2008 Corruption Perceptions Index

Last week, the government ethics watchdog group Transparency International released its 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index, a survey of perceptions of public sector corruption in some 180 states.

At the bottom of the list are countries such as Somalia, Burma, Iraq, Haiti, Afghanistan, Sudan, Guinea, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

" 'In the poorest countries, corruption levels can mean the difference between life and death, when money for hospitals or clean water is in play,' said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International. 'The continuing high levels of corruption and poverty plaguing many of the world’s societies amount to an ongoing humanitarian disaster and cannot be tolerated. But even in more privileged countries, with enforcement disturbingly uneven, a tougher approach to tackling corruption is needed'. "

The cleanest countries for the 2008 survey were Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand. Canada came in 9th.

The complete results as well as the sources for the evaluation are available online [links near the bottom of the document mentioned in the opening paragraph].