Australia drops to 11th place in global corruption index

Australia has dropped to 11th place in a global corruption ranking, two places lower than in 2013 and four places down from 2012.

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Former NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell departs after giving evidence at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) hearing in Sydney, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014. (AAP)

Australia is considered the 11th least corrupt country in the world, according to this year's global corruption perceptions index.

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2014, released today, shows Denmark was the least corrupt country in the world, with New Zealand placing second.

The index operated on a points system, with 100 being very clean and 0 being highly corrupt.

All data compiled by SBS data journalist Jason Thomas.
Australia scored 80 points in this year’s index, down one point from 81 in 2013 and 85 in 2012.

Tied at last place was Somalia and North Korea, which both scored 8 points

China, Turkey and Angola were among the biggest fallers with a drop of four or five points on 2013.

Of the 175 countries in the index, more than two-thirds scored below 50 including Egypt (37),  Vietnam (31), Russia (27), Cambodia (21).

Some of the biggest gains were made by Afghanistan (+4), Saint Vincent (+5) and the Grenadines (+5).

The chair of Transparency International, José Ugaz, said economic growth – the theme of this year's G20 summit in Brisbane - was at risk.

"The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that economic growth is undermined and efforts to stop corruption fade when leaders and high level officials abuse power to appropriate public funds for personal gain," Mr Ugaz said in a statement.
"Countries at the bottom need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favour of their people. Countries at the top of the index should make sure they don’t export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries."

The index, which measures perceptions of corruption, is based on experts' opinions of public-sector corruption.

Transparency and easy access to information can bolster countries' scores while a lack of accountability in the public sector can damage them.

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By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan

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