NZ Remains In Top 3 Clean In Corruption Countries

Transparency International Releases the Year 2001 Corruption Perceptions Index

by Rohit Kumar 'Happy'

NZ has been ranked as 3rd cleanest country in terms of corruption again by Transparency International.

The Corruption Perceptions Index 2001 rated 91 countries on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (highly clean), as perceived by business people, risk analysts and the general public in a number of independent surveys.

The CPI, first launched in 1995, was compiled by Transparency International, a German based organisation with national chapters in sixty countries which lobbies and works against corruption.

New Zealand remaining on 3rd position scored 9.4 again. The top 10 cleanest countries are:

1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. New Zealand
4. Iceland
5. Singapore
6. Sweden
7. Canada
8. Netherlands
9. Luxembourg
10.Norway

Finland, Denmark also remain same on 1st and 2nd position.

Australia came in 11th position campared to 13th position last year. UK has 13thposition, compared to 10th in 2000. United States has 17thposition position, it was on 14th position last year.

The lowest ranking countries included Nigeria, Yugoslavia and Ukraine, those who had a score of less than two on the scale.

This year's CPI covers 91 countries, compared to 90 last year.

"There is no end insight 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 (TI), the world's leading anti-corruption organization.

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.

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