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Corruption index 2011 from Transparency International: find out how countries compareWhich country is most corrupt? North Korea is now officially considered the world's most corrupt country, along with Somalia. But why has the US gone up one place and the UK's score improved? See how the annual corruption index has changed• Get the data• Interactive map of this data

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Corruption index 2011 from Transparency International: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's country is seen as the most corrupt in the world. Photograph: Petar Kujundzic/Reuters

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Corruption around the world remains a deeply entrenched, global concern according to Transparency International's 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) - the world's most credible measure of of domestic, public sector corruption.

This year, two thirds of countries covered by the index were given scores less than 5 - which means they are considered significantly corrupt.

The CPI scores countries on a scale of zero to 10, with zero indicating high levels of corruption and 10, low levels. And the most corrupt places in the world are not the most surprising. Unstable governments, often with a legacy of conflict, continue to dominate the bottom rungs of the CPI. Afghanistan and Myanmar share second to last place with a score of 1.5, with Somalia and North Korea - measured for the first time - coming in last with a score of 1.

World corruption index interactive map. Click image to explore it

The world's most peaceful countries score the best. In the 2011 CPI, New Zealand is top with a score of 9.5, followed by Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Singapore.

Four countries and territories besides North Korea are included for the first time: the Bahamas, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.

Transparency International (TI) chair Huguette Labelle says corruption remains a major global issue, highlighted by widespread demonstrations in 2011: "This year we have seen corruption on protestor's banners be they rich or poor. Whether in a Europe hit by debt crisis or an Arab world starting a new political era, leaders must head the demands for better government."

Wealth seems no easy antidote to corruption: some relatively rich countries, including Russia, fall at the bottom of the global league table. Meanwhile, some of the world's poorer states do comparatively well: Botswana, Bhutan, Cape Verde, and Rwanda all appear among the 50 "cleanest" countries.

While the index has been published annually since 1995, TI warns against comparing scores over time, as sources for the index change each year. However, the Berlin-based

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/dec/01/world-corruption-index-transparency-international-map

NGO notes that two general trends pop out regardless: Arab Spring countries, and many Eurozone countries – particularly those affected by the financial crisis – are doing worse and worse.

Most Arab Spring countries rank in the lower half of the index, with scores below 4. Many of the lowest-scoring European countries are those hardest hit by the financial and debt crises – including Greece and Italy.

The UK ranks 16th, along with Austria and the Barbados, and just ahead of Belgium and Ireland. The US ranks 24th.

The Index, which is closely watched by investors, economists, and civil society campaigners, is based on expert assessments and data from 17 surveys from 13 independent institutions, covering issues such as access to information, bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, and the enforcement of anti-corruption laws. While critics note that measuring perceptions of corruption is not the same as measuring corruption itself, the latter is almost impossible to do - as the corrupt are usually keen to cover up their tracks, hard data on graft and bribery is notoriously difficult to come by.

We've got the full data below. What can you do with it?

Data summary

Transparency international world corruption index (1=least corrupt)

Click heading to sort table. Download this data2011 rank

Country / TerritoryCPI 2011

ScoreCPI 2010

ScoreCPI 2009

ScoreCPI 2008

ScoreSOURCE: Transparency International1 New Zealand 9.5 9.3 9.4 9.3 2 Denmark 9.4 9.3 9.3 9.3 2 Finland 9.4 9.2 8.9 9 4 Sweden 9.3 9.2 9.2 9.3 5 Singapore 9.2 9.3 9.2 9.2 6 Norway 9.0 8.6 8.6 7.9 7 Netherlands 8.9 8.8 8.9 8.9 8 Switzerland 8.8 8.7 9 9 8 Australia 8.8 8.7 8.7 8.7 10 Canada 8.7 8.9 8.7 8.7 11 Luxembourg 8.5 8.5 8.2 8.3 12 Hong Kong 8.4 8.4 8.2 8.1 13 Iceland 8.3 8.5 8.7 8.9 14 Germany 8.0 7.9 8 7.9 14 Japan 8.0 7.8 7.7 7.3 16 Austria 7.8 7.9 7.9 8.1 16 Barbados 7.8 7.8 7.4 7 16 United Kingdom 7.8 7.6 7.7 7.7 19 Ireland 7.5 8 8 7.7




ScoreCPI 2010

ScoreCPI 2009

ScoreCPI 2008

Score19 Belgium 7.5 7.1 7.1 7.3 21 Bahamas 7.3 22 Qatar 7.2 7.7 7 6.5 22 Chile 7.2 7.2 6.7 6.9 24 United States 7.1 7.1 7.5 7.3 25 Uruguay 7.0 6.9 6.7 6.9 25 France 7.0 6.8 6.9 6.9 25 Saint Lucia 7.0 28 United Arab Emirates 6.8 6.3 6.5 5.9 29 Estonia 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.6 30 Cyprus 6.3 6.3 6.6 6.4 31 Spain 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.5 32 Portugal 6.1 6 5.8 6.1 32 Botswana 6.1 5.8 5.6 5.8 32 Taiwan 6.1 5.8 5.6 5.7 35 Slovenia 5.9 6.4 6.6 6.7 36 Israel 5.8 6.1 6.1 6

36 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

5.8

38 Bhutan 5.7 5.7 5 5.2 39 Puerto Rico 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.8 39 Malta 5.6 5.6 5.2 5.8 41 Poland 5.5 5.3 5 4.6 41 Cape Verde 5.5 5.1 5.1 5.1 43 Korea (South) 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.6 44 Brunei 5.2 5.5 5.5 0 44 Dominica 5.2 5.2 5.9 6 46 Mauritius 5.1 5.4 5.4 5.5 46 Macau 5.1 5 5.3 5.4 46 Bahrain 5.1 4.9 5.1 5.4 49 Rwanda 5.0 4 3.3 3 50 Costa Rica 4.8 5.3 5.3 5.1 50 Oman 4.8 5.3 5.5 5.5 50 Lithuania 4.8 5 4.9 4.6 50 Seychelles 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 54 Hungary 4.6 4.7 5.1 5.1 54 Kuwait 4.6 4.5 4.1 4.3 56 Jordan 4.5 4.7 5 5.1 57 Saudi Arabia 4.4 4.7 4.3 3.5 57 Czech Republic 4.4 4.6 4.9 5.2 57 Namibia 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.5 60 Malaysia 4.3 4.4 4.5 5.1 61 Turkey 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.6




ScoreCPI 2010

ScoreCPI 2009

ScoreCPI 2008

Score61 Latvia 4.2 4.3 4.5 5 61 Cuba 4.2 3.7 4.4 4.3 64 South Africa 4.1 4.5 4.7 4.9 64 Georgia 4.1 3.8 4.1 3.9 66 Slovakia 4.0 4.3 4.5 5 66 Croatia 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.4 66 Montenegro 4.0 3.7 3.9 3.4 69 Ghana 3.9 4.1 3.9 3.9 69 Samoa 3.9 4.1 4.5 4.4 69 Macedonia, FYR 3.9 4.1 3.8 3.6 69 Italy 3.9 3.9 4.3 4.8 73 Tunisia 3.8 4.3 4.2 4.4 73 Brazil 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.5 75 Romania 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.8 75 China 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.6 77 Vanuatu 3.5 3.6 3.2 2.9 77 Lesotho 3.5 3.5 3.3 3.2 77 Gambia 3.5 3.2 2.9 1.9 80 El Salvador 3.4 3.6 3.4 3.9 80 Thailand 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.5 80 Peru 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.6 80 Greece 3.4 3.5 3.8 4.7 80 Colombia 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.8 80 Morocco 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.5 86 Panama 3.3 3.6 3.4 3.4 86 Bulgaria 3.3 3.6 3.8 3.6 86 Serbia 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.4 86 Jamaica 3.3 3.3 3 3.1 86 Sri Lanka 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.2 91 Trinidad and Tobago 3.2 3.6 3.6 3.6 91 Liberia 3.2 3.3 3.1 2.4 91 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.2 3.2 3 3.2 91 Zambia 3.2 3 3 2.8 95 Albania 3.1 3.3 3.2 3.4 95 India 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.4 95 Kiribati 3.1 3.2 2.8 3.1 95 Swaziland 3.1 3.2 3.6 3.6 95 Tonga 3.1 3 3 2.4 100 Malawi 3.0 3.4 3.3 2.8 100 Djibouti 3.0 3.2 2.8 3 100 Mexico 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.6 100 Burkina Faso 3.0 3.1 3.6 3.5 100 Sao Tome & Principe 3.0 3 2.8 2.7




