Corruption Index 2012, From TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

Cameroon 10 places up from the bottom of  2012 World corruption Index.

Corruption index 2012 from Transparency International: find out how countries compare

Which country is most corrupt? North Korea is still officially considered the world's most corrupt country, along with Somalia and Afghanistan. But why has the US gone up six places and the UK's score worsened? See how the annual corruption index has changed

 

Corruption index 2012 graphic. Click image to enlarge

How corrupt is your government? Troubled regimes may have fallen around the globe but the latest corruption index from Transparency International shows the old problems are as rife as they ever were.

The CPI scores countries on a scale of zero to 100, with zero indicating high levels of corruption and 100, low levels. Two thirds of the 176 countries ranked in the 2012 index score below 50 - meaning they are considered significantly corrupt.

The lowest scored country in Europe, however, is troubled Greece - ranked down 14 places to number 36. Syria too, presently in the middle of civil war, is down 15 places to number 144, making it one of the most corrupt countries on earth. Egypt, presently in the middle of demonstrations, is down six places to 118 out of 174 countries ranked by the index.

And the most corrupt places in the world are not the most surprising. Unstable governments, often with a legacy of conflict, continue to dominate the bottom rungs of the CPI. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia share last place with a score of only eight out of 100 for transparency.

Corruption interactive map of the world. Click image to explore it

Unsurprisingly, at the top are some of the world's most stable countries - New Zealand, Denmark and Finland are number one. That's a move up of one place for the latter two.

The US has had a larger rise though - up five places to number 19, in contrast to the UK's drop of one place to number 18.

Changes in methodology mean scores cannot be compared, year on year, although the relative placing of each country can be.

The Index, which is closely watched by investors, economists, and civil society campaigners, is based on expert assessments and data from 13 surveys from independent institutions, covering issues such as access to information, bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, and the enforcement of anti-corruption laws. While critics note that measuring perceptions of corruption is not the same as measuring corruption itself, the latter is almost impossible to do - as the corrupt are usually keen to cover up their tracks, hard data on graft and bribery is notoriously difficult to come by.

The full data is below - what can you do with it?

Data summary

Transparency international world corruption index (1=least corrupt)

