Wednesday, November 18, 2009

THAILAND RANKS 84TH IN THIS YEARS CORRUPTION INDEX

18/11/2009

This year Thailand has ranked 84th on the worldwide corruption index. The index is based on the perceptions of business people and country analysts in relation to the corruption observed in the individual countries.

International, 18th of November 2009 [PDN]: The recent announcement of this year’s worldwide corruption index saw Thailand drop 4 places to 84th position. This result means that people of the business community and country analysts see Thailand as an increasingly corrupt country. The index is compiled and released by global graft watchdog Transparency International. The rankings are based on a score of 0-10, with 0 being the most corrupt and 10 being the least.

Thailand has ranked 10th overall in Asia and 3rd in South-East Asia (same as previous year), with a score of 3.4 out of 10. Singapore was the least corrupt South-East Asian country with a score of 9.2, followed by Malaysia with a score of only 4.5. The worst performing country in the group was Burma with a score of 1.4 followed by Cambodia and Laos who both scored 2.0.

The least corrupt country in the world was New Zealand with an overall score of 9.4. First and Second place went to Denmark with 9.3 and Singapore with 9.2. The most corrupt country in the world remained the impoverished war-torn Somalia with a score of 0.


Interestingly the United States of America came in with a score of 7.5 and was ranked 19th on the overall list, dropping one place in the rankings from the previous year, but increasing its score by 0.2.

A statement released by Transparency International said that “this years index should be of great concern,” with most countries scoring bellow 5 on the scale. It was also noted that the countries towards the bottom of the scale are often those which have been plagued by long standing conflicts, which ultimately have cost them government stability and an organised leadership structure.

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