How AUSTRAC Uses the Basel AML Index
AUSTRAC references the Basel AML Index as a key resource for Australian businesses to assess country-related money laundering and terrorism financing risks. Under Australia's AML/CTF obligations, you must consider geographic risk when conducting customer due diligence and risk assessments.
Basel AML Index Risk Categories
The Basel AML Index rates countries on a scale of 0–10 and categorises them into three risk levels:
Low Risk: 0–5.00
Countries with strong AML/CTF frameworks, low corruption levels, and effective regulatory oversight.
Medium Risk: 5.01–6.00
Countries with moderate ML/TF vulnerabilities that may require additional due diligence measures.
High Risk: 6.01–10.00
Countries with significant AML/CTF weaknesses, high corruption levels, or inadequate regulatory frameworks.
AUSTRAC's Risk Rating Expectations
AUSTRAC expects you to apply a high-risk rating to:
Countries on the Basel AML Index rated 6.01–10.00 (high risk category)
Countries on the FATF grey and blacklists:
Grey list – Jurisdictions under increased monitoring with strategic AML/CTF deficiencies
Blacklist – High-risk jurisdictions subject to call for action (countermeasures)
Prescribed foreign countries:
Iran and North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) are currently the only two prescribed foreign countries under Australian regulations
These countries pose the highest risk and require enhanced customer due diligence
What This Means for Your Business
When Dealing with High-Risk Countries
When your customers are from, or conducting transactions with, high-risk countries, you must:
Apply enhanced customer due diligence (EDD) – Collect additional information about the customer, their source of funds, and the nature of the business relationship
Implement stronger monitoring – Increase transaction monitoring and review frequency
Verify beneficial ownership – Conduct deeper investigation into who ultimately owns or controls the customer entity
Assess source of funds and source of wealth – Understand where the customer's money comes from
Consider reporting obligations – Evaluate whether transactions should be reported to AUSTRAC as suspicious matters
Prescribed Foreign Countries (Iran and North Korea)
Transactions involving prescribed foreign countries require the highest level of scrutiny:
You must apply enhanced customer due diligence
You must treat all transactions associated with these countries as high-risk
Consider whether sanctions apply – check the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) consolidated sanctions list
Using Basel AML Index in Your Risk Assessment
When conducting your ML/TF risk assessment, you should:
Identify which countries your customers are from, operate in, or transact with
Check the current Basel AML Index rating for those countries (the Index is updated annually)
Review FATF statements for the latest grey and blacklist updates
Document your risk assessment methodology – explain how you use country risk ratings to inform your customer risk ratings
Apply risk-based controls – tailor your due diligence measures to the level of country risk identified
Basel AML Index 2025 Public Edition Summary
Complete Country Rankings - Basel AML Index 2025
The Basel AML Index 2025 (14th Public Edition) covers 177 jurisdictions with sufficient data to calculate reliable overall risk scores.
Below is the complete list of 177 jurisdictions ranked by their Basel AML Index risk scores (scale 0-10, where 10 = maximum risk):
Higher Risk Countries (Score > 6.08)
Rank | Country | Score | Risk Category |
1 | Myanmar | 8.18 | Higher |
2 | Haiti | 8.12 | Higher |
3 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 7.63 | Higher |
4 | Chad | 7.56 | Higher |
5 | Equatorial Guinea | 7.55 | Higher |
6 | Venezuela | 7.55 | Higher |
7 | Lao PDR | 7.50 | Higher |
8 | Gabon | 7.46 | Higher |
9 | Central African Republic | 7.44 | Higher |
10 | Guinea-Bissau | 7.30 | Higher |