ScoreCPI 2010

ScoreCPI 2009

ScoreCPI 2008

Score100 Argentina 3.0 2.9 2.9 2.9 100 Benin 3.0 2.8 2.9 3.1 100 Gabon 3.0 2.8 2.9 3.1 100 Indonesia 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.6 100 Tanzania 3.0 2.7 2.6 3 100 Madagascar 3.0 2.6 3 3.4 100 Suriname 3.0 112 Egypt 2.9 3.1 2.8 2.8 112 Senegal 2.9 2.9 3 3.4 112 Moldova 2.9 2.9 3.3 2.9 112 Algeria 2.9 2.9 2.8 3.2 112 Kosovo 2.9 2.8 0 0 112 Vietnam 2.9 2.7 2.7 2.7 118 Bolivia 2.8 2.8 2.7 3 118 Mali 2.8 2.7 2.8 3.1 120 Guatemala 2.7 3.2 3.4 3.1 120 Kazakhstan 2.7 2.9 2.7 2.2 120 Solomon Islands 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.9 120 Mongolia 2.7 2.7 2.7 3 120 Mozambique 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.6 120 Ethiopia 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.6 120 Ecuador 2.7 2.5 2.2 2 120 Bangladesh 2.7 2.4 2.4 2.1 120 Iran 2.7 2.2 1.8 2.3 129 Dominican Republic 2.6 3 3 3 129 Armenia 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.9 129 Syria 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.1 129 Honduras 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.6 129 Philippines 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.3 134 Guyana 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.6 134 Eritrea 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.6 134 Niger 2.5 2.6 2.9 2.8 134 Lebanon 2.5 2.5 2.5 3 134 Nicaragua 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 134 Sierra Leone 2.5 2.4 2.2 1.9 134 Pakistan 2.5 2.3 2.4 2.5 134 Maldives 2.5 2.3 2.5 2.8 134 Cameroon 2.5 2.2 2.2 2.3 143 Timor-Leste 2.4 2.5 2.2 2.2 143 Belarus 2.4 2.5 2.4 2 143 Uganda 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.6 143 Azerbaijan 2.4 2.4 2.3 1.9 143 Togo 2.4 2.4 2.8 2.7




ScoreCPI 2010

ScoreCPI 2009

ScoreCPI 2008

Score143 Nigeria 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.7 143 Mauritania 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.8 143 Comoros 2.4 2.1 2.3 2.5 143 Russia 2.4 2.1 2.2 2.1 152 Ukraine 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.5 152 Tajikistan 2.3 2.1 2 2 154 Zimbabwe 2.2 2.4 2.2 1.8 154 Nepal 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.7 154 Paraguay 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.4 154 Côte d´Ivoire 2.2 2.2 2.1 2 154 Congo Republic 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.9 154 Papua New Guinea 2.2 2.1 2.1 2 154 Guinea-Bissau 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.9 154 Central African Republic 2.2 2.1 2 2 154 Laos 2.2 2.1 2 2 154 Kenya 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.1 164 Yemen 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.3 164 Cambodia 2.1 2.1 2 1.8 164 Guinea 2.1 2 1.8 1.6 164 Kyrgyzstan 2.1 2 1.9 1.8 168 Libya 2.0 2.2 2.5 2.6 168 Congo, Dem Rep 2.0 2 1.9 1.7 168 Angola 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.9 168 Chad 2.0 1.7 1.6 1.6 172 Venezuela 1.9 2 1.9 1.9 172 Equatorial Guinea 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.7 172 Burundi 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.9 175 Haiti 1.8 2.2 1.8 1.4 175 Iraq 1.8 1.5 1.5 1.3 177 Sudan 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.6 177 Turkmenistan 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.8 177 Uzbekistan 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.8 180 Myanmar 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.3 180 Afghanistan 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.5 182 Somalia 1.0 1.1 1.1 1 182 Korea (North) 1.0

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Posted by Simon Rogers and Claire Provost Thursday 1 December 2011 09.00 GMT guardian.co.uk Article history

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Comments in chronological order (Total 149 comments)

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terua

1 December 2011 10:18AM

probably because corruption is needed when rich people can't get what they want legally so they have to buy people off. In nz corruption isn't necesary because there's no competing interests. if the law gets in their way they just change it, like the deal with hollywood movie studios to make the hobbit movie. Or the totally legal confiscation of the foreshore and seabed in 2004 and the totally non-corrupt political dealings to reinforce it or the totally coincidental deal immediately made with petrobas to start drilling for oil in an earthquake zone. Or like the totally transparent deal to spend $100s x millions of tax-payers money to build an irrigation system to facilitate the pollution and destruction of our waterways by millionaire -dairy farmers in the so-called South Island.

They don't need to corrupt the law when they control it.

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oneatty


This is ridiculous.Who do you expect to convince, except yourselves?The problem is that you are facing huge economic competition from new players (China, India, Brazil, etc) and you are loosing terrain.This is just a politically correct speech to justify your imperial drive to take the world.And what about the recent and successive economic crisis showing a completely corrupted system in the so-called "developed" world?Take into account the billions that your governments gave to "rescue" the banks and you will get a completely opposite picture of corruption.This must be a joke.

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odetojoy


This is a joke. I know it because my home country is ranked to good and I know how bad it really is.


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Wazza10


Looks about right to me.


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henry3000


Denmark in second position? Obviously they are not watching The Killing.

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mike944


So the UK is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. You wouldn't have thought so given many of the comments on the Guardian recently. If you were to believe even half of the leftwing shrill then we are a country full of Tory bankers stealing money from the poor and forcing them into slavery. Oh how the facts are very different from the fiction that the lefties would have you believe.


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jno50


But why has the US gone up one place and the UK's score improved?

A very good question in your intro there.

Errr...

Do you plan to answer it any time? Or do you just want BTL bloggers to do your job for you?


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sean1979


"...measuring corruption itself... is almost impossible to do." So if those responsible for this nonsense acknowledge the above quote, what in the world is this based on? purely opinion. What a load of utter nonsense. Waste of time.


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GUnit


Huh??? Pakistan (134) is better placed than Russia (143)??? I can't believe that any country can be more corrupt than my own (Pakistan), bar Afghanistan.


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oneatty


Response to mike944, 1 December 2011 11:36AM

What exactly do you call "facts"?Statistics is a very complex theory, and you can easily turn particular interests into "facts".Specially when they are spread around by respectable and completely "neutral"

media vehicles.Please, try again.


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theautographman


terua you need to lay off the pipe a bit my friend. Changing policy through Parliament isn't corruption, it's democracy. You might not like it and I might not like some of it so we will vote against (at least I hope you did) what we don't like.

