Transparency International has released its annual Corruption Perception Index.
As reported at Christian Science Monitor, the Index
… measures the perception of corruption – misuse of public resources, bribery, and backdoor deals, to name a few – in countries worldwide. On a scale of 0 (most corrupt) to 10 (least corrupt), no country scores a 10 and more than two-thirds of the 183 countries on the index score below a 5. The US comes in at 7.1. The index is built using data from surveys examining enforcement of anticorruption laws, tracking of public funds, kickbacks in government contracts, etc.
For the first time, the United States failed to rank in the top 20 (least corrupt), falling behind Chile into 22nd place.
Top 25: Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Singapore, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Canada, Netherlands, Iceland, Luxembourg, Germany, Hong Kong, Barbados, Belgium, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, Chile, Uruguay, Bahamas, France, Saint Lucia, Austria, and Ireland.
Bottom 15, with the most corrupt at the end: Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Chad, Haiti, Venezuela, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Myanmar, Sudan, Afghanistan, Korea (North), Somalia.
At CS Monitor:
And the most corrupt nation this year is….
It’s a tie between Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia. Elsewhere, bankrupt Greece, one-party China, and various ‘Arab Spring’ nations stand out in Transparency International’s annual rankings. …
Corruption is a major threat across the globe, impacting citizen’s perceptions of their leaders and trust for their government, regardless of the level of development or economic ranking. Corruption can also play a role in political unrest, as seen around the world from the Middle East to China to Greece.
(World Map via SXC)
Comments are closed.