Somalia, South Sudan and Syria are ranked as the three most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index which ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.
New Zealand, Denmark and Finland have been ranked as the least corrupt countries, no country in the world is "absolutely clean", according to the analysis.
Transparency international says this year’s data shows that the majority of the 180 countries it analyses are making little progress in ending corruption. The index uses a scale of zero to 100 – where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is absolutely clean.
Australia shares the 13th place with Hong Kong and Iceland with a score of 77, behind Germany and United Kingdom. Australia’s score has been on a downward slide since 2012 when it scored 85 for perceived corruption in the country, whereas the trans-Tasman neighbour New Zealand scored 89 to achieve the top ranking.
This year’s index found that more than two-thirds of countries scored an average of 43.
Transparency International the countries that are more corrupt are also unsafe for journalists and activists. It says one journalist is killed every week in a highly corrupt country and activists are also prevented from speaking out against corruption.
“We’re calling on those governments that hide behind restrictive laws to roll them back immediately and allow for greater civic participation.”