Even better, persuade more people you're in the right and you win the right to make policy, simples.


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Ieuan


Denmark at number 2?

Yes, it's a very clean country. One is unlikely to be asked for a bribe by the police or the administration.

But the fact that the Social Democrats, the Unions, the employers association, the local authorities are all joined at the hip (and own the biggest building companies) has some effect.

Not corrupt, but most definitely not the most open of countries. There are a lot of stories to be told about 'Holmen' (an ex-military base on an island near the centre of Copenhagen). Land sold by the SD government to union owned companies, who then had buildings erected by union owned building companies, and then the SD local authority announced they were going to build a tunnel to the place (bringing it within 20 min of the town centre) and the values of said buildings soared.

Nothing illegal, just all sewn up before anyone else got a look in.

Corruption in advanced countries still exists, it's just more sophisticated than 'brown envelope' stuff.


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CPGallagher


I think this article would be much improved by some explanation of the methodology. Precisely what is defined as corruption? How is it being measured?

All I can make of this is that it "looks about right to me". But if I can only judge the value of the information by my own knowledge and prejudice it's not very enlightening.


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ollo


Long live Kim Jong-il


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drabacus


I'm a little skeptical about the number one rating given to North Korea. Almost nobody is allowed in. It is one of the few places in the world which academics just can't study in the normal way. Similarly, it has no NGOs or functional press so there can be no reliable evidence from inside the country either. I just don't see how it can be properly compared to another country without sufficient information.


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VoiceOfReason1


mike9441 December 2011 11:36AM

So the UK is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. You wouldn't have thought so given many of the comments on the Guardian recently

16th isn't that great considering the bar is pretty low.

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mosstea


Response to odetojoy, 1 December 2011 11:29AM

Maybe you don't know just how bad the others really are....


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NottinghamFlorist


What's that old adage: Under communism one needs to be corrupt to be rich and prosper and under capitalism one needs to be criminal to be rich and prosper ?

North Korea being the most corrupt nation of earth and the state of the western financial/banking system would seem to suggest this is a truism.


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davros

1 December 2011 12:01PM

Botswana and Rwanda are less corrupt than Italy. Does that mean that you can't just give the police officer 20 Euros if you have one too many after dinner sambucas? Oh, and that Silvio Berlusconi doesn't live there (yet).


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holdingonfortomorrow


Technically, if the country is kleptocracy, then it's not corruption.


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oneatty


Response to ollo, 1 December 2011 11:52AM

That's what I've told before about "facts" and media manipulation.

It's not by chance that they've ilustrated this article with Kim Jong-il, so that everyone that goes against the "scientific corruption data" is praying to Jong-il.

So, except for the green, corruption-free countries, everybody else is Kim Jong il supporter.

Ok, give me the next one.


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freyaloki



No its not saying that. Check out the website, its not a measure of how corrupt and/or venal a given country's private sector is, its a measure of the perception of corruption in the public sector. So if Officer Dibble pulls you over, is it because he's after a bribe (ie corrupt and would measure) or because you have the wrong colour skin and he's racist (which is not corrupt). So a private bank drawing in £ms in undeserved subsidies so it can sustain the bonuses its higher paid employees need to motivate them to get out of bed in the morning is not corruption on this measure.


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shemarch


Lies, damned lies, statistics - isn`t that how it goes? Statistics are meaningless unless we know the base, the size and composition of the samples and the methodology used.


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Yddgrasil


The ratings for India are a strong indictment of the present UPA led Indian Govt. and yet the Govt. fights shy of proposing a strong anti corruption bill -- 'the jan lokpal' bill to the parliament which is in session. The ranking will come in handy to Team Anna as it gears up for its third protest in New Delhi later this month.

The multiple corruption scandals which have rocked this Govt to its very core will find resonance in the upcoming UP state elections. I am hoping for a resounding victory of Mayawati and her party - the BSP, with BJP a close second.


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VoiceOfReason1


VoiceOfReason11 December 2011 11:57AM

mike9441 December 2011 11:36AM

So the UK is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. You wouldn't have thought so given many of the comments on the Guardian recently

16th isn't that great considering the bar is pretty low.

And the more telling question would be whether we are going up or down under the coalition.


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oneatty


Response to freyaloki, 1 December 2011 12:07PM

Ah, so these are "facts" about perception of corruption in the public sector?

And are not the banking sector a public sector? Were the billions given by governments to the banks taken into account in this "measurement"?


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user512


And the more telling question would be whether we are going up or down under the coalition.

In 1996 the UK was ranked 12th. We fell to 20th by 2010, and have risen to 16th this year.


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perclue


Response to CPGallagher, 1 December 2011 11:49AM

I think this article would be much improved by some explanation of the methodology. Precisely what is defined as corruption? How is it being measured?

there is a good faq on the TI website explaining the methodology to some extent

http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/in_detail/

at the end of the day they're working on opinion and i think the measures and methods have changed over the years. it's expert opinion, but opinion nonetheless so the table needs to be treated with some caution.

equally the index aims to measure perceived corruption in public institutions, or abuse of power for private gain. so what the layman might consider corrupt, such as personal or corporate tax dodging, may not be in scope on the index.

definitely agree that the article could do with a bit more background.


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JPORDUDE


Wealthier countries tend to have more experience with being corrupt and therefore can hide it more affectively.

This chart has zero merit! This chart could itself be part of a conspiracy.(or not)

Hobnob?


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insertfunnyusername



"I think this article would be much improved by some explanation of the methodology. Precisely what is defined as corruption? How is it being measured?

"

--CPGallagher

Go to the Transparency International site. There is even a link in the article.

And the key point of what is being measured is explained in the title of the measure: Corruption PERCEPTION index.

It measures the PERCEPTION of corruption, not actual corruption itself, since actual corruption is hard to measure, as the conclusion of the artilce explains.


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JPORDUDE


This chart is as accurate as the world football fifa rankings!!!

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insertfunnyusername



"So the UK is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. You wouldn't have thought so given many of the comments on the Guardian recently. If you were to believe even half of the leftwing shrill then we are a country full of Tory bankers stealing money from the poor and forcing them into slavery. Oh how the facts are very different from the fiction that the lefties would have you believe."

mike944

You clearly need to go back to school, and take lesson in statistics, and English comprehension.

This index does not attempt to measure facts. At all.

What it measures is OPINION. The hint is in the name. Corruption PERCEPTION index.

You want FACT? Go take a look at the GINI coefficient of the UK. That is FACT.


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loveisnice


Chile 22nd? You must be joking???? Having lived here for 5 years, the corruption is institutionalised...vested interests of ministers, old boys networks, no consumer protection, abusive banks....the list goes on...if it weren't for the good weather and wine I'd f**k off


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oneatty


Response to shemarch, 1 December 2011 12:07PM

Exactly, you are right, if you look a couple of comments above you begin to get an insight on how this study is biased.

They're talking about "perception of corruption in the public sector".

If you go deeper, you certainly find how fragile and meaningless this is.

What's the definition of "public"? From what perspective is it set up? From the ownership perspective? Or from the nature of the service?

Who was interviewed in developed countries? Only the employees from reduced neoliberal states? I'm sure they are highly honest, but are the private-public relationship that builds neoliberal societies driven by fair and non-biased principles? Are those societies free from conflicts of interests? Isn't the extrem market deregulation already a sign of corruption, to begin with, of moral corruption?


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siforcat


I am certainly no expert on this but I was very surprised to see Singapore at number 5.

I thought Singapore was pretty much a 1 party state (almost a 1 family state) where the other political parties are weakened by the courts.