Click heading to sort table. Download this data

Country Rank, 2012	Country / Territory	CPI 2012 Score	Change in rank since 2011	2011 rank	2008 rank
SOURCE: Transparency International
1	New Zealand	90	0	1	4
1	Denmark	90	1	2	1
1	Finland	90	1	2	1
4	Sweden	88	0	4	9
5	Singapore	87	0	5	5
6	Switzerland	86	2	8	14
7	Norway	85	-1	6	7
7	Australia	85	1	8	5
9	Netherlands	84	-2	7	9
9	Canada	84	1	10	7
11	Iceland	82	2	13	11
12	Luxembourg	80	-1	11	12
13	Germany	79	1	14	22
14	Hong Kong	77	-2	12	16
15	Barbados	76	1	16	18
16	Belgium	75	3	19	18
17	Japan	74	-3	14	28
17	United Kingdom	74	-1	16	23
19	United States	73	5	24	23
20	Chile	72	2	22	18
20	Uruguay	72	5	25	23
22	Bahamas	71	-1	21	0
22	France	71	3	25	27
22	Saint Lucia	71	3	25	0
25	Austria	69	-9	16	14
25	Ireland	69	-6	19	12
27	Qatar	68	-5	22	16
27	United Arab Emirates	68	1	28	33
29	Cyprus	66	1	30	35
30	Spain	65	1	31	32
30	Botswana	65	2	32	36
32	Estonia	64	-3	29	26
33	Portugal	63	-1	32	36
33	Bhutan	63	5	38	36
33	Puerto Rico	63	6	39	39
36	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	62	0	36	0
37	Taiwan	61	-5	32	45
37	Slovenia	61	-2	35	31
39	Israel	60	-3	36	28
39	Cape Verde	60	2	41	58
41	Poland	58	0	41	33
41	Dominica	58	3	44	47
43	Malta	57	-4	39	0
43	Mauritius	57	3	46	47
45	Korea (South)	56	-2	43	41
46	Brunei	55	-2	44	40
46	Hungary	55	8	54	47
48	Costa Rica	54	2	50	41
48	Lithuania	54	2	50	43
50	Rwanda	53	-1	49	55
51	Seychelles	52	-1	50	47
51	Georgia	52	13	64	80
53	Bahrain	51	-7	46	55
54	Czech Republic	49	3	57	65
54	Malaysia	49	6	60	61
54	Latvia	49	7	61	52
54	Turkey	49	7	61	52
58	Jordan	48	-2	56	80
58	Namibia	48	-1	57	58
58	Cuba	48	3	61	85
61	Oman	47	-11	50	58
62	Croatia	46	4	66	72
62	Slovakia	46	4	66	62
64	Ghana	45	5	69	62
64	Lesotho	45	13	77	72
66	Kuwait	44	-12	54	54
66	Saudi Arabia	44	-9	57	45
66	Romania	44	9	75	72
69	South Africa	43	-5	64	47
69	Macedonia	43	0	69	67
69	Brazil	43	4	73	65
72	Italy	42	-3	69	67
72	Bosnia and Herzegovina	42	19	91	102
72	Sao Tome & Principe	42	28	100	138
75	Montenegro	41	-9	66	70
75	Tunisia	41	-2	73	62
75	Bulgaria	41	11	86	67
75	Liberia	41	16	91	92
79	Sri Lanka	40	7	86	72
80	China	39	-5	75	70
80	Serbia	39	6	86	80
80	Trinidad and Tobago	39	11	91	109
83	El Salvador	38	-3	80	85
83	Peru	38	-3	80	85
83	Jamaica	38	3	86	138
83	Panama	38	3	86	72
83	Burkina Faso	38	17	100	115
88	Morocco	37	-8	80	85
88	Thailand	37	-8	80	115
88	Zambia	37	3	91	92
88	Swaziland	37	7	95	80
88	Malawi	37	12	100	80
88	Suriname	37	12	100	0
94	Colombia	36	-14	80	57
94	Greece	36	-14	80	92
94	India	36	1	95	96
94	Benin	36	6	100	102
94	Djibouti	36	6	100	158
94	Moldova	36	18	112	85
94	Senegal	36	18	112	96
94	Mongolia	36	26	120	126
102	Argentina	35	-2	100	145
102	Gabon	35	-2	100	126
102	Tanzania	35	-2	100	121
105	Gambia	34	-28	77	96
105	Mexico	34	-5	100	102
105	Algeria	34	7	112	109
105	Kosovo	34	7	112	109
105	Bolivia	34	13	118	96
105	Mali	34	13	118	102
105	Armenia	34	24	129	126
105	Philippines	34	24	129	158
113	Albania	33	-18	95	85
113	Ethiopia	33	7	120	126
113	Guatemala	33	7	120	96
113	Niger	33	21	134	151
113	Timor-Leste	33	30	143	126
118	Indonesia	32	-18	100	0
118	Madagascar	32	-18	100	115
118	Egypt	32	-6	112	72
118	Ecuador	32	2	120	102
118	Dominican Republic	32	11	129	121
123	Vietnam	31	-11	112	109
123	Mozambique	31	-3	120	102
123	Sierra Leone	31	11	134	121
123	Belarus	31	20	143	151
123	Mauritania	31	20	143	134
128	Lebanon	30	6	134	134
128	Togo	30	15	143	134
130	Nicaragua	29	4	134	147
130	Uganda	29	13	143	158
130	Côte d´Ivoire	29	24	154	177
133	Iran	28	-13	120	126
133	Kazakhstan	28	-13	120	109
133	Honduras	28	-4	129	121
133	Guyana	28	1	134	96
133	Comoros	28	10	143	158
133	Russia	28	10	143	151
139	Pakistan	27	-5	134	141
139	Azerbaijan	27	4	143	147
139	Nigeria	27	4	143	141
139	Kenya	27	15	154	151
139	Nepal	27	15	154	138
144	Bangladesh	26	-24	120	126
144	Syria	26	-15	129	145
144	Cameroon	26	-10	134	151
144	Ukraine	26	8	152	166
144	Central African Republic	26	10	154	134
144	Congo	26	10	154	158
150	Eritrea	25	-16	134	85
150	Guinea-Bissau	25	4	154	147
150	Papua New Guinea	25	4	154	147
150	Paraguay	25	4	154	141
154	Guinea	24	10	164	166
154	Kyrgyzstan	24	10	164	158
156	Yemen	23	8	164	166
157	Tajikistan	22	-5	152	171
157	Cambodia	22	7	164	151
157	Angola	22	11	168	171
160	Laos	21	-6	154	151
160	Congo, Dem Rep	21	8	168	173
160	Libya	21	8	168	121
163	Zimbabwe	20	-9	154	115
163	Equatorial Guinea	20	9	172	158
165	Chad	19	3	168	173
165	Burundi	19	7	172	173
165	Venezuela	19	7	172	158
165	Haiti	19	10	175	141
169	Iraq	18	6	175	176
170	Turkmenistan	17	7	177	166
170	Uzbekistan	17	7	177	178
172	Myanmar	15	8	180	180
173	Sudan	13	4	177	166
174	Afghanistan	8	6	180	178
174	Korea (North)	8	8	182	0
174	Somalia	8	8	182	0