Transparency International releases corruption league table

Transparency International said on Tuesday that two thirds of the 177 countries in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index list are in a "very critical situation". The organisation ranked most countries below 50 on a scale where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean, based on local and international experts' opinions of public sector corruption. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia tied for last place with scores of 8 points each. The most violent nations in the Middle East are perceived to be the region's most corrupt and are getting worse as political instability allows abuses to increase, according to the survey. Three countries that have faced persistent upheaval dropped notably over the past year, with Yemen's rating falling five points to 18, Syria dropping nine points to 17, and Libya down six points to 15. Iraq also dropped from 18 points to 16. Greece, one of the countries hit hardest by the European financial crisis, ranked in 80th place with a score of 40. By contrast, Spain, whose economy is also suffering, dropped six points to 59 points, to place 40th on the list. Muller justified the decision, and said Transparency International experts believe "the Prime Minister at the moment is not very active in fighting corruption". Denmark and New Zealand tied for first place with scores of 91, followed by Finland, Sweden and Norway. Australia and Canada tied in ninth with scores of 81. Britain was 14th with 76 and the United States tied with Uruguay in 19th place with a score of 73. The survey, first conducted in 1995, draws on a variety of sources that capture perceptions of corruption, including World Bank and World Economic Forum assessments, the African Development Bank's governance ratings, and Transparency International's own Bribe Payers Index. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f187af6252510d95e4f0558c2971de5d Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork