The Countries With the Lowest Perceived Corruption

The Countries With the Lowest Perceived Corruption

by Natalie Morin

FindTheData identified the countries with the lowest perceived levels of public sector corruption.

You'd be hard pressed to find a country in which there isn't some level of government corruption. Everyone is susceptible to greed and the thirst for power, and those in the upper echelons of governance tend to be surrounded by more temptation than most.

But there are some places in which people feel that their government has their best interest in mind -- where citizens can speak up and feel heard. Where are these exceptions to the rule? FindTheData used the most recent 2015 data from Transparency International to find out. The FindTheData team identified the countries with the lowest perceived levels of public sector corruption.

The global coalition uses expert opinion and surveys to assign each country a score called the Corruption Perceptions Index. The score is out of 100, where a higher score indicates a lower level of perceived corruption. The score takes into account whether the country has a free press, public access to the government's budget, integrity among those in power and a fair judiciary system (officials don't have a bias towards the rich) that is independent from the other parts of government.

FindTheData ranked 168 countries by their Corruption Perceptions Indexes. Transparency International didn't include data for Greenland or Western Sahara, so they are excluded from the list. Several of the countries had tied scores, making a true ranking less definitive.

Transparency International found that many Northern European countries scored well and therefore have "clean" public sectors. But the organization makes sure to note that even though a country may be virtually corruption-free within its borders, this doesn't mean it isn't linked to corruption elsewhere. According to its research, "half of all countries [in the 1997 OECD Anti-Bribery Convention] are violating their international obligations to crack down on bribery by their companies abroad," including Sweden, which is ranked third in the world for the least amount of perceived corruption.

[ Countries With the Highest Perceived Corruption ]

#27. Bhutan

Corruption Perception Score: 65
Overall rank: 27
GDP per capita: $2,560.50

#23. United Arab Emirates

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 70
Overall rank: 23
GDP per capita: $43,962.70

#23. France

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 70
Overall rank: 23
GDP per capita: $42,732.60

#23. Estonia

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 70
Overall rank: 23
GDP per capita: $20,161.60

#23. Chile

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 70
Overall rank: 23
GDP per capita: $14,528.30

#22. Qatar

Corruption Perception Score: 71
Overall rank: 22
GDP per capita: $96,732.40

#21. Uruguay

Corruption Perception Score: 74
Overall rank: 21
GDP per capita: $16,806.80

#18. Japan

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 75
Overall rank: 18
GDP per capita: $36,194.40

#18. Ireland

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 75
Overall rank: 18
GDP per capita: $54,374.40

#18. Hong Kong

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 75
Overall rank: 18
GDP per capita: $40,169.50

#16. The United States Of America

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 76
Overall rank: 16
GDP per capita: $54,629.50

#16. Austria

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 76
Overall rank: 16
GDP per capita: $51,190.80

#15. Belgium

Corruption Perception Score: 77
Overall rank: 15
GDP per capita: $47,352.90

#13. Iceland

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 79
Overall rank: 13
GDP per capita: $52,004.50

#13. Australia

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 79
Overall rank: 13
GDP per capita: $61,925.50

#10. United Kingdom

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 81
Overall rank: 10
GDP per capita: $46,332.0

#10. Luxembourg

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 81
Overall rank: 10
GDP per capita: $116,664.0

#10. Germany

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 81
Overall rank: 10
GDP per capita: $47,821.90

#9. Canada

Corruption Perception Score: 83
Overall rank: 9
GDP per capita: $50,235.40

#8. Singapore

Corruption Perception Score: 85
Overall rank: 8
GDP per capita: $56,284.60

#7. Switzerland

Corruption Perception Score: 86
Overall rank: 7
GDP per capita: $85,594.30

#5. Norway

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 87
Overall rank: 5
GDP per capita: $97,307.40

#5. Netherlands

(tie)

Corruption Perception Score: 87
Overall rank: 5
GDP per capita: $52,172.20

#4. New Zealand

Corruption Perception Score: 88
Overall rank: 4
GDP per capita: $42,409.0

#3. Sweden

Corruption Perception Score: 89
Overall rank: 3
GDP per capita: $58,938.80

#2. Finland

Corruption Perception Score: 90
Overall rank: 2
GDP per capita: $49,823.70

#1. Denmark

Corruption Perception Score: 91
Overall rank: 1
GDP per capita: $60,707.20

Learn More Country Facts on FindTheData

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