New study shows world's most, least corrupt nations

[Robbien]

Source: Centaur Media UK

A new report was published today assessing perceived corruption levels in 180 countries. The NGO's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) annual report, published today, draws on expert and business surveys to score nations' perceived public-sector corruption on a scale from zero ('highly corrupt') to ten ('highly clean').

. . .
Australia and Canada both scored 8.7, putting the two countries in joint ninth place. Germany and Norway scored 7.9, putting them in joint 14th place; while the UK experienced a "significant decline" in its perceived transparency this year, the report noted, falling from 8.4 points in 2007 to 7.7, putting it in joint 16th place in the group with Ireland.

. . .

The USA, Japan and Belgium all scored 7.3, putting them in joint 18th place. The US score has decreased slightly over the past few years, the report noted, and "its global ranking continues to be one of the lowest among the world’s leading industrialised countries."

Contributing factors may include a widespread sense that political finance is in need of reform, the organisation noted, with "lobbyists and special interest groups perceived to have an unfair hold on political decision-making."

Read more: http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=134769&d=415&h=417&f=416

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Corruption index based on:

Transparency International publishes its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) each year, ranking the degree in which public officials and politicians in 180 countries are perceived to be corrupt based on data from 13 polls and surveys from 11 independent organizations both in and outside the target country.

For the purpose of this index, bribes, kickbacks and embezzlement of public funds are defined as corruption; and the existence, effectiveness and enforcement of anti-corruption laws and probes that investigate and hold those accountable were measured.

full list here:

http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2008

[wysimdnwyg]

1. Interesting...

Our two glorious attempts at nation-building, Afghanistan and Iraq, are respectively 176 and 178 out of those 180 countries with scores of 1.5 and 1.3. And those idiots want nothing more than to try for a third time in Iran.

[bos1]

2. Apparently the US was supposed to be at #45, not #18

but they paid the Czech Republic to switch places.

[Peace Patriot]

3. There is corruption. And then there is CORRUPTION. Something tells me that this

group is only measuring the first kind.

[Robbien]

4. Lucky for the US that contributions to PACs and 527s are not considered bribes

Pay to play rules here in the US don't qualify as corruption under terms of the survey. It pays to be the one who defines the terms.

[Billy Burnett]

5. Yep. Repugs (and some "Dems") simply legalized corruption. Poof. Corruption gone. eom

[Demeter]

6. I REFUSE to Believe that Norway is more Corrupt than US

What have they got to be corrupt about, or with? The North Sea Oil fields were running out, last I heard...

They simply don't have the population or infrastructure to support much corruption.

[Tallison]

7. Wow - Venezuela tied with Sierra Leone (158th out of 180 nations)

By contrast, Rwanda is 105th.

Gonna' have to inspect this list's criteria...

ETA: Interesting that the criteria doesn't involve actual corruption metrics, but social psychological data on perception.