The world’s least and most corrupt countries revealed

Who’s most corrupt?

More than two-thirds of the world’s countries have a serious corruption problem. From blatant bribery and rigged elections to embezzling public funds and intimidating or even murdering political opponents and journalists, unethical dealings run rife across the planet. Using the latest 2018 data from Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), we count down the world’s least and most corrupt places.

The rankings

The index looks at 180 countries in terms of their perceived levels of public sector corruption, using insider info gleaned from experts and businesspeople in the know. The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is extremely corrupt and 100 is very clean and pristine. Let’s begin with the world’s least corrupt nations.

Joint 18th least corrupt country: Japan Corruption score: 73. The Japanese are fortunate to live a life relatively free of corruption in both the economic and political sphere, and the country has maintained the same score as 2017. However, Japan is let down by a practice called ‘amakudari’, where senior politicians retire to executive or high-profile positions within the corporate realm, in particular the pharmaceutical, transportation and construction sectors.

Joint 18th least corrupt country: Ireland Corruption score: 73. Ireland has seen a drop by a point from 2017, but there is gradual improvement as the country has risen up from 25th least corrupt country in 2012. Ireland has made a lot of recent effort to improve, introducing the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018 to control bribery at home and abroad and setting up a specific Garda (police) anti-corruption unit. However, there is some risk from its high levels of foreign investment and its dependence on multinationals.

Joint 18th least corrupt country: Estonia Corruption score: 73. Estonia has entered the top 20, and is up from 64th place in 2017. This means that Estonia is the least corrupt of the countries in central and eastern Europe. The Baltic state has effective anti-corruption laws and legislation, while gifts and hospitality in return for services are illegal. However, there have been reports of corruption in the public services sector, notably accusations of bribery against Tallinn's Mayor Edgar Savisaar. — Joint 18th least corrupt country: Estonia Corruption score: 73. Estonia has entered the top 20, and is up from 64th place in 2017. This means that Estonia is the least corrupt of the countries in central and eastern Europe. The Baltic state has effective anti-corruption laws and legislation, while gifts and hospitality in return for services are illegal. However, there have been reports of corruption in the public services sector, notably accusations of bribery against Tallinn’s Mayor Edgar Savisaar.

17th least corrupt country: Belgium Corruption score: 75. Belgium maintains a good reputation this year, retaining its prized 75 points. While the country’s Criminal Code prevents bribery of both national and foreign officials, and criminalizes private and public bribery, nepotism in the public sector can still be an issue. A minority of officials are able to secure jobs for relatives unencumbered.

Joint 14th least corrupt country: Austria Corruption score: 76. Austria has gained a point on its 2017 score. The country's robust Penal Code, which is zealously enforced, criminalizes extortion, fraud, attempted corruption, embezzlement, bribery of foreign officials and politicians, and money laundering. — Joint 14th least corrupt country: Austria Corruption score: 76. Austria has gained a point on its 2017 score. The country’s robust Penal Code, which is zealously enforced, criminalizes extortion, fraud, attempted corruption, embezzlement, bribery of foreign officials and politicians, and money laundering.

Joint 14th least corrupt country: Iceland Corruption score: 76. Iceland loses a little shine from its halo this year, dropping by one point. The General Penal Code criminalizes abuse of office, fraud, trading in influence and giving and receiving a bribe, and the authorities don't hold back when it comes to prosecuting and locking up wrongdoers. Individuals and companies are both criminally liable and bribery between foreign public officials and businesses is strictly forbidden. — Joint 14th least corrupt country: Iceland Corruption score: 76. Iceland loses a little shine from its halo this year, dropping by one point. The General Penal Code criminalizes abuse of office, fraud, trading in influence and giving and receiving a bribe, and the authorities don’t hold back when it comes to prosecuting and locking up wrongdoers. Individuals and companies are both criminally liable and bribery between foreign public officials and businesses is strictly forbidden.

Joint 14th least corrupt country: Hong Kong Corruption score: 76. Hong Kong has also dropped a point this year. The chief anti-corruption law in the territory is the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO), which governs corruption in the private and public sectors. The powers of arrest, search and seizure, and detention are also permitted by the Independent Commission Against Corruption Ordinance (ICAC). The ICAC also ensures there is no corrupt and illegal conduct in various public elections, including the Chief Executive poll.

