Gus, with the current corporate scandals in the US, it is interesting to know where the US ranks in the CPI (Corruption Perception Index). I thought the US would be higher (less corrupt) on the scale. Here is an extract of the report. Any thoughts?
"There is no end in sight to the misuse of power by those in public office - and corruption levels are perceived to be as high as ever in both the developed and developing worlds," said Peter Eigen, Chairman of Transparency International, speaking today on the launch of the Corruption Perceptions Index 2001. "There is a worldwide corruption crisis. That is the clear message from the year 2001 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which reflects the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. Scores of less than 5 out of a clean score of 10 are registered by countries on every continent," he said on the publication today of the CPI by Transparency International (TI).
This year's index, published by the world's leading non- governmental organisation fighting corruption, ranks 91 countries. Some of the richest countries in the world - Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, Singapore and Sweden - scored 9 or higher out of a clean score of 10 in the new CPI, indicating very low levels of perceived corruption. But 55 countries - many of which are among the world's poorest - scored less than 5, suggesting high levels of perceived corruption in government and public administration. The countries with a score of 2 or less are Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cameroon, Kenya, Indonesia, Uganda, Nigeria and Bangladesh.
The CPI, which TI first launched in 1995, is a poll of polls, this year drawing on 14 surveys from seven independent institutions. The surveys reflect the perceptions of business people, academics and country analysts. The surveys were undertaken over the past three years and no country has been included in the CPI without results from a minimum of three surveys. "This prudent approach means that we are unable to include a number of countries that probably have higher corruption levels than those included in the CPI," explained Peter Eigen. "Moreover, for some countries in the CPI, there are only three or four data sources and wide variations in the individual survey results. Small differences in ranking between countries should not be overstated."
"The new Index illustrates once more the vicious circle of poverty and corruption, where parents have to bribe underpaid teachers to secure an education for their children and underresourced health services provide a breeding ground for corruption. The world's poorest are the greatest victims of corruption," said Peter Eigen
at a press conference in Paris. "Vast amounts of public funds are being wasted and stolen by corrupt officials," he continued.
For further data on countries here is the URL:
transparency.org |
