Transparency International, a non-governmental organisation fighting corruption worldwide, has just released its Corruption Perceptions Index that ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.

Finland tops the list of non-corrupt countries. The UK is #11, the United States is #17 (along with Belgium and Ireland.) and the country of Silvio Berlusconi is number 42.

A total of 106 out of 146 countries score less than 5 against a clean score of 10, according to the new index. Sixty countries score less than 3 out of 10, indicating rampant corruption. Corruption is perceived to be most acute in Bangladesh, Haiti, Nigeria, Chad, Myanmar, Azerbaijan and Paraguay, all of which have a score of less than 2.

The FAQ page give the CPI’s definition of corruption:

The CPI focuses on corruption in the public sector and defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain. The surveys used in compiling the CPI ask questions that relate to the misuse of public power for private benefit, with a focus, for example, on bribe-taking by public officials in public procurement. The sources do not distinguish between administrative and political corruption or between petty and grand corruption.

Via WorldChanging.