Anyone who knows more about it like to enlighten me?


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Josoft


Are you stupid or something??? Because corruption in USA is legal (Lobby) don't mean that don't exist!! USA is the most corrupt country in the world!!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-wartman/pizza-is-a-vegetable_b_1101433.html

That is a probe!!! Common don't be stupid!!!


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oneatty


Response to insertfunnyusername, 1 December 2011 12:32PM

Perfect.And don't forget to analyze how UK GINI coefficient was achieved by colonial usury looting and how if affected other's GINI index.


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Halo572


I think that it is likely that the further down the food chain you are the more corruption you can see, being you can only see it from below.

Look at the last 3 years, BTL landlords, bankers, mortgage holders and unsustainable debt holders protected with a vengeance ads State driven, everyone else can go to hell.

You can also add in the energy cartel they protect and give free reign to.

BUT, that is were I am standing. Ask any of those benefiting from the artificial manipulation of our economy and QE counterfeiting and they will fully support it and not see a thing wrong with it at all.

And up in Dave's ivory tower, where his City mates and Lord Sir Mervyn snack on roast unicorn and guzzle Ambrosia by the barrel, UK Plc is a bastion and paragon of virtue.

Being as they never look down they won't see anything anyway, but even if they did they would see nothing but perfection as the seedy, greed riddled, debt destroyed under belly of our Great Nation isn't visible to them.


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markulyseas


How did they arrive at this nomination? Did some one visit North Korea and bribe his/her way while travelling around the country? This is not news. It is a waste of column space and a tad propaganda ish.


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JimmyCarter


US and Israel should top this followed closely by the UK I would have thought. I can’t believe they have the nerve to use the old ‘weapons of mass destruction’ line against Iran. You need corruption to spout this sort of propaganda without hard evidence.


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claireprovost



Transparency International defines corruption, broadly, as "abuse of entrusted power for private gain." In this index they focus on perceptions of corruption in the public sector (primarily administrative and political corruption).

The CPI is tricky. It's a survey of surveys, scoring countries based on expert assessments and data from opinion surveys. So it's an indirect and imperfect measure of corruption.

But, as we mention above, getting complete, comparable, country-level hard empirical measures of corruption is difficult if not impossible. Those who do "abuse entrusted power for private gain" usually try to do so behind closed doors. So despite the indirectness and imperfectness of the CPI, it's a standard "measure" of corruption used by many civil society groups, economists, political scientists, market investors, etc.


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mike944



You want FACT? Go take a look at the GINI coefficient of the UK. That is FACT.

It appears that we score pretty well there too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gini_Coefficient_World_CIA_Report_2009-1.png


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wwcd74


Response to shemarch, 1 December 2011 12:07PM

Indeed. Statistics can be used to improve anything; Forfty percent of all people know that.


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wwcd74


*Prove, not improve.


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oneatty


Response to perclue, 1 December 2011 12:26PM

Thanks for having taken time to look deeper on the methodology.

Summarizing, the data comes from expert opinions.

I looked at the Source Description document (www.transparency.org/content/download/64452/1031207) but it is completely obscure.They should have named the persons who actually participated in the research, and which institutions responded on behalf of what countries.

For instance, what institution and who, from that institution, reponded on behalf of Brazil?

I simply cannot see how this can be considered a representative study, I don't see any know institution that can possibly have conduted such study in Brazil.

It's completely obscure


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gibbonhunter


If it doesn't give you the answer you want, it doesn't mean it's wrong. Interesting how many posters seem to blame the article writer for Transparency Internationals results, silly people.


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oneatty


Response to claireprovost, 1 December 2011 12:58PM

I understand what you mean but it is vague and biased enough to be considered a starting point.

This is far, far away from the minimum scientific standards.

But I don't doubt there are so many institutions willing to use it.

I wonder why, and what do they really want, being based on such fragile tool...


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oneatty


Response to gibbonhunter, 1 December 2011 1:07PM

You're response doesn't say anything at all, except your will to believe the first lie respectable people tell you.

Why are we silly?


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StuartHenderson


Is there a corruption index for corruption indexes? and then a corruption index for corruption indexes for corruption indexes? and who knows what goes on in the shady world of corruption indexes for corruption indexes for corruption indexes for corruption indexes compilation.


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1to618


this is a fix. The UK cannot score around 7.7 aftr the press police and political scandals


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Wickywickyman


The Finnish-Russian border is the only place in the world where one of the least corrupt/most 'transparent' countries in the world has a land border with one of the most corrupt/least 'transparent'. The statement about the most peaceful places in the world in the heading to this article is misleading because Canada, Australia and New Zealand are considerably better able to protect themselves from creeping corrupt influences. The Nordic countries deserve the respect and support of the West rather than a view of them as quirky and exceptional.


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insertfunnyusername


Response to mike944, 1 December 2011 1:01PM

"It appears that we score pretty well there too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gini_Coefficient_World_CIA_Report_2009-1.png

mike944

1. It depends what you mean by "pretty well". The UK's GINI coeff is starting to approach Russia's and US's.

2. There is a clear trend of it climbing up over the last 30 years or so:

http://www.poverty.org.uk/09/index.shtml

If you define that latest numbers as pretty well, then, 30 years ago, it was very good. Hell in the last 5-6 years, there has been a spike.


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Athina


Are we supposed to believe that Venezuela is more corrupt than Colombia and Mexico? And what ever happened to the US bankers & friends who brought the world economy to it's knees making trillions disappear like magic? Do they count in? Does this data smell politics?


o

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Wickywickyman


Response to Ieuan, 1 December 2011 11:47AM

Countries like Denmark are relatively less corrupt than countries like Estonia (say) and countries like Estonia relatively less corrupt than countries like Ukraine. Try living in Estonia then see whether you still think Denmark is just as corrupt. Corruption exists everywhere, but a lack of systematic robbery of the public purse is one thing that enables places like Denmark to deliver decent public services: build decent roads, clear up the garbage, subsidize university study, etc etc.


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Oplontino


I don't know why anybody even bothers taking this index seriously, Transparency International is a corrupt body itself. Ever since the UK government succesfully lobbied (read bribed) them in 2007 (I believe) to somehow 'not consider' the BAE scandal (eyes passim ad nauseam) when reviewing the UK's corruption index I truly don't see why anyone bothers reading it. It's nothing but a self-congratulatory Nordic Anglo-Saxon wankfest. As if the Scandinavians were unique amongst our species as being incorruptible!I mean Italy below Rwanda?! Sure Italy is contemptibly corrupt but you can be sure you won't have to slip border patrol 100 euro just to slip through the Alps. And as holder of Italian and also British citizenship, and having intimately followed the politics and goings on of those two countries (and France, my third home) by reading serious newspapers like Private Eye, Le Canard Enchaine etc I think I have a damned good idea of how corrupt these countries really are. I mean for God's sake the Karachi affair alone is enough to stick France in the bottom 50. When the US Supreme Court (a beacon of virtue, not) publically

declares the UK's libel tourism service a scandal and rates the UK court system as no longer trustworthy or transparent, well by Jove you've got problems sunshine...Although you might not have read about these things in the mainstream press, at least the Guardian grew a pair of balls over Trafigura but they only begin to scratch the surface.


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insertfunnyusername


Response to oneatty, 1 December 2011 1:10PM

"I understand what you mean but it is vague and biased enough to be considered a starting point.

This is far, far away from the minimum scientific standards.

But I don't doubt there are so many institutions willing to use it.

I wonder why, and what do they really want, being based on such fragile tool..."

--oneatty

It is not supposed to be science.

