Statistics on Corruption

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There is corruption everywhere in the world, but some countries perform better than others. This is the country ranking of the CPI (Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International) in 2007:

The CPI measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. High numbers indicate relatively less corruption, whereas lower numbers indicate relatively more corruption.

And these are the country rankings of the Global Integrity Report:

Category 1: Civil Society, Media, and Public Access to Information

This category examines civil society organizations working on anti-corruption issues, the media’s effectiveness in reporting on corruption (including licensing requirements), and public access to information. Public access to government information remains the major weakness for most countries.

Category 2: Elections

This category assesses voting and elections integrity as well as regulations governing the financing of political parties and candidates. Political financing was the weakest sub-category assessed by Global Integrity for all countries in the Global Integrity Report: 2007.

Category 3: Government Accountability

This category explores the existence and effectiveness of conflicts of interest regulations, “cooling off” periods for former government officials, and asset disclosure requirements in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Budget transparency is also assessed. This category contains an alarming concentration of problems for many countries assessed.

Category 4: Administration and Civil Service

This category examines administration and civil service regulations, whistleblower protections, and transparency around government procurement and privatization. The lack of effective whistleblower protections continues to be a problem in many countries assessed.

Category 5: Oversight and Regulation

This category assess the effectiveness of the national ombudsman (or equivalent mechanism), supreme audit institution, taxes and customs agencies, transparency surrounding state-owned enterprises, and business licensing requirements.

Category 6: Anti-Corruption and Rule of Law

This final category examines a country’s anti-corruption laws, the country’s anti-corruption agency (or equivalent mechanism), citizen access to justice, and law enforcement accountability. Most countries have outstanding anti-corruption laws, but actual enforcement is another story.