Denmark, Finland, New Zealand least corrupt nations; India 94th
Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied for the first place in Transparency International's 2012 index of the least corrupt countries.
India is on 94th position in the Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency International ranks countries on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean). Lawless Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan remain rooted to the foot of the table in the Corruption Perceptions Index.
Germany came in at 13th, one notch better than 2011 and Japan remained at 17. The United States ranked 19th in 2012, up from 24th out of 183 countries in 2011. China ranked 80th after 75th in 2011.
The 2012 index ranks 176 countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The index assigns scores of between one and 100, 1 being highly corrupt and 100 clean.
Nations hardest hit by the eurozone debt crisis are being held back by an inability to get to grips with corruption, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International (TI) said on Wednesday.
Publishing its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, the Berlin-based body ranked Greece and Italy at places 94 and 72 respectively, out of 176 countries, and called for Europe to make tackling corruption a top priority in its battle against the crisis.
Perceived corruption in both countries appeared to have worsened. In last year's index, debt-ravaged Greece was ranked 80th and Italy 69th.
"Underperformers in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 also include the eurozone countries most affected by the financial and economic crisis," TI noted.
It appealed to Europe's policymakers to "address corruption risks in the public sector to tackle the financial crisis" and for "strengthened efforts to corruption-proof institutions."
Top of the class this year were Denmark, Finland and New Zealand, each with a score of 90 due to a "strong access to information systems and rules governing the behaviour of those in public positions."
Lawless Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan remain rooted to the foot of the table, each scoring eight points despite efforts to tackle rampant corruption in Kabul.
Among other major nations, the United States came in 19th, just behind Japan and Britain, which were 17th equal.
China was well below the 50-point mark, coming in 80th with a score of 39.
Germany was 13th with 79 points, ahead of fellow European powerhouse France, which was 22nd with 71 points.
The following is a list of the top and bottom-ranked nations on corruption watchdog Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index, released on Wednesday.
The index score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between zero, which is highly corrupt, and 100, which is very clean.
(Least corrupt nations)
1. Denmark 90
1. Finland 90
1. New Zealand 90
4. Sweden 88
5. Singapore 87
6. Switzerland 86
7. Australia 85
7. Norway 85
9. Canada 84
9. Netherlands 84
11. Iceland 82
12. Luxembourg 80
13. Germany 79
14. Hong Kong 77
15. Barbados 76
94. India 36
160. Democratic Republic of the Congo 21
160. Laos 21
160. Libya 21
163. Equatorial Guinea 20
163. Zimbabwe 20
165. Burundi 19
165. Chad 19
165. Haiti 19
165. Venezuela 19
169. Iraq 18
170. Turkmenistan 17
170. Uzbekistan 17
172. Myanmar 15
173. Sudan 13
(Most corrupt nations)
174. Afghanistan 8
174. North Korea 8
174. Somalia 8