It isa survey of opinions. That's it. Like all surveys of opinions, it needs to be taken with a grains of salt. BUt, at the same time, it is MORE useful than some writer (say on a CIF article) claiming that a country is very corrupt, based on his / her anecdotes.

People (including me) use it as a rough quick and dirty tool, because it is at least more useful than writer X, writing on country P, for newspaper / website Y, claiming that country P is very corrupt.


o Report abuse o

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muscleguy


Response to theautographman, 1 December 2011 11:45AM

Terua as usual does overstate the case, but not by as much as you think. The Canterbury water rights for irrigation stushie he talked about involved the government abolishing a local elected body and replacing it with direct ministerial control which seems likely to damage the environment by giving the green light to rich landowners to take water unsustainably. Landowners who lobbied the government and donated lots of money to get this. It was in no party's election manifesto either.

In my book that is not democracy.


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EastEndGeordie


Where is Vietnam?


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chuck


I'm no defender of North Korea. I;ve been there and seen what a shambles it is. BUt having written the odd thing about NK and helped MA students through their dissertation on NK, I have no idea how NK can be bottom. I'm not say it isn't but its not on a par with Somalia. There is very little information coming out of NK even for seasoned researchers. People, usually IR theorists who claim to be NK experts and bullshitters.


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oneatty


Bertelsmann Foundation seems to be one of the main institutions that provides data for OECD countries.Look at their methodology explanation http://www.sgi-network.org/index.php?page=faq

Would be too much asking to take a look on the questions themselves and the names of the people who are being actually enlisted to answer them?

You guys up in the North create such vast networks, populated with so many knots, that is virtually impossible to give full transparency to every single instance.

And is it based on this that people here are talking about aid efficiency, when, for instance, Johnathan Glennie asks a Brazilian government representative to be more efficient and to adhere to modern aid resources management tools?

Come on, you're not serious


o

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herebutforfortune


So, corruption correlates with the severity of a western nation's current financial woes. Egg > chicken?


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vivasor


Do the authors of this table regard patronage as corruption?

Most UK prime ministers have effectively sold seats in the Lords. Of course this has not been done in a direct way which could lead to a prosecution. This type of patronage is, in my opinion, worse than provable bribery.


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oneatty



I wonder why should you care about a foreign country's corruption level.

Tell us, what exactly do you do with that? How exactly does it drive your decisions? And what decisions are they?


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chuck


Response to EastEndGeordie, 1 December 2011 1:33PM

#112.

why have you got the Vietnamese flag as your avatar?


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perclue



They should have named the persons who actually participated in the research, and which institutions responded on behalf of what countries.

i do wonder about this as well, but i can also see why contributor details might need to be kept secret. if you were asking expert opinion from a selection of NGOs, research groups, think tanks & aid agencies working in central africa for instance, and those groups are dependent on individual governments' agreement

and support to work with the people in those countries then they have to be very careful about what they say publicly. it's a moral maze that many organisations have to navigate very carefully.

i'd be interested in a much more detailed explanation of methodology from TI all the same. is there a brief to contributors or is it based on existing research? how do TI assure consistency of approach when trying to assess countries as different as brasil and north korea? is research and opinion drawn from only top tier western organisations or are equivalent agencies from china or the arab league also polled?

i don't envy TI the task of compiling an index like this, but i think people need a lot more information to be able to make an informed judgement about what it all means.


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oneatty


Response to herebutforfortune, 1 December 2011 1:35PM

It depends on how deep you want to go on that, and how confortable are you with what you're given.If you don't think that extreme finantial deregulation came from highly obscure interests, and that it was achieved - I mean, turned into law - under very suspicious circunstances, and that unregulated financial practices aren't morally corrupted, then keep narrowing your cat vision and go prey small chickens, pregnant or not, it's up to you.


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chuck


Isn't corruption culturally relative? Or have we decided there is only one way to view society now?


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Vencio


i am astounded that qatar is ranked so highly.


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KrustytheKlown


Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this study measure perceptions of corruption, rather than corruption itself?

Oh, and what exactly is an 'Arab spring country'?


o

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Struldbrug


Actually, the Nigerians were the most corrupt...but they bribed the judges!


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oneatty


Response to muscleguy, 1 December 2011 1:31PM

Isn't "Small Beautiful"?

"(...) social community reform helping people to come together to work responsibly for the common good." (Rohan Silva)

Is this the way to achieve outstanding GINI and TI indexes?


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mrsdiggs718


Complete hogwash. America should be percieved as one of the most corrupted countries in the world. What isn't corrupt about what we did to Chile's democratically elected PM in the 70s? Or training Osama bin Laden and his pals to fight Russia, and then use him for the opium production in Afghanistan, only to later return and blow that poor country to smithereens? Or giving Dick Cheney and his Halliburton first dibs on reconstruction in Afghanistan while he was vice president? Not to mention the whole coverup about 9/11. What a stupid graph.

It reminds me of why I read www.rt.com news.


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Ieuan


Response to Wickywickyman, 1 December 2011 1:21PM

Wickywickyman said: "Try living in Estonia then see whether you still think Denmark is just as corrupt."

Actually, I did for a while. There is no doubt that Denmark is considerably less (openly) corrupt than Estonia.

"Corruption exists everywhere,"

The point I was making.

"enables places like Denmark to deliver decent public services: build decent roads, clear up the garbage, subsidize university study, etc etc."

Some would say that it's the close relationship between the SD, the Unions, the employer's association, and the fact that these players own most (not all) of the important business that enables Denmark to 'deliver decent public services'. That's why very few will speak out about the fact that everything is divie'd up between the fortunate few before the public gets a look-in.

But it's still 'corrupt', IMHO, even though it may be to many, many people's advantage.


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oneatty


Response to mrsdiggs718, 1 December 2011 2:05PM

Exactly, but somehow people with very focused minds relate corruption only to the classical-bribery-scene-in-some-remote-poor-country.Strange, isn't it?


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Adzm00


Utter rubbish, no way the UK can score so highly.


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Ultramanreturns


The problem here is that 'corruption' itself is not defined properly. If the definition of corruption is the sucking of money from taxpayers directly into the pockets of politicians, then yes, North Korea is probably the most corrupt country in the world. However most people commenting on this article seen to take a different view of corruption. That is legal corruption. Is the political system of the UK and the USA corrupt?In both countries recession hit taxpayers have been robbed in order to bailout financial institutions described as 'too big too fail.' In both countries the political agenda is not set by the wishes of the people (the vast majority of Brits did not want to go to war in Iraq), it is set by American policy makers (Corporations, financial institutions, oil companies).In both countries government talks endlessly of the need for people 'tighten yer belt' , and attack public sector wages and pensions, while at the same time spending obscene amounts of money on their military forces. In 2010 the UK spent $60 billion on their defense budget (less than 10% of the American budget). The UK and USA function under neo-liberalism. A form of government in which big money sets economic policy, and also foreign policy, though unofficially. In the USA this has had disastrous effects, much more so than in Britain. However with the Tories at the helm it is only a matter of time before Britain too is structures like a third world country. This means the development of a plutocracy. A society in which the vast majority of the money is concentrated within a single class (15% at the very most), social mobility is eradicated by instability in the job market (If your worried about not having a job tomorrow your not going to be asking for a raise), and the middle class (the bridge which makes social mobility possible) is done away with. Under this model power and wealth is protected from any threat posed by upstart movements in the under class, therefore the status-quo can be maintained. If you read much history you will know that it is a fact of human society that power acts to protect itself. The most obvious example is Kings building castles. They steal money from the peasants and use it to build a castle to protect themselves and their loyal underlings. By doing this, they prevent the movement of power (and wealth) away from them. In modern society government is increasingly becoming little more than a crony for mafia like financial institutions. If we continue along the present course it may simply become an accepted fact that a government is simply a domestic institution which rules only with the permission of those who are actually running things, corporations and financial institutions.

