Corruption
NZ least corrupt nation
December 1, 2011
New Zealand is still the least corrupt nation in the world, while Australia is the least corrupt in the Group of 20 industrialised nations.
Transparency International, a global organisation leading the fight against corruption, says its annual league tables show New Zealand in first place - a position it held jointly with Denmark and Singapore in 2010.
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index scores 183 countries and territories from zero (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean) based on data from 17 surveys that look at factors such as enforcement of anti-corruption laws, access to information and conflicts of interest.
Two thirds of ranked countries scored less than five.
New Zealand scored 9.5 compared to 9.3 last year.
At the other end of the scale, joint last were North Korea and Somalia, both scoring just one point.
Transparency International warned the protests seen around the world in 2011, mainly fuelled by corruption and economic instability, show citizens feel their leaders and public institutions were neither transparent nor accountable enough.
"This year we have seen corruption on protesters' banners, be they rich or poor," the organisation's chair Huguette Labelle said while releasing the report in Berlin on Thursday.
"Whether in a Europe hit by debt crisis or an Arab world starting a new political era, leaders must heed the demands for better government."
Australia remains in joint eighth position in the world with Switzerland, China was ranked 75th and the United States 24th.
NZ Newswire
December 1, 2011
New Zealand is still the least corrupt nation in the world, while Australia is the least corrupt in the Group of 20 industrialised nations.
Transparency International, a global organisation leading the fight against corruption, says its annual league tables show New Zealand in first place - a position it held jointly with Denmark and Singapore in 2010.
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index scores 183 countries and territories from zero (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean) based on data from 17 surveys that look at factors such as enforcement of anti-corruption laws, access to information and conflicts of interest.
Two thirds of ranked countries scored less than five.
New Zealand scored 9.5 compared to 9.3 last year.
At the other end of the scale, joint last were North Korea and Somalia, both scoring just one point.
Transparency International warned the protests seen around the world in 2011, mainly fuelled by corruption and economic instability, show citizens feel their leaders and public institutions were neither transparent nor accountable enough.
"This year we have seen corruption on protesters' banners, be they rich or poor," the organisation's chair Huguette Labelle said while releasing the report in Berlin on Thursday.
"Whether in a Europe hit by debt crisis or an Arab world starting a new political era, leaders must heed the demands for better government."
Australia remains in joint eighth position in the world with Switzerland, China was ranked 75th and the United States 24th.
NZ Newswire