Indonesia remains one of the world's most corrupt nations
Indonesia remains one of the world's most corrupt nations
Agencies, Berlin
Indonesia has been ranked once again as one of the world's most corrupt countries by Transparency International.
The Berlin-based anti-corruption group said its 2002 Corruption Perception Index had Bangladesh at the bottom, followed in ascending order by Nigeria, Paraguay, Madagascar, Angola, Kenya and Indonesia.
"Corruption is perceived to be rampant in Indonesia, Kenya, Angola, Madagascar, Paraguay, Nigeria and Bangladesh," the organization said.
Corruption is holding whole nations in poverty and hampering development despite pledges by political leaders to crack down, the anticorruption watchdog Transparency International charged Wednesday in its annual report.
"Political elites and their cronies continue to take kickbacks at every opportunity," chairman Peter Eigen said, pointing the finger at both rich and poorer nations.
Seven of out 10 countries in the TI index, including many in the world's most poverty-stricken regions, scored less than five out of a perfect 10, he told a news conference in Berlin.
"Politicians increasingly pay lip-service to the fight against corruption but they fail to act on the clear message (from TI): that they must clamp down on corruption to break the vicious cycle of poverty and graft."
The TI Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a subjective reading, compiled from 15 polls gathered by nine institutions and focusing on graft in the public sector.
To qualify for the index, a country must rank on at least three different surveys.
Eigen said there were undoubtedly other corrupt countries but there was not enough information to include them on the list.
Once again, rich countries were perceived as the least corrupt: the list was topped by Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, Singapore and Sweden.
The cleanest and the most corrupt countries
The 10 cleanest countries: 1. Finland (9.7), 2. Denmark (9.5), 3. New Zealand (9.5), 4. Iceland (9.4), 5. Singapore (9.3), 6. Sweden (9.3), 7. Canada (9.0), 8. Luxembourg (9.0), 9. Netherlands (9.0), 10. United Kingdom (8.7)
The most corrupt countries (in descending order): 93. Moldova (2.1), 94. Uganda (2.1), 95. Azerbaijan (2.0), 96. Indonesia (1.9), 97. Kenya (1.9), 98. Angola (1.7), 99. Madagascar (1.7), 100. Paraguay (1.7), 101. Nigeria (1.6), 102. Bangladesh (1.2)