:


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Adzm00


I guess this is really an index of how well corruption is covered up.


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AdaobiIfeachor


Response to wwcd74, 1 December 2011 1:04PM

Indeed. Statistics can be used to improve anything; Forfty percent of all people know that.

You've been watching The Simpsons (Homer the vigilante).


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Benito36


I love how the US get's a relatively high ranking, simply because corruption is institutionalized through the lobbying system. Shouldn't the US get a really low ranking, if we're going to be honest?

Lobbying, institutionalized corruption at it's most blatant, cannot be looked over simply because it is written into the legal superstructure. Lobbying must be called what it is, corporate corruption and a cancer on democratic institutions. The idea is almost 100% corrupt, in that the political system is rigged for corporations (oops, I mean "people", thanks to the Citizens United ruling).

What a joke.


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PaulieC23


What a joke! So there are only 17 more corrupt countries in the world than Ireland? A country where the Minister for Finance for nearly a decade didn't even have a bank account, preferring instead to do all his transactions via brown envelopes; who then claimed he gained his wealth 'by winning at the races' and then became Prime Minister where he proceeded to enrich one percent of the population beyond their wildest dreams, whilst simitaeneouly laying down policies that would impoverish the majority of the citizens. Not that Bertie Ahern is unique....

Lots of countries have degrees of corruption but very few have a system where corruption is THE only way you can prosper.


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insertfunnyusername


" wonder why should you care about a foreign country's corruption level.

"--oneatty

To use it as a comparison. For context. And because for various personal reasons, I am interested in various countries. Whenever people are presented with stats, they like to trot out "lies, damn lies, and statistics". Well, stats about corruption in any particular country are pretty meaningless, without some context; one context would be a comparison with other countries in the world. Like I said above, if a writer on the Guardian says that X country is (very) corrupt, there is no context. Similarly, a stat about income inequality in a country becomes more useful, if you have the context to compare with with other countries, for example, comparing the GINI coeff of Brazil, with that of Russia, with that of China, India, UK, US, Russia, Germany etc.

Also, I happen to know, slightly, someone involved with TI and the CPI, for one country (which in the current CPI is rated in the top 3rd, decent, but far from all that good). So, while I don't put too much stock in it, and am aware of its biases and limitations, I also don't go down the route of dismissing it as useless.


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PaulieC23


Whoops, should have read 17 less corrupt countries


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tsmarts


While critics note that measuring perceptions of corruption is not the same as measuring corruption itself,

Spot on!!!! Nobody will admit there is corruption in the UK despite Kaddafi son's PhD being in the front pages today or the News of the world scandals being the main topic for months.This table seems more political than factual to me and Transparency international would better check again their methods or at least their claims. This is a measurement of how people (the sample they used) experienced and valued corruption in their contexts in a specific period of time and we need to think also how free indeed are people to express their opinions in some contexts.

The element of culture is also very important on how people express their opinions. We all know that people in some countries are more outspoken than others which are very into keeping face. Not convinced


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Benito36


After reading all of the comments, there obviously needs to be re-defining of corruption, and clearly that definition has to take into account the inherent contradictions within capitalism/neoliberalism that makes a transparent democracy almost impossible.

This map is only good for one thing, showing us how broken the system is. At least the openly corrupt countries are honest about it. The neoliberal countries are rotten and corrupt to the core, simply wrapped in a thin veneer of corporate newspapers shilling for corrupt governments. It's all a sham.

o Recommend? (5)


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bootcamp


Response to 1to618, 1 December 2011 1:17PM

this is a fix. The UK cannot score around 7.7 aftr the press police and political scandals

Our scandals are pretty tame compared to most places.


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Zakelius


Given that FIFA headquarters are based there, I'm amazed that Switzerland ranks as high as #8. If the ratings are based on perceptions of corruption, surely FIFA take the biscuit? Everyone thinks they're at it.


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TorTopView


Hmm! Well I believe that Singapore is a 1 party state that controls near enough everything-the judiciary, media, energy supply and so on! This party is rather a family run affair so nepotism is credible?

So why are they ranked 5th? Bizarre a small easy to run country and very good for the West is that the winning formula for this criteria?


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nicemandan


I'm surprised Canada is doing so well. Everything that happens here seems to revolve around an old boys network (although I guess it does everywhere).


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gregt2


Well as Irish I can accept that Scandinavia is (still) less corrupt than Ireland, and that indeed that Russia is hugely corrupt, but looking at the map one suspects a certain bias towards those countries which best conform to neo-lib dogma. China being rewarded for it's facilitation of extreme capitalism by a relatively high rating? Israel highest in the Mideast despite decades of apartheid?Again one suspects a certain cultural bias there, I am highly dubious for one.

Anyway let's just concentrate on the most glaring inconsistencies in Latin America. Colombia, notorious for it's death squads and 50 year civil war is rated

80th and Venezuela 10th from bottom? Come on now. Indeed I can accept that Venezuela is unfortunately still a country with endemic and systemic corruption and a very high crime rate despite efforts to reform, but corrupter than Colombia, no way. The bias towards neo-lib dogma is best indicated though by the rating of Chile (22nd) as highest in Latin America. This is the country that was the test case for neo-liberalism following the 9/11/73 coup when such policies were forced on the populace by the Pinochet dictatorship. Unfortunately Chile has still to recover from that disaster.

We've heard of whitewashing, pink-washing, etc, but perhaps a new word is needed to describe this absurd survey. I can't think of an appropriate term right now, but it is certainly a black joke in my view. 'Lies, lies and damned statistics' as the old saying goes.


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icurahuman2


I don't think this list is very credible, trust me on this one, Indonesia should be on the bottom of the list. Javanese have taken over everywhere in Indonesia and they are the most corruptible people I've ever seen, there is no law or regulation that can't be overcome with a cash payment, that includes the judiciary, the politicians and the military - the only mistake you can make is not offering a big enough bribe.


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cmouse


Where's the Vatican on this list? Just curious!


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NessieG


7 consitutional monarchies in the top 10 least corrupt countries. The 10 most corrupt countries are republics.

Surprised the Guardian hasn't got a quote from Geraldine Smith of Republic.


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lasvacas


Who can not think that this list is biased by western's ideas of corruption


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ajee


Response to perclue, 1 December 2011 12:26PM

Thanks for the link Perclueso corruption is when votes are unfairly won, corrupt politicians, leaders making decisions to benefit themselves or there rich buddies. sound like the USA should have received the No 1 spot, oh you'd have to add the world banking crisis, the stealing of wealth from other people/countries and not to mention the wars and millions of lives either lost or destroyed, phew Who you kidding with this stupid chart


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1981937


I am surprised that the USA isn't right at the top, I once read a remark from a financial expert that without fraud there would be no US economy.


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1981937


I must correct myself, obviously I mean that USA should be rated as a highly corrupt country.


o Report abuse o

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peppino


Canada among the first 10??? US among the first 30???What a pile of dung!! Who compiled the data for this?Murdoch & Co.?


