The Compliance Risk Index (CRI) is an annual ranking that measures perceived compliance risk across five compliance domains in countries and territories around the world. The CRI was developed to be a tool for business, compliance and risk professionals to assist with compliance risk assessments for ongoing operations and M&A activity. The CRI is a great addition to any existing risk-based compliance program or can serve as a foundational tool for a new risk-based compliance program. 

The CRI provides a risk score and risk rating in each of the five compliance domains as well as an overall composite risk score and overall risk rating for each country. The domains are assessed using 26 publicly available data sources (or “indicators”). The data sources include indicators from, among others, the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and the Heritage Foundation. The covered domains include:

1. Governance and Regulatory

2. Bribery and Corruption

3. Trade

4. Financial

5. Data Privacy

The CRI comes in a free Public Edition as well as a Client Edition which is subscription-based. See below for more details on the differences between the Public Edition and the Client Edition.

Scores and Rating

Each country is given an overall composite risk score of 1-10 (10 Highest) and then is assigned an overall Lowest, Low, Moderate, High, or Highest-risk rating. The overall composite score and rating is calculated by aggregating and weighting the individual domain scores.

Each domain receives a risk score and a Low, Moderate, or High risk rating.  The individual domain scores are calculated using information from the 26 indicators. The number of indicators assessed in each domain will vary. The scores for the individual domains are not on a 1-10 scale like the overall composite score and the scoring method varies by domain.

Overview of the CRI Methodology

The method by which we analyze the risk sources to score risk and assign a risk rating has been developed within our risk scoring tool. The risk scoring methodology includes our proprietary algorithm which incorporates a qualitative expert analysis component. Click here to learn more about what the CRI measures and it’s limitations.

CRI 2021 Results  

In the third edition of the CRI, Iran, Myanmar, Syria, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Mali, Venezuela, Yemen, Nicaragua, and Lebanon rank among the highest risk countries and Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Australia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Iceland, Ireland, Estonia, and Austria rank among the lowest risk countries. 12 countries received the Lowest risk rating, 46 countries a Low risk rating, 85 countries a Moderate risk rating, 52 countries a High risk rating, and 10 countries the Highest risk rating.

CRI 2021 – What’s New?

Some notable differences in results between the 2020 and 2021 editions include the following:

• Improved Scores

  • The 10 countries/regions whose overall risk scores improved the most from 2020 to 2021 are: Egypt, Burundi, Serbia & Montenegro, Algeria, Kiribati, Jordan, Armenia, Dominica, Panama, and the Ukraine.

  • Armenia and Dominica moved from an overall Moderate risk rating to a Low risk rating. Egypt moved from an overall High risk rating to a Moderate risk rating. Burundi moved from an overall Highest risk rating to a High risk rating.

• Regressed Scores

  • The 10 countries/regions whose overall risk scores worsened the most from 2020 to 2021 are: Croatia, Ethiopia, Slovenia, Belarus, China, Czech Republic, Brunei Darussalam, Bahrain, Oman, and Botswana.

  • Croatia and Bahrain moved from an overall Low risk rating to a Moderate risk rating. The Czech Republic and Slovenia moved from an overall Lowest risk rating to a Low risk rating. Belarus moved from an overall Moderate risk rating to a High risk rating.

CRI 2021 – Public Edition Data and Rankings

Click here to download the Public Edition of the overall scores and risk ratings by country as well as the individual domain risk scores and ratings by country.

CRI 2021 – Overall Composite Risk Heat Map

Previous Editions

CRI 2019 – Public Edition Data and Rankings

Click here to download the 2019 Public Edition of the overall scores and risk ratings by country as well as the individual domain risk scores and ratings by country. Click here to learn more about the 2019 CRI methodology.

CRI 2020 – Public Edition Data and Rankings

Click here to download the 2020 Public Edition of the overall scores and risk ratings by country as well as the individual domain risk scores and ratings by country. The 2020 CRI methodology is the same as the 2021 methodology.

Note: The CRI 2019 edition only included four domains: Governance and Regulatory, Bribery and Corruption, Trade, and Financial.

Public Edition vs. Client Edition

1. A Client Edition+ subscription option is planned for 2023 that will include a brief summary and overview of CRI results for key countries in the index. Click here for a selection of countries we currently offer free in-depth country compliance risk profiles on. Pricing for Client Edition+ has not been determined.

2. Non-profit and academic institutions are eligible for a discounted price.

Additional Information

• GCSG incorporates the CRI into our due diligence reports, third-party risk assessment tool, and our country risk profile reports.

• Clients who purchase our third-party risk assessment tool receive additional details on the indicators being scored within the CRI since the CRI is used as part of the third-party assessment tool.

Contact us to learn more about our CRI and associated products and services.