The world’s biggest enablers of financial secrecy
Last updated 3 June 2025
Methodology
Two main factors behind financial secrecy complicity
The Financial Secrecy Index is a ranking of countries most complicit in helping individuals to hide their finances from the rule of law. The index evaluates how much wiggle room for financial secrecy a country’s laws and regulations provide – this is the country’s ‘Secrecy Score’. The index also monitors how much in financial services the country provides to other countries’ residents – this is the country’s ‘Global Scale Weight’.
These two factors are then combined to determine how big of a role the country plays in enabling financial secrecy globally – this is the country’s ‘FSI value’ and is what the country is ranked on.
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How the index ranks countries
The Financial Secrecy Index thoroughly evaluates jurisdictions laws, and monitors the volume of financial services jurisdictions provide to other countries’ residents, to create a clear picture of the world’s biggest enablers of global financial secrecy.
Secrecy Score
Measures how much room for financial secrecy the jurisdiction’s laws and regulations provide, whether intentionally or not. Scores range from 0 (no room for financial secrecy) to 100 (unlimited room for financial secrecy). Evaluated against more than 100 questions which are organised into 20 indicators.
High score = the jurisdiction’s laws allow a lot of room for financial secrecy
Low score = the jurisdiction’s laws allow little room for financial secrecy
Global Scale Weight
Measures how much in financial services a jurisdiction provides to other countries’ residents. Presented as a percentage of all offshore financial services provided globally. Based on IMF data.
The jurisdiction provides 1.2% of global offshore financial services
Financial Secrecy Index Value (FSI Value)
Combines Secrecy Score and Global Scale Weight to determine how big of a role the jurisdiction plays in enabling financial secrecy globally. Jurisdictions are ranked on the index based on this value.
High value = a big enabler of financial secrecy
Low value = a low enabler of financial secrecy
Financial Secrecy Index Share (FSI Share)
Measures how much of all the financial secrecy enabled around the world, the jurisdiction is responsible for enabling. Calculated by dividing the jurisdiction’s FSI Value by the sum of all jurisdictions’ FSI Values.
Enables 1.6% of global financial secrecy
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Data in action
The Financial Secrecy Index is used by governments, international bodies, journalists, academics and campaigners to better understand and tackle global financial secrecy.
Referenced in a report commissioned by the Human Right Council on the impact of fiscal policy on human rights.
The US Senate Committee on the Judiciary announced ambitions in 2019 to improve its ranking on the Financial Secrecy Index.
The responsible investment network Moody’s ESG Solutions Group (formerly Vigeo Eiris) has included the Financial Secrecy Index in its Country Sustainability Ratings.
Referenced in a study by Argentina's Anti-Corruption Bureau (Oficina Anticorrupción) on tax havens and their impact on Argentina.
Used in Tax Justice Network collaboration with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service studying the relative importance of different profit shifting channels.
The Italian Central Bank used the Financial Secrecy Index for research into the determinants of financial flows to tax havens.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York used the Financial Secrecy Index's indicators to distinguish locations that have low taxes or weak transparency/high secrecy.
The French Parliament and Senate has referenced the Financial Secrecy Index multiple times, for the Senate in its report by the investigative commission on capital and tax flight