11 | Republic of the Congo | 7.27 | Higher |
12 | China | 7.26 | Higher |
13 | Djibouti | 6.93 | Higher |
14 | Niger | 6.84 | Higher |
15 | Algeria | 6.82 | Higher |
16 | Madagascar | 6.77 | Higher |
17 | Turkmenistan | 6.73 | Higher |
18 | Cambodia | 6.72 | Higher |
19 | Vietnam | 6.69 | Higher |
20 | Comoros | 6.67 | Higher |
21 | Nicaragua | 6.61 | Higher |
22 | Papua New Guinea | 6.61 | Higher |
23 | Kenya | 6.60 | Higher |
24 | Angola | 6.55 | Higher |
25 | Eswatini | 6.51 | Higher |
26 | Tajikistan | 6.44 | Higher |
27 | Togo | 6.44 | Higher |
28 | Guinea | 6.43 | Higher |
29 | Suriname | 6.42 | Higher |
30 | Cameroon | 6.41 | Higher |
31 | Sierra Leone | 6.41 | Higher |
32 | Mozambique | 6.38 | Higher |
33 | Benin | 6.33 | Higher |
34 | Solomon Islands | 6.31 | Higher |
35 | Mauritania | 6.29 | Higher |
36 | Liberia | 6.26 | Higher |
37 | Mali | 6.22 | Higher |
38 | Nigeria | 6.18 | Higher |
39 | Kuwait | 6.13 | Higher |
40 | United Arab Emirates | 6.11 | Higher |
Medium Risk Countries (Score 4.70-6.08)
Rank | Country | Score | Risk Category |
41 | Côte d'Ivoire | 6.05 | Medium |
42 | Lesotho | 6.04 | Medium |
43 | Zimbabwe | 5.99 | Medium |
44 | Thailand | 5.98 | Medium |
45 | Kyrgyzstan | 5.96 | Medium |
46 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 5.96 | Medium |
47 | Lebanon | 5.93 | Medium |
48 | Iraq | 5.90 | Medium |
49 | Nepal | 5.88 | Medium |
50 | Saudi Arabia | 5.87 | Medium |
51 | Panama | 5.83 | Medium |
52 | Gambia | 5.76 | Medium |
53 | Burkina Faso | 5.75 | Medium |
54 | Uganda | 5.72 | Medium |
55 | Rwanda | 5.71 | Medium |
56 | Belarus | 5.70 | Medium |
57 | Ethiopia | 5.68 | Medium |
58 | Tonga | 5.67 | Medium |
59 | Honduras | 5.66 | Medium |
60 | India | 5.66 | Medium |
61 | El Salvador | 5.65 | Medium |
62 | Türkiye | 5.65 | Medium |
63 | Pakistan | 5.63 | Medium |
64 | South Africa | 5.63 | Medium |
65 | Bangladesh | 5.62 | Medium |
66 | Malaysia | 5.60 | Medium |
67 | Bolivia | 5.58 | Medium |
68 | Timor-Leste | 5.58 | Medium |
69 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5.54 | Medium |
70 | Indonesia | 5.52 | Medium |
71 | Mexico | 5.52 | Medium |
72 | Tanzania | 5.51 | Medium |
73 | Bhutan | 5.49 | Medium |
74 | Philippines | 5.48 | Medium |
75 | Azerbaijan | 5.46 | Medium |
76 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 5.46 | Medium |
77 | Cape Verde | 5.45 | Medium |
78 | Guatemala | 5.44 | Medium |
79 | Malawi | 5.44 | Medium |
80 | Brazil | 5.40 | Medium |
81 | Ukraine | 5.38 | Medium |
82 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 5.37 | Medium |
83 | Senegal | 5.36 | Medium |
84 | Zambia | 5.31 | Medium |
85 | Uzbekistan | 5.27 | Medium |
86 | Qatar | 5.25 | Medium |
87 | Egypt | 5.22 | Medium |
88 | Serbia | 5.21 | Medium |
89 | Kazakhstan | 5.18 | Medium |
90 | Bahrain | 5.16 | Medium |
91 | Cuba | 5.16 | Medium |
92 | Guyana | 5.16 | Medium |
93 | Hungary | 5.16 | Medium |
94 | Sri Lanka | 5.16 | Medium |
95 | Malta | 5.15 | Medium |
96 | Ghana | 5.13 | Medium |
97 | Bahamas | 5.08 | Medium |
98 | Dominican Republic | 5.08 | Medium |
99 | Colombia | 5.05 | Medium |
100 | Morocco | 5.04 | Medium |
101 | Bulgaria | 5.00 | Medium |
102 | Costa Rica | 4.97 | Medium |
103 | Germany | 4.97 | Medium |
104 | Vanuatu | 4.97 | Medium |
105 | Mongolia | 4.96 | Medium |
106 | Barbados | 4.91 | Medium |
107 | Ecuador | 4.91 | Medium |
108 | Paraguay | 4.91 | Medium |
109 | Marshall Islands | 4.89 | Medium |
110 | Peru | 4.88 | Medium |
111 | Grenada | 4.85 | Medium |
112 | Jordan | 4.85 | Medium |
113 | United States | 4.83 | Medium |
114 | Romania | 4.81 | Medium |
115 | Jamaica | 4.78 | Medium |
116 | Namibia | 4.78 | Medium |
117 | Cyprus | 4.77 | Medium |
118 | Italy | 4.76 | Medium |
119 | Tunisia | 4.75 | Medium |
120 | Fiji | 4.73 | Medium |
121 | Japan | 4.73 | Medium |
122 | Singapore | 4.73 | Medium |
Lower Risk Countries (Score < 4.70)
Rank | Country | Score | Risk Category |
123 | Mauritius | 4.65 | Lower |
