Survey says Iraq, poor nations most corrupt

[ECH1969]

Iraq, racked by violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and impoverished Haiti, Myanmar and Guinea are ranked as the most corrupt countries in the world in a new survey.

Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) ranks 163 countries based on perceived levels of corruption among public officials and politicians in its 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, was ranked last, just below Iraq, Myanmar and Guinea, reflecting what TI said was a high correlation between violence, poverty and corruption.

"This survey suggests that corruption in Iraq is very bad," TI Chief Executive David Nussbaum told Reuters.

http://in.today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-11-06T150453Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-275148-1.xml

[thepurpose]

1. I think America belongs in the most corrupt.

[acmavm]

2. Wonder why? Think the desperation that come along with

poverty, disease, and hopelessness might have something to do with it?

[swag]

3. Corruption index hits Iraq and Washington

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/06/news/corrupt.php

PARIS: Iraq has emerged at the bottom of a survey that measures corruption around the globe. The Corruption Perceptions Index, conducted by Transparency International in Berlin and released Monday, also showed that the United States, the occupying power in Iraq, slipped three notches to 20th place in the survey of 163 countries.

Iraq dropped 23 places to 160th and now ranks alongside Guinea and Myanmar. Haiti earned the lowest score, 1.8 on a scale of 1 to 10, making it the nation where bribery, kickbacks and embezzlement are regarded as most widespread.
. . .
The index measures perceptions of corruption by public officials and politicians for private gain. The data for 2006 were amassed from 12 surveys of business people and country experts over the past two years. That was a change from the methodology used by Transparency International in 2005, when the survey ranked 159 countries based on data gathered over three years.
. . .
Huguette Labelle, chairwoman of Transparency International, said the data suggested a direct link between misdeeds by public officials and economic stagnation. She said misappropriated government money "feeds a vicious circle, where those with access to funds or bribes take what they can, because they can, locking the poor in poverty."

. . . more

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Interesting

"Finland, Iceland and New Zealand were all in first place with scores of 9.6, making them the nations regarded as the world's cleanest."

As it happens, I believe that those three countries have about the highest median per-capita GDPs.

[Robbien]

5. Azerbaijan holds 130th place out of 163 world's most corrupted countries (Iraq is # 160)

Chile and Uruguay were the best ranked countries in the latest edition of the "Corruption Perceptions Index" (CPI) released Monday by the nongovernmental corruption watchdog Transparency International.

The index ranks 163 countries by their perceived levels of domestic corruption in the public sector. As usual, at the top of the list are several Scandinavian countries, such as Finland, Iceland, and Denmark.

Among the major world powers, UK came in 11th, Germany 16th, Japan 17th, the United States was 20th and Spain 23rd.

. . .

In seventy-one countries - nearly half - corruption is perceived as rampant. Haiti has the lowest score; Guinea, Iraq and Myanmar share the penultimate slot.

Countries with a significant worsening in perceived levels of corruption in this year's report include: Brazil, Cuba, Israel, Jordan, Laos, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and the United States.

http://www.today.az/news/society/32287.html

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Kazakhstan #111

Borat is beaming with pride!!!

[PittPoliSci]

13. is number 1!!!

exporter of potassium...

[LynnTheDem]

7. We're #20! We're #20!

So far.

bush has at least 2 more years...

[LynnTheDem]

8. "Countries with a significant worsening..."

the United States."

Gee how shocking.

[Robbien]

9. The only reason we are not lower on the list

is that most of the shit has not hit the fan yet. We have fired too many of the investigators.

[Art_from_Ark]

10. So what parameters or indicators are they using

to make their ranking? "Corruption in the public sector" is a little vague.

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. This statistic makes benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan

;-)

[darkism]

12. "At the top of the list are several Scandinavian countries, such as Finland, Iceland, and Denmark."

No surprise there.

Hopefully today's BLUE WAVE will bring this country up from the pits and closer to these ideal governments.