BERLIN – Corruption has become an entrenched part of the global economy, according to the world corruption watchdog Transparency International’s annual report released Wednesday.
Despite the efforts of campaigners in different parts of the world, Transparency International’s corruption perception index (CPI) shows that of the two-thirds of 176 nations surveyed had a score below 50, which means they are very corrupt.
“A growing outcry over corrupt governments forced several leaders from office last year, but as the dust has cleared it has become apparent that the levels of bribery, abuse of power and secret dealings are still very high in many countries,” Transparency said releasing the survey.
Based on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied with a score of 90 points. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia each had a score of just eight.
Worryingly, the survey showed that there has been little improvement in the corruption rankings of nations that have emerged from the upheavals of Arab spring. This includes both Egypt and the Middle East.
Countries at the centre of the Eurozone debt crisis have also continued to score poor marks in the CPI with financial and economic crisis appearing to be a key factor in helping to spur corruption.
Meanwhile, India’s image on tackling corruption has not improved as it is placed 94th, compared with 95th last year. Pakistan stood at 42nd in the last year ranking but now it was ranked at 33rd.
Greece’s ranking in the 2011 survey stood at 80. This year the debt-hit the nation slipped to 94 in the global league table. Italy was ranked 72, sharing the spot with the Balkan state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the Central African state of Sao Tome and Principe.