13th least corrupt country: Australia Corruption score: 77. Australia has maintained its score of 77, which suggests that the government's recent efforts to crack down on bribery and embezzlement might be starting to have an impact after five years of its corruption score falling. Endemic corruption is still very low in Australia, and corrupt individuals are punished with this full force of the law, receiving up to 10 years in prison and hefty fines for their crimes. — 13th least corrupt country: Australia Corruption score: 77. Australia has maintained its score of 77, which suggests that the government’s recent efforts to crack down on bribery and embezzlement might be starting to have an impact after five years of its corruption score falling. Endemic corruption is still very low in Australia, and corrupt individuals are punished with this full force of the law, receiving up to 10 years in prison and hefty fines for their crimes.

Joint 11th least corrupt country: Germany Corruption score: 80. Germany has lost one point this year, but still scores an impressive 80. The German Criminal Code applies to individuals, and makes it illegal to pay, offer or accept a bribe, while companies are held civilly liable under the Administrative Offences Act, with fines of millions of euros and all ‘economic advantages’ obtained through bribery confiscated.

Joint 11th least corrupt country: United Kingdom Corruption score: 80. The UK has dropped out of the top 10 after losing two points. Despite seeing some major improvements in corruption after the Bribery Act of 2012, and the UK's score climbing from 74 then to 82 in 2017, issues such as the suspension of Northern Ireland MP Ian Paisley, after not declaring a holiday paid for by the Sri Lankan government, and the UK's links to Azerbaijan have seen the country's position falter. Brexit and new trade deals also pose concern. — Joint 11th least corrupt country: United Kingdom Corruption score: 80. The UK has dropped out of the top 10 after losing two points. Despite seeing some major improvements in corruption after the Bribery Act of 2012, and the UK’s score climbing from 74 then to 82 in 2017, issues such as the suspension of Northern Ireland MP Ian Paisley, after not declaring a holiday paid for by the Sri Lankan government, and the UK’s links to Azerbaijan have seen the country’s position falter. Brexit and new trade deals also pose concern.

Joint 9th least corrupt country: Luxembourg Corruption score: 81. Luxembourg has dropped a point this year, but still has a very strong corruption score, which has been in the 80s for the past six years. The compact European nation, which boasts a culture of openness, has a particularly strong legal framework to curb corruption, and anti-corruption laws are effectively enforced. Yet it is not without scandal; an investigation called LuxLeaks exposed corruption in the tax system and "sweetheart deals" to multinational companies in 2015. — Joint 9th least corrupt country: Luxembourg Corruption score: 81. Luxembourg has dropped a point this year, but still has a very strong corruption score, which has been in the 80s for the past six years. The compact European nation, which boasts a culture of openness, has a particularly strong legal framework to curb corruption, and anti-corruption laws are effectively enforced. Yet it is not without scandal; an investigation called LuxLeaks exposed corruption in the tax system and “sweetheart deals” to multinational companies in 2015.

Joint 9th least corrupt country: Canada Corruption score: 81. Canada has dropped one point this year, but is still a high performer. The main anti-corruption legislation is the Criminal Code of Canada, which prohibits extortion, corruption, abuse of office, bribery and influence peddling. Similarly, facilitation payments and gift-giving are criminalized by the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. Canadian courts’ jurisdiction allows the prosecution of companies and individuals who commit corruption abroad.

8th least corrupt country: Netherlands Corruption score: 82. The Netherlands keeps its virtuous 82 points this year. The Dutch Penal Code ensures that public administration is transparent, as it makes it illegal for anyone to give or receive bribes in the private or public sector, including a foreign public official. Dutch and foreign companies and their subsidiaries can be held liable for corruption offences committed by individuals working on their behalf and can be ordered to pay up to 10% of their turnover.

7th least corrupt country: Norway Corruption score: 84. Norway has dropped a point and fallen four places in the rankings since 2017, yet it has a hard line on corruption. The Norwegian Penal Code criminalizes breach of trust, active and passive bribery, money laundering, trading in influence, and fraud. This applies to anyone registered in Norway and offenders could see up to 10 years’ imprisonment, even if the act is committed abroad. Along with Switzerland, Norway has the highest level of enforcement against foreign bribery.

Joint 3rd least corrupt country: Sweden Corruption score: 85. Sweden has gained a point in the latest rankings. Although the country is renowned for transparency and a lack of corruption, several recent high-profile corruption cases have tarnished its image somewhat. In 2017 telecoms firm Telia agreed to pay $1 billion in a corruption case after admitting to paying millions in bribes to a Uzbek government official for contracts.