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oneatty


Response to Ultramanreturns, 1 December 2011 2:15PM

ultraman,I cannot see how not to apply this broader view of corruption, at this point of history.Thanks for your words and historic perspective (one that we should never let go, but sometimes think we're able to).So, not to loose focus, corruption cannot be pointed to other countries by one that it is also corrupt (no matter how corruption has evolved into nice "democratic" institutions)And, to link with the initial subject, there is no such thing of improving aid efficiency, for one single reason.There is no such thing as aid aside from all the imperialistic west policies.These are two opposite sides from the same coin.So, keep all the sweet talk about aid and aid efficiency among experts and those who really have other interests, and focus on more important things, that is, to let other countries alone and fix your own problems (preferrably without having to take control of the rest).But, that might be an impossible task for dominated people from Europe and US


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desertchyuoto


Response to NottinghamFlorist, 1 December 2011 11:59AM

Kim is no communist. How about dictator?


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oneatty


Response to icurahuman2, 1 December 2011 3:08PM

I believe you.Isn't Indonesia a West partner?


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ElQuixote


I'm impressed. I would have thought Cubazuela had them all beat, especially after they turned neocommunists. Then again. I suppose North Koreal really IS hard to beat. But I won't lose hope. A bar of gold gets you an oil rig that Hugo shall prevail and move his country below North Korea by 2013 tops.


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freyaloki



yes and no, not saying I agree with how the measure has been created or the spin the article. Just trying to point out to the earlier poster that it says absolutely nothing about how corrupt and self-serving is the UK business establishment


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jw2034


183 North Korea 1.0184 FIFA


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FrostAndFire


Bloody Scandinavian countries being at the top of all the league tables again. Couldn't they just be crap at something, for once? Even their crime shows are better than ours.


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orkney93


Response to theautographman, 1 December 2011 11:45AM

"Changing policy through Parliament isn't corruption, it's democracy"

Really ? Although I'm sure democratically elected Fuhrer would agree...


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BiggestSpoon


Hans Blix - oh no!

It is inevitarrrble......

Durka Durka!


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undersinged


If North Korea were as corrupt as the chart suggests, then (a) it would be much easier than it is to escape the country, and (b) there wouldn't be so much scarcity in NK, because there'd be a huge smuggling industry across the border with China.


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Corvid



So the UK is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. You wouldn't have thought so given many of the comments on the Guardian recently. If you were to believe even half of the leftwing shrill then we are a country full of Tory bankers stealing money from the poor and forcing them into slavery. Oh how the facts are very different from the fiction that the lefties would have you believe

Well, that's one way to look at it...

Here's another...

How do we rate amongst our peers...

- Within the countries of Northern Europe (as defined by the UN)...

2 Denmark 3 Finland4 Sweden6 Norway 13 Iceland 16 United Kingdom *19 Ireland 29 Estonia 50 Lithuania 61 Latvia

- Within the countries of Western Europe (as defined by the UN)...

7 Netherlands 8 Switzerland 11 Luxembourg 14 Germany 16 Austria 16 United Kingdom *19 Belgium 25 France

- Old "White" Commonwealth nations...

1 New Zealand 8 Australia 10 Canada 16 United Kingdom *

- Germanic speaking Europe...

2 Denmark4 Sweden 6 Norway 7 Netherlands 8 Switzerland 14 Germany 16 Austria 16 United Kingdom *19 Ireland 19 Belgium

Here's the good news...

- Amongst the PIIGGS...

16 United Kingdom (GB) *19 Ireland 31 Spain 32 Portugal 69 Italy 80 Greece

On balance nothing to be too proud of...


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radicalright


This survey should also show which country is the best at hiding its corruption and if so the chart would be flipped.


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damian954


Can legal, corporate bankrolling of politicians in order to bride their way to favourable legislation be classed as corruption?

There are countless examples of this in the USA with the Banking, Energy, Military and Health industries all active in using the first amendment and limitless funds to buy favourable new legislation or bury meaningful oversight with generous donations to senators and members of congress.

No doubt this goes on in the UK and elsewhere but the point remains, is buying influence corrupt?


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Leondeinos


It is striking how the two countries under complete US occupation at this time, Iraq and Afghanistan, rank among the 10 least transparent countries. Add to that the places it is bombing or threatening/planning to attack, and you have a good many of the least transparent.

US armed interventions never have never been for the purpose of increasing transparency (or any humanitarian end). Militarism is the core of the corruption in the United States, itself. So, does US foreign policy encourage corruption and obscurity (as in ex-Soviet Central Asia), feed on it (at home, as well as abroad, e.g., Haiti), or install it and make it worse where it is endemic?


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MrGunter


Not sure about New Zealand, I was on my way home in a cab from a boozy night in Auckland last week. The tab came to $17, I tried to tip the guy an extra $3 but he insisted on giving me the change. In my drunken state I argued that he can keep it. After a couple more exchanges we agreed to meet halfway. Outrageous!


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Crakas


There is one type of corruption that goes across borders without any accountability, the type of corruption that manipulate poorer countries and generate conflicts and wars for the sake of making money on a greater and global scale, killing hundreds, selling weapons... these makes far more damage that the small politician in small town x, being bribed to allow some dodgy deals. Does the names; BAE Systems, Sir Mark Thatcher ( Equatorial Guinea coup ) to give some examples. Corruption in a global scale.

And what about the phone hacking and the Met Police involvement ?


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undersinged


Response to Crakas, 1 December 2011 7:31PM

Equatorial Guinea is a Burma-style kleptocracy; it might have been better off if the Mark Thatcher coup had succeeded.


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HongKongBlue


Useless table, corruption is typical linked to poverty.


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DisturbingThePeace


Is this a joke? Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK, and USA are amongst THE MOST corrupt nations in the world. Or does tax evasion not count.


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herebutforfortune


Oneatty, I beleve we agree, but my comment made a muddle of my meaning, for which I apologize. To be sure, I do beleve corruption of democracy by powerful monied interests is the egg that hatched the moribund chicken that's come home to roost


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ElleCro


Hi The Guardian, I just thought I would let you know that there is a mistake on the table. You have said at the top of the table that 1= least corrupt, however throughout the article 1=most corrupt and 10 is least.

Just thought you might like to know. Proof reading is really helpful,especially if someone else takes a quick look.


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lindalusardi


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Corvid


Response to ElleCro, 1 December 2011 8:35PM

Proof reading is really helpful,especially if someone else takes a quick look.

Perhaps too quick !!!

"Transparency international world corruption index (1=least corrupt)"

This clearly refers to the first column (2011 Rank)

ie.

1=least corrupt182=most corrupt


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bluberyfieldsumtimes


why do the scandanavians and holland win at everything? oh look at meeee, peter perfect.


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Wackedsteaks


I really don't understand how Finland is below NZ . We really should be number one. After all "we are the only democratic country in the world, a shing house on

the hill, a bacon to the rest of the world and the only place where goverment is for its people and not the other way around".

Okay. Not. That was from a Ronnie Ray-guns speech. Just pokin some fun from it and from the fact that USA is below Chile and Qatar. :D


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Wackedsteaks


beacon


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drgallifrey


I think everyone's missed the really shocking story here - the dramatic increase in corruption in Switzerland, Canada and Austria.

What is going on?


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peterthepig


Nah, this is all wrong. The most corrupt state on earth is the good old US of A. How do I work that out? Very simply, it takes more money to win an election in the US than it does anywhere else in the world.


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drgallifrey


By the way, I note that New Zealand is both the least corrupt and the least warlike (thanks to the Global Peace Index 2010 link below).

If they're not ripping each other off or trying to kill and maim, what do they do for fun?

Oh yeah. Rugby.


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Brumbass


Corruption list is corrupted.


