemma— and Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, New York Times bestselling author. The study of more than 14,000 employees and business leaders across 17 countries found that people are struggling to make decisions in their personal and professional lives at a time when they are being forced to make more decisions than ever before.

Global Study

The number of decisions we are making is multiplying and more data is not helping

People are overwhelmed by the amount of data and this is damaging trust, making decisions much more complicated, and negatively impacting their quality of life.

  • 74 percent of people say the number of decisions they make every day has increased 10x over the last three years and as they try to make these decisions, 78 percent are getting bombarded with more data from more sources than ever before.
  • 86 percent say the volume of data is making decisions in their personal and professional lives much more complicated and 59 percent admit they face a decision dilemma—not knowing what decision to make—more than once every single day.
  • 35 percent don’t know which data or sources to trust and 70 percent have given up on making a decision because the data was overwhelming.
  • 85 percent of people say this inability to make decisions is having a negative impact on their quality of life. It is causing spikes in anxiety (36 percent), missed opportunities (33 percent), and unnecessary spending (29 percent).
  • As a result, 93 percent have changed the way they make decisions over the last three years. 39 percent now only listen to sources they trust and 29 percent rely solely on gut feelings.

 Decision distress is creating organizational inertia

Business leaders want data to help and know it is critical to the success of their organizations, but don’t believe they have the tools to be successful which is eroding their confidence and ability to make timely decisions.

  • 85 percent of business leaders have suffered from decision distress—regretting, feeling guilty about, or questioning a decision they made in the past year—and 93 percent believe having the right type of decision intelligence can make or break the success of an organization.
  • 97 percent want help from data. In an ideal world, they want data to help them: make better decisions (44 percent), reduce risk (41 percent), make faster decisions (39 percent), make more money (37 percent), and plan for the unexpected (29 percent).
  • In reality, 72 percent admit the sheer volume of data and their lack of trust in data has stopped them from making any decision at all and 89 percent believe the growing number of data sources has limited the success of their organizations.
  • Managing different data sources has required additional resources to collect all the data (40 percent), made strategic decision making slower (36 percent), and introduced more opportunities for error (26 percent).
  • Business leaders do not believe that the current approach to data and analytics is addressing these challenges. 77 percent say that the dashboards and charts they get do not always relate directly to the decisions they need to make and 72 percent believe most data available is only truly helpful for IT professionals or data scientists.
  • Business leaders know this needs to change. They believe the right data and insights can help them make better HR (94 percent), finance (94 percent), supply chain (94 percent), and customer experience (93 percent) decisions.

Data needs to be relevant to the decisions people make or they will give up on it

Collecting and interpreting data has driven people to their breaking point at a time when the stakes are incredibly high for business leaders.

  • 70 percent of people say the headache of having to collect so much data and interpret it is too much for them to handle.
  • This is particularly evident in the business world. 78 percent of business leaders say people often make decisions and then look for the data to justify them, 74 percent of employees believe businesses often put the highest paid person’s opinion ahead of data, and 24 percent feel that most decisions made in business are not rational.
  • The situation is so challenging that 64 percent of people—and 70 percent of business leaders—would prefer for all these difficulties to just go away and to have a robot make their decisions.
  • Despite their frustrations with data in their personal and professional worlds, people know that without data their decisions would be less accurate (44 percent), less successful (27 percent), and more prone to error (39 percent).
  • People also believe that an organization that uses technology to make data-driven decisions is more trustworthy (79 percent), will be more successful (79 percent), is a company they’re more likely to invest in (76 percent), partner with (77 percent), and work for (78 percent).

Supporting Quotes

“People are drowning in data,” said Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, data scientist and author of Everybody Lies and Don’t Trust Your Gut. “This study highlights how the overwhelming amount of inputs a person gets in their average day—internet searches, news alerts, unsolicited comments from friends—frequently add up to more information than the brain is configured to handle. People are tempted to throw out the confusing, and sometimes conflicting, data and just do what feels right. But this can be a big mistake. It has been proven over and over again that our instincts can lead us astray and the best decision-making is done with a proper understanding of the relevant data. Finding a way to get a handle on the stream of data at their fingertips, to help businesses distinguish between the signal and the noise, is a crucial first step.”

“When our drivers are racing at more than 200 miles per hour, they have to make critical decisions very quickly. The correct race strategy decisions like when to pit and which tires are best for the conditions on the track can mean the difference between winning and losing,” said Christian Horner, Team Principal and CEO at Oracle Red Bull Racing. “With Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, our team can take advantage of data by running billions of race strategy simulations during a Grand Prix weekend, ensuring that we make the best decisions in response to the performance of the cars, changes happening on the track, and the actions of our competitors during the race.”

