This morning saw the publication of the Corruptions Perception Index 2015 by Transparency International, the leading civil society organisation aiming to tackle worldwide corruption.
168 countries were ranked from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean); over 60 percent of the countries ranked scored below 50, demonstrating the widespread nature of global corruption.
Thailand scored 38 points and was ranked in 76th position globally, just making it into the top 50 percent of countries. Although its level of corruption is certainly not the worst seen globally, the Kingdom’s score suggests corruption among public institutions and employees is still common.
Thailand scored 38 points in 2014 as well, showing no change.
Top scores were generally handed out to Scandinavian countries and New Zealand with Denmark taking the top spot for the second year running.
North Korea and Somalia were judged the world’s most corrupt countries, with both nations scoring just 8 points apiece.
While countries like Greece, Senegal and the UK improved their scores year-on-year, Libya, Australia, Spain, Brazil and Turkey have all witnessed significant declines in their corruption scores over the last four years of the index.
Here’s how the rest of Southeast Asia ranked:
- Singapore, 8th place, 85 points
- Malaysia, 54th place, 50 points
- The Philippines, 95th place, 35 points
- Vietnam, 112th place, 31 points
- Laos, 139th place, 25 points
- Myanmar, 147th place, 22 points
- Cambodia, 150th place, 21 points
The Corruptions Perceptions Index is based on expert opinions and the businesspeople’s perceptions of corruption in the public sector.
Top performers share the following characteristics:
- High levels of press freedom
- Public access to budgetary information
- Integrity among those in power
- Independent judiciaries that don’t differentiate between rich and poor
Lower scores suggest the following conditions:
- Conflict or war
- Poor governance
- Weak public institutions
- A lack of independence in the media
- Prevalent bribery
- Little punishment for corruption
- Public institutions that don’t respond to their citizens’ needs
Countries can improve their scores by developing a system of open government where the public can hold their leaders to account.
How can Thailand improve her corruption ranking for 2016?
Featured image is by torbus and used under a Creative Commons licence