124 | Moldova | 4.64 | Lower |
125 | Canada | 4.61 | Lower |
126 | Seychelles | 4.60 | Lower |
127 | Saint Lucia | 4.58 | Lower |
128 | Samoa | 4.56 | Lower |
129 | Netherlands | 4.53 | Lower |
130 | Korea, South | 4.51 | Lower |
131 | Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) | 4.49 | Lower |
132 | Poland | 4.49 | Lower |
133 | Switzerland | 4.47 | Lower |
134 | Belgium | 4.46 | Lower |
135 | Argentina | 4.44 | Lower |
136 | Ireland | 4.40 | Lower |
137 | Slovakia | 4.38 | Lower |
138 | Albania | 4.36 | Lower |
139 | Montenegro | 4.33 | Lower |
140 | Georgia | 4.32 | Lower |
141 | Austria | 4.28 | Lower |
142 | Chile | 4.28 | Lower |
143 | Oman | 4.25 | Lower |
144 | Spain | 4.24 | Lower |
145 | Uruguay | 4.23 | Lower |
146 | Brunei Darussalam | 4.22 | Lower |
147 | North Macedonia | 4.20 | Lower |
148 | Croatia | 4.18 | Lower |
149 | Dominica | 4.17 | Lower |
150 | Australia | 4.13 | Lower |
151 | Botswana | 4.12 | Lower |
152 | Trinidad and Tobago | 4.12 | Lower |
153 | Liechtenstein | 4.11 | Lower |
154 | Belize | 4.06 | Lower |
155 | Israel | 4.06 | Lower |
156 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 4.05 | Lower |
157 | United Kingdom | 4.04 | Lower |
158 | Lithuania | 4.03 | Lower |
159 | Latvia | 4.01 | Lower |
160 | France | 3.99 | Lower |
161 | Greece | 3.99 | Lower |
162 | Antigua and Barbuda | 3.98 | Lower |
163 | Armenia | 3.98 | Lower |
164 | Luxembourg | 3.97 | Lower |
165 | Nauru | 3.88 | Lower |
166 | Portugal | 3.83 | Lower |
167 | Czech Republic | 3.82 | Lower |
168 | New Zealand | 3.76 | Lower |
169 | Norway | 3.73 | Lower |
170 | Slovenia | 3.49 | Lower |
171 | Andorra | 3.48 | Lower |
172 | Sweden | 3.48 | Lower |
173 | Estonia | 3.25 | Lower |
174 | Denmark | 3.18 | Lower |
175 | San Marino | 3.08 | Lower |
176 | Iceland | 3.04 | Lower |
177 | Finland | 3.03 | Lower |
Notes:
Russia is excluded from the Basel AML Index Public Edition 2025 based on FATF's suspension of Russian membership
The Expert Edition covers 203 jurisdictions (26 additional jurisdictions beyond the Public Edition)
Risk scores are based on data collected up to 10 November 2025
Scores may change quarterly in the Expert Edition as new data becomes available
Where to Find Current Information
Basel AML Index
Visit the Basel Institute on Governance website at index.baselgovernance.org to access:
Public Edition – Free annual rankings of 177 jurisdictions with reliable data
Expert Edition – Subscription-based service (free for public sector, non-profits, and academia) covering 203 jurisdictions with quarterly updates, detailed indicator breakdowns, and sanctions information
Expert Edition Plus – Includes detailed FATF mutual evaluation analysis and early warning system for potential grey list additions
FATF Lists
AUSTRAC provides regular updates on FATF statements about high-risk or non-cooperative jurisdictions. Visit www.austrac.gov.au and search for "high-risk countries" for the latest information.
DFAT Sanctions
For current sanctions information, visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website at www.dfat.gov.au.
Important Reminders
Country risk is just one factor in your overall customer risk assessment. You must also consider customer type, delivery channels, products/services, and other risk indicators.
The Basel AML Index and FATF lists are updated regularly – ensure you're using current information.
Your risk assessment must be tailored to your business – the nature, size, and complexity of your operations will determine how you apply country risk ratings.
When in doubt, apply enhanced due diligence – it's better to be cautious when dealing with potentially high-risk jurisdictions.
This guide is for informational purposes and provides general guidance on AUSTRAC's expectations. It should be read in conjunction with AUSTRAC's official guidance and your organisation's AML/CTF policies. For specific compliance advice, consult your legal or compliance advisors.