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passthebucket


The main difference between developing and developed nations is that the latter have legislated for corruption whilst the former haven't. That is to say, corruption in the advanced economies is so sophisticated it's conducted entirely legally :)


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dalsig76


There isn't a government in the whole wide world that isn't corrupt.It doesn't matter to what degree any particular mafia of corrupt rulers may be; some more than any others. They are CORRUPT!


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bootcamp


So the index is based on 'public perception of corruption'. It would be interesting to know how they monitored the North Korean public's perception of their government, they certainly wouldn't be allowed to go and do surveys and according to all of their newspapers DPRK is the LEAST corrupt country in the world!


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ardennespate


Response to oneatty, 1 December 2011 10:53AM

This is just a politically correct speech to justify your imperial drive to take the world..... This must be a joke.

It speaks volumes for the ignorance and basic stupidity of the average Guardian reader that your comment got one recommend, let alone 80+.

Transparency International have been producing these tables for years and if you want to mosey on over to TI's website you can peruse the methodology.

Of course, there is a debate to be had about what constitutes corruption, but TI's table (called the Corruption Perceptions Index) is the best and most thorough work there is at the moment.


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ziaminestra


Is it just me, or is there an error on the map? The key says 1=least corrupt, and then goes on to score N.Korea as... 1


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ardennespate


Response to Leondeinos, 1 December 2011 6:52PM

It is striking how the two countries under complete US occupation at this time, Iraq and Afghanistan, rank among the 10 least transparent countries.

They were equally corrupt before 2001. What's your point?


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ziaminestra


my bad, misread the map :/


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JohnCan45


A few years back when TI came out with this list they had Nigeria as number one for corruption and Pakistan at number two. The joke in Pakistan then was that they were actually number one and had bribed the Nigerians to take the spot for them.


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Garibaldino


Response to ElQuixote, 1 December 2011 4:05PM

You're not the first person on here hoping/predicting bad things to happen to venezuela under chavez, its been going on since 2002. Hes no doubt a bit of a buffoon, but if you're looking for corruption/state led murder, i'd check out Honduras, much higher than Venezuela on this list, but now towing the neo liberal economic line which no doubt earns it many points. Meanwhile, you and many others like you will continue to hope for the worst in venezuela, just to get the satisfaction of bashing your favourite lefty boogeyman.


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Travellerjim


When I read many of the idiotic, delusional and fanciful 'Dave Spart' like comments here, mainly from Brits I am not sure whether to laugh of cry. Do you guys understand the meaning of the word corruption? No, it is not the same as oppression for instance, they are two different things. No, it is not the same as exploitation, that word has a different meaning too.Yes there is corruption everywhere, but the reason why most Western countries, the countries you live in but despise so much do not feature as high as you would wish in this index, is that they are simply not as corrupt as the countries that do feature higher.I lived in UK but have also for 14 years lived in a relatively free and enlightened SE Asian country. Here when stopped by a cop for not wearing a seatbelt for example, it is normal to expect the cop to ask for or accept an offered bribe to take no further action. If you go to a government office to get papers signed, stamped, processed, etc, you may well be asked for a bride to expedite this, and things will certainly be expedited more swiftly if you do offer money. If you are chasing a government contract be it a few thousand pounds or several million, expect politicians and/or civil servants involved to be holding their hands out for payoffs.Yes, all bankers, etc, are rip off artists the world over (right on man!), but I don't think that the corruption I mention above is exactly the norm in the UK and many Western countries.Travel a bit, open your eyes, pull your head out of the sand, this index is I believe pretty accurate.


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Vapid


This list represents how compliant countries are to the interests of the world corporatocracy, not corruption. NZ, a little neo-con rentboy state, has offered virtually zero resistance to the corporate plundering of its resources, whereas North Korea tells them they can f'ck right off. Well done North Korea!This is BULLSHIT!


o Report abuse o

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herebutforfortune


Response to DisturbingThePeace, 1 December 2011 8:19PM

DPT, since you ask, the answer is no, tax evasion is not corruption. It's a crime and a felony but not all money crimes are categorized as corruption.


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Brian39


I'm surprised at the Guardian for reprinting Transparency International's press release information as factual without any sense of criticism whatsoever. The big problem with the transparency index is that they completely ignore private sector corruption. It is, after all, the private sector that causes most corruption in the first place, with western corporations paying off local officials all over the third world to destroy their environment and weaken labor laws. It was no fluke that a shell oil executive was revealed on wikileaks bragging about having their men in several Nigerian government ministries.


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icurahuman2



A partner alright. Checkout West Papua (previously Irian Jaya) where Freeport McMoran (previously Freeport New Orleans) have the world's most productive gold mine (also copper). The natives have been trampled on since the U.N. gave Indonesia the go ahead to absorb the province, all for the sake of America's mining interests. Even now the natives are routinely tortured, jailed and killed for speaking out or touting for independence. Journailists aren't allowed in and no-one says boo about the human rights condidtions there, especially America, a classic example of American hypocrisy - if America ever whinges about human rights it's only because there's a profitable cause involved. Always look for the profit motive when America applies foreign policy - the term "American interests" is a loaded expression, you can legitimately expect the worst when this term is applied (think Iraq, Bahrain, Venezuela, Sudan, most of South and Central America etc etc).


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epinoa


North Korea is a closed country. How did they get the stats ? Make them up or pay someone ?


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ElQuixote


Response to Garibaldino, 2 December 2011 2:20AM

-- You're not the first person on here hoping/predicting bad things to happen to venezuela under chavez, --

WRONG. I'm not hoping -- God forbid! -- I'm just observing. Castro's puppet IS as corrupt as it gets. The list doesn't lie. And no, Hugo, is not our favourite booger : Kim Not-so-Young Ill is, who is also a commie and topping the list, corruptionwise. Now it may displease you to know that under capitalism, your booger, corruption is a pest; whereas in communism, it's a blessing. Write that it your little red book!


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Cairncross


Response to GUnit, 1 December 2011 11:41AM

You must remember, Pakistan has a free press.

One reason that Pakistan is "perceived" to be corrupt is because Dawn, The News, Express Tribune etc do a great job exposing official scams. Plus, you have an extraordinarily independent supreme court under Iftikhar Mohamamd Chaudhry which is happy to prosecute crooked politicians, of whatever rank.

Russia has none of these things. Indeed, Pakistan could teach quite a few Western countries some lessons about transparency.


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ipeanddevelopment


This reeks of neoliberal, Western Good Governance discourse.


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mike944


Response to Vapid, 2 December 2011 3:34AM

Well done North Korea!

Feel free to go and live in North Korea. You will not be missed.


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mike944


Response to ziaminestra, 2 December 2011 12:51AM

Is it just me, or is there an error on the map? The key says 1=least corrupt, and then goes on to score N.Korea as... 1

Well for starters, you are looking at a table of data and not a map. Secondly you will find N.Korea ranks 182 on the table.


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bootcamp


Response to Cairncross, 2 December 2011 9:07AM

You must remember, Pakistan has a free press.

One reason that Pakistan is "perceived" to be corrupt is because Dawn, The News, Express Tribune etc do a great job exposing official scams. Plus, you have an extraordinarily independent supreme court under Iftikhar Mohamamd Chaudhry which is happy to prosecute crooked politicians, of whatever rank.

Russia has none of these things. Indeed, Pakistan could teach quite a few Western countries some lessons about transparency.

I think it's more the way that billionaire master criminals like Dawood Ibrahim and Osama bin Laden can live in the capital city and have an influence on their government and secret service for years


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bootcamp


has anyone noticed how all of these lists are exactly the same.

scandinavia wins, then netherlands, then germany, then japan or the british colonies that are still run by white people, then france, then UK, then south europe, then USA, then poor countries....


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