Finland least-corrupt nation, India 83rd

Believe it or not, but corruption in India has dropped -- slightly.

In the Global Corruption Index, a survey of 133 nations conducted by Transparency International (an anti-graft watchdog), India stood 83rd in the world, alongside Malawi and Romania.

India recorded a score of 2.8 out of 10. Last year, India's score was 2.7 out of 10, but it stood 71st in a list of 102 nations, unlike 133 this time.

Finland with a score of 9.7 has been ranked first, making it the least corrupt nation on earth. A score of 10 means a country is seen as being 'highly clean', and a score of zero means 'highly corrupt.'

Bangladesh had the dubious distinction of being the world's most corrupt nation with a score of 1.3, worse even than Nigeria and Haiti, which had scores of 1.4 and 1.5, respectively to stand 132nd and 133rd.

However, Asia as a whole fared badly in the report on corruption, with many nations in the region being counted amongst the worst in the world for graft among public officials and politicians.

Myanmar ranked 129th and Indonesia was 122nd.

Vietnam was next on the list of corrupt Asian nations, ranked equal 100 in the world, alongside Guatemala, Kazakhstan and Moldova with a score of 2.4.

Pakistan and the Philippines stood 92nd with a score of 2.5.

Thailand stood 70th with a score of 3, while China and Sri Lanka were both on the 66th position with a score of 3.4, followed by South Korea with 4.3 on the 50th position and Malaysia with a score of 5.2 was at 37th.

The Berlin-based Transparency International said the survey did not include all the nations in the world for want of data.

Finland, Iceland, Denmark and New Zealand topped the world rankings. Hong Kong was equal 14th with Austria on a score of 8, while Japan was equal 21st with a score of 7.

Meanwhile, Peter Eigen, head of based Transparency International, said that rich nations need to do much more to help developing countries tackle endemic corruption.

"Nations starting with a high degree of corruption should not be penalised since they are in the most urgent need of support," he said.

He urged the leaders of developing nations to put in place anti-corruption measures, "but they also urgently require practical help tailored to the needs of their national strategies."

