Most (And Least) Corrupt Countries
Pakistan moves up on world corruption chart
Afghanistan among most corrupt nations, report finds
Corruption seems endemic. It follows war and chaos like an unwelcome cousin. Transparency International has just released its annual report ranking corruption across the world.
At the bottom of the list, the most corrupt, are countries hit by warfare and strife, unsurprisingly. Somalia is the worst, followed by Burma, then Afghanistan and Iraq. The least corrupt countires are Denmark, New Zealand, and Singapore, unchanged from last year.
In a press release, the organization said, “Notable among decliners are some of the countries most affected by a financial crisis precipitated by transparency and integrity deficits.” Greece fell from 71 to 78 and Italy from 63 to 67. The US also fell, from the 19th spot to the 22nd. From Reuters:
Pakistan, The country may not be performing well in several fields but it has moved up the corruption ladder, from the 42nd rung in 2009 to 34th this year.
The report released here on Tuesday by TI Pakistan’s chief Adil Gilani and in Berlin by its president Huguette Labelle said that on a list of 178 countries Pakistan fared worse than Bangladesh and India.
The perception of the most corrupt government was in 1996 when Pakistan had achieved the second position.
Mr Gilani said that Bangladesh was perceived to be the most corrupt country in 2001, 2002 and 2003, but it took corrective measures and this year it was placed at number 39. Owing to decrease in corruption, Bangladesh’s GDP grew by five per cent, compared to Pakistan’s 2.4 per cent last year.
Mr Gilani said that over the past two years there had been unprecedented cases of corruption involving tens of billions of rupees in public sector organisations which should have been taken up by the National Accountability Bureau.
He claimed that the government lacked the political will to fight corruption because of which the Supreme Court had to take suo motu action against organisations like the National Insurance Corporation, Pakistan Steel and rental power plants.
He said a delay in setting up an independent accountability commission by parliament might aggravate the situation.
He said that the direct impact of increased corruption was witnessed in the shape of up to 120 per cent rise in food prices within a year -- sugar from Rs54 a kg to Rs80, pulses from Rs50 a kg to Rs110, eggs from Rs35 a dozen to Rs60, etc.
Mr Gilani said the perception of corruption had caused a drop in foreign direct investment to $2.21 billion during 2009-10 from $371 billion the previous year. The foreign debt increased from $40 billion in 1999 to $46 billion in 2008 and $53 billion this year.
He said that an across-the-board application of the rule of law, merit-based appointments and easy access to justice were the only solutions to the problem of corruption which was responsible for poverty, inflation, terrorism, illiteracy, lack of electricity and hoarding of essential food commodities.
Pakistan moves up on world corruption chart
Afghanistan among most corrupt nations, report finds
Corruption seems endemic. It follows war and chaos like an unwelcome cousin. Transparency International has just released its annual report ranking corruption across the world.
At the bottom of the list, the most corrupt, are countries hit by warfare and strife, unsurprisingly. Somalia is the worst, followed by Burma, then Afghanistan and Iraq. The least corrupt countires are Denmark, New Zealand, and Singapore, unchanged from last year.
In a press release, the organization said, “Notable among decliners are some of the countries most affected by a financial crisis precipitated by transparency and integrity deficits.” Greece fell from 71 to 78 and Italy from 63 to 67. The US also fell, from the 19th spot to the 22nd. From Reuters:
Pakistan, The country may not be performing well in several fields but it has moved up the corruption ladder, from the 42nd rung in 2009 to 34th this year.
The report released here on Tuesday by TI Pakistan’s chief Adil Gilani and in Berlin by its president Huguette Labelle said that on a list of 178 countries Pakistan fared worse than Bangladesh and India.
The perception of the most corrupt government was in 1996 when Pakistan had achieved the second position.
Mr Gilani said that Bangladesh was perceived to be the most corrupt country in 2001, 2002 and 2003, but it took corrective measures and this year it was placed at number 39. Owing to decrease in corruption, Bangladesh’s GDP grew by five per cent, compared to Pakistan’s 2.4 per cent last year.
Mr Gilani said that over the past two years there had been unprecedented cases of corruption involving tens of billions of rupees in public sector organisations which should have been taken up by the National Accountability Bureau.
He claimed that the government lacked the political will to fight corruption because of which the Supreme Court had to take suo motu action against organisations like the National Insurance Corporation, Pakistan Steel and rental power plants.
He said a delay in setting up an independent accountability commission by parliament might aggravate the situation.
He said that the direct impact of increased corruption was witnessed in the shape of up to 120 per cent rise in food prices within a year -- sugar from Rs54 a kg to Rs80, pulses from Rs50 a kg to Rs110, eggs from Rs35 a dozen to Rs60, etc.
Mr Gilani said the perception of corruption had caused a drop in foreign direct investment to $2.21 billion during 2009-10 from $371 billion the previous year. The foreign debt increased from $40 billion in 1999 to $46 billion in 2008 and $53 billion this year.
He said that an across-the-board application of the rule of law, merit-based appointments and easy access to justice were the only solutions to the problem of corruption which was responsible for poverty, inflation, terrorism, illiteracy, lack of electricity and hoarding of essential food commodities.
Afghanistan tied with the military dictatorship in Myanmar as the second-most corrupt country on the planet, according to the yearly audit by the Berlin-based group Transparency International. Somalia won the dubious distinction as most corrupt on the organization's annual Corruption Perceptions Index.
On the least-corrupt scale, Canada inched up to sixth from eighth from a year earlier in the ranking of 178 countries. Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore topped the list as the countries with the most virtuous public sectors.
Western concerns about corruption in Afghanistan have been an issue for years, and they were revived this week when President Hamid Karzai admitted his government receives bags of cash from Iran totalling in the millions of dollars.
Fighting corruption needs to be made a central element of poverty reduction, she said.
Labelle said three-quarters of the world's countries have a serious problem with corruption, including members of the G20, which is trying to guide recovery from the global economic crisis.
Corruption scores declined among a number of higher-income countries "rattled by the financial crisis," she said.
The United States was singled out for its decline to 22nd from 19th place, while Italy and Greece also fell, to 67th and 78th respectively.
On the least-corrupt scale, Canada inched up to sixth from eighth from a year earlier in the ranking of 178 countries. Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore topped the list as the countries with the most virtuous public sectors.
Western concerns about corruption in Afghanistan have been an issue for years, and they were revived this week when President Hamid Karzai admitted his government receives bags of cash from Iran totalling in the millions of dollars.
Fighting corruption needs to be made a central element of poverty reduction, she said.
Labelle said three-quarters of the world's countries have a serious problem with corruption, including members of the G20, which is trying to guide recovery from the global economic crisis.
Corruption scores declined among a number of higher-income countries "rattled by the financial crisis," she said.
The United States was singled out for its decline to 22nd from 19th place, while Italy and Greece also fell, to 67th and 78th respectively.
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