More than two thirds of the 177
countries included in the 2013 Corruption
Perceptions Index scored below 50, where 0 indicates the country's public
sector is seen as highly corrupt and 100 as very clean.
Denmark and New Zealand performed
best with scores of 91. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia tied last with 8
points each.
In Syria,
where 100,000 have died in a conflict which began in 2011 and has now exploded
into war, people regard its public sector as increasingly corrupt.
Turning around Greece's
economy
The stricken nation dropped 9
points from 144th place to 168th. Libya, Yemen, Spain, Australia, Guatemala and
Madagascar were among the other countries whose scores declined
significantly.
Myanmar
saw the biggest improvement, rising from 5th last position in 2012 to 19
places from the bottom this year.
The change reflects the benefits
of introducing more open and democratic rules after years of military rule,
according to Transparency International's Asia Pacific Director, Srirak
Plipat.
Myanmar also ratified an
international treaty against corruption in December 2012 and the parliament
approved an anti-corruption law in July, although this is yet to come into
force.
While Greece's
score rose four points this year to 40, but remained the lowest ranking country
in the European Union in 80th place. Brunei, Laos, Senegal, Nepal, Estonia,
Lesotho and Latvia also improved.
The UK jumped from 17th to 14th
place with a score of 76, two points up from last year. The U.S. did not change
from last year, ranking 19th with a score of 73. China's rank did not change.
Australia dropped two places to 9th position with a score of 81.
The Corruption Perceptions Index
is based on perceptions of corruption in public institutions like political
parties, police and justice systems according to experts and business
people.
Strong access to information
systems and rules governing the behavior of public officials can help a country
improve, while a lack of accountability and weak public institutions damages
these perceptions, Transparency International said.
The organization called on
public institutions and officials to be more open, adding that corruption
remains notoriously difficult to investigate and prosecute.
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