New Zealand tops least corrupt countries

New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland are the top five least corrupt countries, according to a new report by Transparency International.

Flipping things around, Somalia and Afghanistan head the blacklist drawn up by the anti-graft watchdog in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index.

The ranking range from zero (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean), with Transparency International saying that the majority of the surveyed 180 countries scored less than five.

View the Corruptions Perceptions Index heat map

Iraq, Sudan and Myanmar rounded out the worst performing nations.

African nations accounted for half of the bottom 20 countries on the list, with the lawless Somalia (which has been without a government for two decades) scoring 1.1. New Zealand, by comparison, scored 9.4.

“At a time when massive stimulus packages, fast-track disbursements of public funds and attempts to secure peace are being implemented around the world, it is essential to identify where corruption blocks good governance and accountability, in order to break its corrosive cycle” Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International said in a press release.

The rankings were based on the perceptions of degrees of corruption from business people and analysts.

The top 12 least corrupt nations are: New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Hong Kong, Luxembourg.

The 12 most corrupt countries are: Somalia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan, Iraq, Chad, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Haiti, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea.

View the full list here