Nigeria improved by nine places in the Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index 2014,’ with the country perching on position 136 out of 175 countries/territories surveyed.
Not a good position, but it is much better than the position of 144 in the index in 2013.
According to the report released Wednesday by the Germany-based non-governmental organisation, the country is the 39th most corrupt nation among the 175 countries on the index.
The country was scored 27 out of 100, higher than the 25 it was in 2013.
The report also shows that corruption in China and Turkey has worsened dramatically over the past year according to the latest rankings released by Transparency International (TI).
The annual report showed an increase in corruption in some of the world’s fastest growing economies such as Turkey, China and Angola whose GDPs grew by 4 percent last year.
The anti-corruption NGO added that money laundering was the biggest barrier to economic development among the worst ranking countries.
“What is extremely important for emerging markets and developing countries is the return of laundered money which is sitting, for example, in Germany, in some bank somewhere or has been parked somewhere. These countries could put this money towards their economic development, once they have been able to get rid of their dictators,” explained Edda Mueller, head of TI in Germany, where the NGO has its headquarters.
But she went on to concede that this was easier said than done.
“Tracking money laundering and finding where it is being hidden is a very difficult area of investigation and because of this is often neglected. So, a potential criminal drug dealer, if one can catch him, will be punished but not the real criminal cause of money laundering. This is a big problem that we have to address.”
The TI annual report shows perceived levels of corruption in 175 countries, with a 0 being highly corrupt and 100 being highly clean. China ranked 80 in 2013 and has slumped to 100 in 2014.
China’s drop will come as a blow to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who took office in 2012 vowing to root out graft. His anti-corruption office has fired 270,000 cadres.
Turkey dropped to 64th place. The country was struck by a corruption scandal in December last year, the worst since the AK party came to power more than ten years ago.
Denmark retains its title as the least corrupt country, while North Korea and Somalia were jointly named the most corrupt.
The Corruption Perception Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
A country or territory’s rank indicates its position relative to the other countries and territories in the index.
According to the report, poorly equipped schools, counterfeit medicine and elections decided by money are some of the consequences of public sector corruption.
“Bribes and backroom deals don’t just steal resources from the most vulnerable – they undermine justice and economic development, and destroy public trust in government and leaders.
“Based on expert opinion from around the world, the Corruption Perceptions Index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption worldwide, and it paints an alarming picture.
Not one single country gets a perfect score and more than two-thirds score below 50, on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
“Countries at the bottom need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favour of their people. Countries at the top of the index should make sure they don’t export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries,” the Chairman of Transparency International, José Ugaz, said.
He also pointed out that corruption is a problem for all countries, adding that a poor score was likely a sign of widespread bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs.
Meanwhile, Nigeria shared same position in the index with Cameroun, Iran, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
Denmark was adjudged the least corrupt country as it emerged top out of the 175 countries. The country was closely followed by New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Australia, Germany, Iceland and United Kingdom, in that order.
On the other hand, North Korea and Somalia were rated as the most corrupt countries in the world. Other countries also on the bottom of the corruption index are Sudan, Afghanistan, South Sudan , Iraq, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Libya, Eritrea and Yemen.