Country rank	Country	CPI 2003 score	Surveys used	Standard deviation	High-low range
1	Finland	9.7	8	0.3	9.2 - 10.0
2	Iceland	9.6	7	0.3	9.2 - 10.0
3	Denmark	9.5	9	0.4	8.8 - 9.9
3	New Zealand	9.5	8	0.2	9.2 - 9.6
5	Singapore	9.4	12	0.1	9.2 - 9.5
6	Sweden	9.3	11	0.2	8.8 - 9.6
7	Netherlands	8.9	9	0.3	8.5 - 9.3
8	Australia	8.8	12	0.9	6.7 - 9.5
	Norway	8.8	8	0.5	8.0 - 9.3
	Switzerland	8.8	9	0.8	6.9 - 9.4
11	Canada	8.7	12	0.9	6.5 - 9.4
	Luxembourg	8.7	6	0.4	8.0 - 9.2
	United Kingdom	8.7	13	0.5	7.8 - 9.2
14	Austria	8.0	9	0.7	7.3 - 9.3
14	Hong Kong	8.0	11	1.1	5.6 - 9.3
16	Germany	7.7	11	1.2	4.9 - 9.2
17	Belgium	7.6	9	0.9	6.6 - 9.2
18	Ireland	7.5	9	0.7	6.5 - 8.8
18	USA	7.5	13	1.2	4.9 - 9.2
20	Chile	7.4	12	0.9	5.6 - 8.8
21	Israel	7.0	10	1.2	4.7 - 8.1
21	Japan	7.0	13	1.1	5.5 - 8.8
23	France	6.9	12	1.1	4.8 - 9.0
23	Spain	6.9	11	0.8	5.2 - 7.8
25	Portugal	6.6	9	1.2	4.9 - 8.1
26	Oman	6.3	4	0.9	5.5 - 7.3
27	Bahrain	6.1	3	1.1	5.5 - 7.4
27	Cyprus	6.1	3	1.6	4.7 - 7.8
29	Slovenia	5.9	12	1.2	4.7 - 8.8
30	Botswana	5.7	6	0.9	4.7 - 7.3
30	Taiwan	5.7	13	1.0	3.6 - 7.8
32	Qatar	5.6	3	0.1	5.5 - 5.7
33	Estonia	5.5	12	0.6	4.7 - 6.6
33	Uruguay	5.5	7	1.1	4.1 - 7.4
35	Italy	5.3	11	1.1	3.3 - 7.3
35	Kuwait	5.3	4	1.7	3.3 - 7.4
37	Malaysia	5.2	13	1.1	3.6 - 8.0
37	United Arab Emirates	5.2	3	0.5	4.6 - 5.6
39	Tunisia	4.9	6	0.7	3.6 - 5.6
40	Hungary	4.8	13	0.6	4.0 - 5.6
41	Lithuania	4.7	10	1.6	3.0 - 7.7
41	Namibia	4.7	6	1.3	3.6 - 6.6
43	Cuba	4.6	3	1.0	3.6 - 5.5
	Jordan	4.6	7	1.1	3.6 - 6.5
	Trinidad and Tobago	4.6	6	1.3	3.4 - 6.9
46	Belize	4.5	3	0.9	3.6 - 5.5
46	Saudi Arabia	4.5	4	2.0	2.8 - 7.4
48	Mauritius	4.4	5	0.7	3.6 - 5.5
48	South Africa	4.4	12	0.6	3.6 - 5.5
50	Costa Rica	4.3	8	0.7	3.5 - 5.5
	Greece	4.3	9	0.8	3.7 - 5.6
	South Korea	4.3	12	1.0	2.0 - 5.6
53	Belarus	4.2	5	1.8	2.0 - 5.8
54	Brazil	3.9	12	0.5	3.3 - 4.7
	Bulgaria	3.9	10	0.9	2.8 - 5.7
	Czech Republic	3.9	12	0.9	2.6 - 5.6
57	Jamaica	3.8	5	0.4	3.3 - 4.3
57	Latvia	3.8	7	0.4	3.4 - 4.7
59	Colombia	3.7	11	0.5	2.7 - 4.4
	Croatia	3.7	8	0.6	2.6 - 4.7
	El Salvador	3.7	7	1.5	2.0 - 6.3
	Peru	3.7	9	0.6	2.7 - 4.9
	Slovakia	3.7	11	0.7	2.9 - 4.7
64	Mexico	3.6	12	0.6	2.4 - 4.9
64	Poland	3.6	14	1.1	2.4 - 5.6
66	China	3.4	13	1.0	2.0 - 5.5
	Panama	3.4	7	0.8	2.7 - 5.0
	Sri Lanka	3.4	7	0.7	2.4 - 4.4
	Syria	3.4	4	1.3	2.0 - 5.0
70	Bosnia & Herzegovina	3.3	6	0.7	2.2 - 3.9
	Dominican Republic	3.3	6	0.4	2.7 - 3.8
	Egypt	3.3	9	1.3	1.8 - 5.3
	Ghana	3.3	6	0.9	2.7 - 5.0
	Morocco	3.3	5	1.3	2.4 - 5.5
	Thailand	3.3	13	0.9	1.4 - 4.4
76	Senegal	3.2	6	1.2	2.2 - 5.5
77	Turkey	3.1	14	0.9	1.8 - 5.4
78	Armenia	3.0	5	0.8	2.2 - 4.1
