The latest Corruption Perceptions Index ranks 180 countries according to their level of public sector corruption.
New Zealand, Denmark and Finland take the top three places as the world’s least corrupt countries, while Syria, South Sudan and Somalia are bottom of the list.
Published by Transparency International, the Index places the UK at No. 8 on the list – up from 10th place last year.
Based on surveys of business people and on expert assessments, the Index highlights links between corruption, press freedom and the decline of civil liberties around the world.
The least corrupt region is Western Europe, with the two worst being Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The Index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. Over two-thirds of countries in this year’s list have a score below 50, with the average being 43. Chart-topping New Zealand scored 89, with the UK on 82, the USA on 75, Russia on 29 and Somalia on 9 points.
Commenting on the UK’s rise up the table, Transparency International’s Duncan Hames said it is encouraging to see perceptions of corruption in the UK’s public sector falling, but warned that more work needs to be done in other sectors to prevent money laundering and to stop UK-based professionals enabling corruption from around the world.
Over the last six years, many countries have made little or no progress in tackling corruption, with the positions in some – including Bahrain, Liberia and St Lucia – actually worsening.
“Smear campaigns, harassment, lawsuits and bureaucratic red tape are all tools used by certain governments in an effort to quiet those who drive anti-corruption efforts,” Patricia Moreira of Transparency International pointed out.
The full results can be seen at www.transparency.org.
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