“As businesses expand to serve new customers in new ways, the number of data inputs they need to get the full picture expands too. Business leaders that make critical decisions about how to manage their companies ignore that data at their own risk,” said T.K. Anand, executive vice president, Oracle Analytics. “The hesitancy, distrust, and lack of understanding of data shown by this study indicates that many people and organizations need to rethink their approach to data and decision making. What people really need is to be able to connect data to insight to decision to action. With our span of connected cloud capabilities, ranging from foundational data management, to augmented and applied analytics, to our suite of operational applications, we are uniquely positioned to meet this need.”

Methodology

This global sample of 14,250 people were surveyed in January 2023. In each country, the sample represented employees and business leaders, including titles such as President, CEO, Chairperson, C-Level Executive, CFO, CTO, Director, Senior Manager, HR Manager, and other select leadership roles, confirmed by consumer-matched data accessed via the global insights platform Prodege. Employee samples were calibrated, where possible, to reflect the age and gender demographics of the nation’s workforce.

DKC Analytics conducted and analyzed this survey with a sample procured using the Pollfish survey delivery platform, which delivers online surveys globally through mobile apps and the mobile web along with the desktop web. No post-stratification has been applied to the results.

The Corruption Index of 2022 – Asia’s Most Corrupt Countries

bankofsouthernsudan.orgThe Transparency International 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released earlier this year indicates a fourth consecutive year of stagnating corruption levels across the region. The report reveals that leaders in the region have ignored anti-corruption efforts, instead emphasizing economic recovery at the expense of other priorities. Furthermore, governments have maintained or even expanded restrictions on civic space and basic freedoms imposed during the pandemic, increasing concerns over authoritarianism.

Ilham Mohamed, the Asia Regional Advisor of Transparency International, expressed concern that corruption is worsening in some of the world’s most populous countries. Governments are also restricting basic rights and freedoms that allow people to hold those in power accountable. Inclusive growth must come with efforts to curb corruption, and public voices must be heard with the upcoming 2023 elections. Governments across Asia Pacific must recommit to stopping corruption.

The Corruption Index of 2022

Highlights

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories based on their perceived levels of public sector corruption, on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The Asia Pacific average has remained constant at 45 for four years, and over 70% of countries rank below 50. New Zealand (87), Singapore (83), Hong Kong (76), and Australia (75) lead the region, while Afghanistan (24), Cambodia (24), Myanmar (23), and North Korea (17) are the lowest in the region. Singapore (83) and Mongolia (33) are at historic lows this year. While many countries have stagnated, countries in Asia Pacific made up nearly half of the world’s significant improvers on the CPI since 2017.

South Korea (63), Vietnam (42), and the Maldives (40) were among the significant improvers. In contrast, Malaysia (47), Mongolia (33), and Pakistan (27) declined over this time. Governments across Asia Pacific have claimed they will tackle corruption, but few have taken concrete action, leaving the situation dire. Pervasive corruption and crackdowns on civic space are the root causes.

For instance, Malaysia has been declining for years as it struggles with grand corruption in the wake of the monumental 1MDB and other scandals implicating multiple prime ministers and high-level officials. India, the largest democracy in the world, continues to consolidate power and limit the public’s ability to demand accountability. Massive protests erupted in Sri Lanka due to financial mismanagement by the government, with Sri Lankans demanding anti-corruption reforms. Meanwhile, Australia is showing positive signs this year, with the government passing historic legislation for a new National Anti-Corruption Commission. Nevertheless, more comprehensive whistleblower protection laws, caps and real-time disclosure on political donations, greater transparency, and longer cooling-off periods are necessary.

In parts of the Pacific, governments have interfered in elections, denying the public the opportunity to have their voices heard. Papua New Guinea’s August election was its worst ever amid numerous irregularities, stolen ballot boxes, and even bouts of violence. In the Solomon Islands, frustration with reported collusion between politicians and foreign companies boiled over into violent civil unrest late last year. The government’s decision to delay elections scheduled for 2023 has raised further concerns over the abuse of executive power.

Transparency International calls on governments to prioritize anti-corruption commitments, reinforcing checks and balances, upholding rights to information, and limiting private influence to finally rid the world of corruption – and the instability it brings. Governments must open up space to include the public in decision-making, from activists and business owners to marginalized communities and young people. In democratic societies, people can raise their voices to help root out corruption and demand a safer world for all.

Here is how the countries of the Asian subcontinent stack up against each other