The problem of corruption in government and state structures is relevant for many states. To date, several effective mechanisms have been developed to control and counteract abuse of power for the purpose of obtaining benefits, bribing officials and other actions that are contrary to the law and moral principles, however, the application of anti-corruption methods in practice does not always bring the proper result.
However, there are many countries with fairly low levels of corruption. The most corrupt states and countries where there is virtually no corruption in the public sector are presented in the Corruption Perceptions Index ranking. The assessment of the level of corruption of states, the compilation and publication of relevant material is carried out by the non-governmental organization Transparencyinternational. She is based in Berlin.
How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated
The indicators on which the rating of states is based on the level of perception of corruption are based on several independent surveys. The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI - for short) is based on the opinions of authoritative experts in the field of finance and law. The rating is compiled by experts from the World Bank, the African and Asian Development Banks, the American non-governmental organization Freedom House, which studies civil and political freedoms, and also monitors democratic changes in the world.
The Corruption Perceptions Index is a kind of scale of “honesty of the authorities”. Each state that participates in the study is assigned a score from zero to one hundred points, where zero indicates the maximum level of corruption, and one hundred points are received by the least corrupt countries. Previously, Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index ranged from one to ten.
In open sources, the specific factors by which states are assessed are not published, so you can only get acquainted with the final rating. In addition, there is no universal methodology for calculating the indicator, because the final assessment, according to TI, takes into account the national characteristics of a particular state.
Formation of the ranking of countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index
The rating for such an indicator as the Corruption Perceptions Index in 2016 included one hundred and seventy-six states. Published data that ranks countries is used to assess the level of progress in combating corruption, as well as the position of a particular country in relation to neighboring countries, political and economic partners and competitors.
Least corrupt countries according to TI
Corruption perception index is the highest (ninety points) in the Scandinavian countries, New Zealand, Switzerland. Denmark ranks first, followed by New Zealand, third is Finland, followed by Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, and the Netherlands. The UK closes the top ten with a final score of eighty-one.
The 21st Corruption Perceptions Index, published at the end of January 2017, differs little from previous years for leading states. In general, positions in the ranking rarely change radically.
Corruption in Russia according to Transparency International estimates
For Russia, the corruption perception index has been calculated since 1996, when the rating was formed from fifty-four countries. Then the Russian Federation was in forty-sixth - forty-seventh place with a score of two point sixty-tenths. The dynamics of the change in the indicator is not marked by either rapid ups or downs. Is there a jump at the borders of 2000 and 2001, when the indicator from two integers and onethe tenth point rose to two point and seven tenths.
The minimum corruption perception index (according to the rating until 2014), which is two points and one tenth, was recorded in 2000, 2008, 2010. The maximum value (two whole points and eight tenths) was reached in 2004, 2012 and 2013. India, Honduras, Ecuador, Mozambique, Georgia, Gambia, Nepal, Albania, Niger and others had the same values in different years.
Ti's press release notes that the situation with corruption in Russia has reached such an alarming scale that it affects not only the state apparatus, but also he althcare, education, law enforcement agencies, the economy, and the very statehood of the Russian Federation.
In 2017, the corruption perception index (Russia has not changed its positions) was calculated for one hundred and seventy-six countries. The Russian Federation is in 131st place with a score of 29 points out of a possible 100.
World Justice Project Rule of Law Index
According to the World Justice Project's rule of law survey, Russia ranked ninety-second out of ninety-seven countries. Worst of all are the safety and efficiency of law enforcement, as well as the effectiveness of limiting the powers of the authorities. The situation is not in the best colors due to the following factors:
- protection of human rights (83rd place);
- criminal proceedings (seventyeighth place);
- open government (seventy fourth place);
- corruption level (seventy-first place);
- enforcement (sixty-eighth);
- civil litigation (sixty-fifth).
The place of the post-Soviet states in the ranking of corruption
Corruption perception index was also calculated for post-Soviet countries. So, Ukraine received twenty-nine points and took one hundred and thirty-first place out of a possible one hundred and seventy-six, Belarus - seventy-ninth place (forty points), Kazakhstan - one hundred and thirty-first place (twenty-nine points), Moldova - one hundred and twenty-third place (thirty points), Uzbekistan - one hundred and fifty-sixth place (twenty-one points), Turkmenistan - one hundred and fifty-fourth place (twenty-two points), Tajikistan - one hundred and fifty-first place (twenty-five points).
Most corrupt states
The TI rating ranks Somalia, South Sudan, North Korea, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Afghanistan among the most corrupt states. In general, the countries of Africa and Asia were in the margins of the rating. Among European countries, the lowest positions are Bosnia and Herzegovina (eighty-third place and thirty-nine points), Albania (eighty-third place, also thirty-nine points), Bulgaria (seventy-fifth place and forty-one points).
In states with a high level of corruption, the useofficial position, abuse of power and bribery are the norm not only in all government structures, but also in other areas, human rights are often violated, and the gross domestic product per capita is extremely low.