	Iran	3.0	4	1.0	1.5 - 3.6
	Lebanon	3.0	4	0.8	2.1 - 3.6
	Mali	3.0	3	1.8	1.4 - 5.0
	Palestine	3.0	3	1.2	2.0 - 4.3
83	India	2.8	14	0.4	2.1 - 3.6
	Malawi	2.8	4	1.2	2.0 - 4.4
	Romania	2.8	12	1.0	1.6 - 5.0
86	Mozambique	2.7	5	0.7	2.0 - 3.6
86	Russia	2.7	16	0.8	1.4 - 4.9
88	Algeria	2.6	4	0.5	2.0 - 3.0
	Madagascar	2.6	3	1.8	1.2 - 4.7
	Nicaragua	2.6	7	0.5	2.0 - 3.3
	Yemen	2.6	4	0.7	2.0 - 3.4
92	Albania	2.5	5	0.6	1.9 - 3.2
	Argentina	2.5	12	0.5	1.6 - 3.2
	Ethiopia	2.5	5	0.8	1.5 - 3.6
	Gambia	2.5	4	0.9	1.5 - 3.6
	Pakistan	2.5	7	0.9	1.5 - 3.9
	Philippines	2.5	12	0.5	1.6 - 3.6
	Tanzania	2.5	6	0.6	2.0 - 3.3
	Zambia	2.5	5	0.6	2.0 - 3.3
100	Guatemala	2.4	8	0.6	1.5 - 3.4
	Kazakhstan	2.4	7	0.9	1.6 - 3.8
	Moldova	2.4	5	0.8	1.6 - 3.6
	Uzbekistan	2.4	6	0.5	2.0 - 3.3
	Venezuela	2.4	12	0.5	1.4 - 3.1
	Vietnam	2.4	8	0.8	1.4 - 3.6
106	Bolivia	2.3	6	0.4	1.9 - 2.9
	Honduras	2.3	7	0.6	1.4 - 3.3
	Macedonia	2.3	5	0.3	2.0 - 2.7
	Serbia & Montenegro	2.3	5	0.5	2.0 - 3.2
	Sudan	2.3	4	0.3	2.0 - 2.7
	Ukraine	2.3	10	0.6	1.6 - 3.8
	Zimbabwe	2.3	7	0.3	2.0 - 2.7
113	Congo, Republic of the	2.2	3	0.5	2.0 - 2.8
	Ecuador	2.2	8	0.3	1.8 - 2.6
	Iraq	2.2	3	1.1	1.2 - 3.4
	Sierra Leone	2.2	3	0.5	2.0 - 2.8
	Uganda	2.2	6	0.7	1.8 - 3.5
118	Cote d'Ivoire	2.1	5	0.5	1.5 - 2.7
	Kyrgyzstan	2.1	5	0.4	1.6 - 2.7
	Libya	2.1	3	0.5	1.7 - 2.7
	Papua New Guinea	2.1	3	0.6	1.5 - 2.7
122	Indonesia	1.9	13	0.5	0.7 - 2.9
122	Kenya	1.9	7	0.3	1.5 - 2.4
124	Angola	1.8	3	0.3	1.4 - 2.0
	Azerbaijan	1.8	7	0.3	1.4 - 2.3
	Cameroon	1.8	5	0.2	1.4 - 2.0
	Georgia	1.8	6	0.7	0.9 - 2.8
	Tajikistan	1.8	3	0.3	1.5 - 2.0
129	Myanmar	1.6	3	0.3	1.4 - 2.0
129	Paraguay	1.6	6	0.3	1.2 - 2.0
131	Haiti	1.5	5	0.6	0.7 - 2.3
132	Nigeria	1.4	9	0.4	0.9 - 2.0
133	Bangladesh	1.3	8	0.7	0.3 - 2.2
Explanatory notes A more detailed description of the CPI 2003 methodology is available at http://www.transparency.org/cpi/ index.html#cpi or at http://www.gwdg.de/~uwv A CPI 2003 Score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people, academics and risk analysts, and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt). A Surveys Used refers to the number of surveys that assessed a country's performance. A total of 17 surveys were used from 13 independent institutions, and at least three surveys were required for a country to be included in the CPI. Standard Deviation indicates differences in the values of the sources: the greater the standard deviation, the greater the differences of perceptions of a country among the sources. High-Low Range provides the highest and lowest values of the different sources.