A group of friends walk in Denmark
To read the **Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 (CPI)** that has just been released is to indulge in unrestrained pessimism. data like that in the last eight years only 22 countries out of the 180 analyzed have significantly improved their efforts to fight corruption ; that these efforts are beginning to stagnate in the G7 countries ( Germany , Canada , the United States , France , Italy , Japan and the United Kingdom ) or that two thirds of the countries analyzed do not reach the approved level contribute to it.
This report that since 1995 elaborates annually Transparency International , a global organization that fights corruption, is clear that to tackle this scourge it is necessary reduce the relationship that exists between great fortunes and the financing that, on many occasions, they make of electoral campaigns and political parties yes; as well as encourage the participation of all social actors in political decision-making, not just rich people and those well connected. It is significant that many of the countries that occupy the TOP 10 in this transparency index also do so in the study of the most and least democratic countries in the world.
New Zealand, along with Denmark, has the least corrupt public sector in the world
In fact, this analysis ensures that those countries in which the laws for the financing of campaigns are clear and, in addition, are applied tend to have an average of 70 points out of a possible 100. The same happens with those that involve the whole of society in the consultation processes, their average usually reaches the 61 against the scarce 32 of those where they are not integrated.
Thus, taking these aspects into account, among others, the IPC has spoken to put on the table the perception of levels of corruption in the public sector in 180 countries and territories, revealing that ** New Zealand and Denmark can boast to have the least corrupt public sector in the world**. tied for the highest with 87 points, one less than Denmark achieved last year, who shared first place.
Both countries far outnumber two-thirds of those analyzed who do not exceed 50 points, maintaining the average of 43 that they already obtained in 2018 and also in 2017.
In this middle zone of the table, but approving, is Spain which has gone from 58 points in 2018 to the 62 of 2019, standing in the position 30 along with Portugal, Qatar and Barbados compared to the 41 that it occupied last year.
At the other end of the ranking, in the final positions, the IPC once again places Somalia, with 9 points , one less than in 2018; and near her, by the tail, they would remain South Sudan (12 points) , Syria (13) , Yemen (15) and Venezuela (16) .
The CPI analyzes the perception of corruption levels in the public sector in 180 countries and territories, using the assessments of experts and people from the business world as well as 13 studies . With all this information a score is made, being 0 the value that identifies the highly corrupt and 100 those free of it.
For a country or territory to be included in this report, it must have previously appeared in at least three of the 13 data sources used to compile the CPI. In other words, the fact that it has not been included in the ranking does not mean that it does not have corruption, simply that there is not enough information about that country or territory.
A father rides his children on a bike in Denmark
In addition to the interviews conducted with experts, data from the aforementioned 13 sources of independent organizations have been used to prepare the 2019 CPI: Institutional Assessment and National Policies 2018, of the African Development Bank; Indicators on Sustainable Governance 2018, by Bertelsmann Stiftung; Transformation Index 2020, from Bertelsmann Stiftung; Country risk service 2019, from the Economist Intelligence Unit; Nations in Transition 2018, by Freedom House; Business Conditions and Risk Indicators 2018, by Global Insight; 2019 Executive Opinion Survey of the World Competitiveness Yearbook, by the IMD World Competitiveness Center; Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Asian Intelligence 2019; International Country Risk Guide 2019, from PRS Group International; Institutional Evaluation and National Policies 2018, of the World Bank; Executive Opinion Survey 2019, from the World Economic Forum; Expert survey for the Rule of Law Index 2019, World Justice Project and Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) 2019. All of them published in the last two years.
Among the aspects of corruption that are taken into account, based on these sources and the questions put to the experts, are bribery, diversion of public funds, the preponderance of public officials who take advantage of the public function for personal gain without facing any consequences; the ability of governments to contain corruption and enforce effective integrity mechanisms in the public sector ; administrative hurdles and excessive bureaucratic requirements that could increase opportunities for corruption; public service appointments made on the basis of nepotism rather than merit ; effective criminal prosecution of corrupt officials; the existence of adequate laws on financial disclosure and prevention of conflicts of interest for public officials; the legal protection of whistleblowers, journalists and investigators when reporting on cases of bribery and corruption; the capture of the State by particular interests and, finally, the access of civil society to information on public affairs.
They stay out though citizen perception or experience of corruption; tax fraud; illicit financial flows; facilitators of corruption (lawyers, accountants, financial advisers…) ; money laundering; informal economies and markets; and private sector corruption.
It is for this last reason, for leaving out the private sector that the CPI cannot be considered to be a definitive judgment on the degree of corruption in an entire country, including here its society, its politics and private activities.
You can check which are the 10 countries with the least corrupt public sectors in our gallery.