5 Arab states top ‘most corrupt’ list

Berlin, Dec 4: Five Arab countries are ranked among the top 10 most corrupt nations, according to Transparency International’s newly released annual Corruption Perceptions Index, as instability in the region has profound effects on governance.

The list, published on Tuesday, ranks countries on an index score that relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by country analysts and business people, and ranges between zero, which is highly corrupt, and 100, which is very clean.

Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Sudan all scored less than 20, as their governments deal with massive instability in the face of civil war and armed groups, or nations where the lead researcher of the study said the regime is not “functioning effectively.”

On a scale where zero is a country perceived to be highly corrupt and 100 perceived to be very clean, Yemen’s rating fell five points to 18, Syria dropped nine points to 17, and Libya was down six points to 15. Iraq, still reeling from the effects of the 2003 US-led invasion, also dropped from 18 to 16.

The group’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index ranks more than four-fifths of countries in the Middle East below 50. Countries in the region scored an average 37, below the global average of 43.

With the ouster of longtime Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh last year, the lawlessness that followed led to an expansion of corruption in army, police and government agencies.

In Libya, bribery and embezzlement were common under slain dictator Muammar Qaddafi’s 42-year rule. But the collapse of his government in an uprising supported by a Western bombing campaign has done little to root out corruption.

And in Syria with the ongoing civil war, smuggling, bribe paying and other issues have increased with the breakdown of state order.

Egypt’s score remained unchanged at 32, but Wilcke noted that the report was based primarily on surveys from the first half of the year before the turmoil that ensued after the military removed President Muhammad Mursi in July.

Denmark and New Zealand tied for first place with scores of 91, followed by Finland, Sweden and Norway. Australia and Canada tied in ninth with scores of 81. Britain was 14th with 76 and the United States tied with Uruguay in 19th place with a score of 73.

Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia tied for last place with scores of eight.