A global coalition agency combating corruption has found persistent political failings rated Papua New Guinea the worst country surveyed across the Pacific.

PNG was one of four sovereign Pasifika states under scrutiny by Transparency International, which measures its Corruption Perception Index score based on levels of public corruption, drawing its rankings from multiple independent data sources.

The latest CPI score ranked PNG the 142nd most corrupt out of 182 countries and territories in the world.

The concern was the nation has slid further down the rankings from 127th the previous year.

Most countries and territories which were surveyed are described as failing to control corruption, according to Transparency International results.

The global CPI average in 2025 dropped for the first time in more than a decade, indicating government corruption is influentially more rife.

PNG's own drop pointed to a host of issues including its judicial system failing to successfully prosecute criminals on money laundering charges in sectors which were identified as high-risk issues.

Other factors included leadership suspensions in the country's relatively newly-established Independent Commission Against Corruption, in addition to discovering a widespread abuse of logging permits among PNG's forests.

Efforts to combat corruption have also been regularly undermined during PNG's electoral cycles, where the integrity of the democratic process has been frequently compromised.

Perennial problems including ballot fraud, block voting, voter intimidation, bribery of returning officers and omissions of names from the electoral roll have damaged the integrity of PNG elections at all levels, which has set the tone for a lack of political leadership to combat alleged corruption.

While the rankings of the Solomon Islands have positively risen slightly, the Melanesian neighbour faces similar problems to PNG, which Transparency International says drives political corruption.

The Solomon Islands was the only Pasifika country that raised its performance, moving up three places to 73rd in the world.

Sespite dropping to 49th, Fiji was the best performed in the region, while Vanuatu moved to 63rd in the world.

New Zealand/Aotearoa was ranked the fourth least corrupt behind Denmark, Finland and Singapore, while Australia came in 12th overall.

Transparency International PNG chief executive Arianne Kassman admitted recent election cycles have witnessed a deterioration of electoral processes and enforcement of electoral laws "right across the country".

"The focus for this year has to be on how do we ensure that we are strengthening this process?" she said.

"Firstly, it would be making sure that the electoral roll is looked at, that it's made transparent and that there is proper updating of the electoral roll because that is really where a lot of the issues that come up during elections first occur."

Ms Kassman demanded the PNG parliament need to permanently appoint an Electoral Commissioner, which would stabilise its political institutions.

She also urged PNG's government to ensure there is annual budget appropriation to prepare for elections — not just for the Electoral Commission — to extend to law enforcement, in order to handle what she terms "typically complex and geographically challenging elections".

"Early preparation can help us to achieve better election results," Ms Kassman said.

"We have to allow for proper planning and logistics to take place."

While the Solomon Islands raised its CPI score to indicate an improvement, the fight against corruption has exposed that its electoral standards are still far from turning the corner.

Notable issues in its latest rating include a health procurement scandal, police bribery in criminal Investigations, and the impact from Chinese-funded payments to various levels of government politicians.

Electoral integrity issues feature amid a backdrop of weak oversight of the way the constituency development funds are used by its office holders, according to the voice for the Solomon Islands.

"When there is no Integrity in the electoral processes there can be no Integrity across political leadership, therefore no commitment to fighting corruption - the abuse and misuse of entrusted power for personal gain," Solomon Islands chief executive Ruth Liloqula said.

Ms Liloqula called on government and its development partners to provide the resources required by the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission to perform their roles and responsibilities.

"It is important that the executive government of Solomon Islands, all members of parliament and the machinery of government must take this as both a responsibility and an opportunity to deepen reforms, build trust with citizens, and demonstrate their commitment to integrity and accountability," she said.