The twenty most corrupt countries

BuzzFeed has an article by Mary Ann Georgantopoulos about corruption around the world:

The countries are ranked based on how corrupt the public sector is perceived to be on a scale of 0 to 100. Two-thirds of the 175 countries listed in the 2014 index scored below 50. The average score this year is 43. Some notable changes in this year’s index include Turkey and China. Turkey dropped five points to 45/100. The perception of corruption in the Turkish government has increased drastically since last year’s protests and the country’s crackdown on free speech. China’s score fell four points to 36/100. In the past year a number of Chinese politicians and public officials were arrested on corruption charges. This year’s biggest improvers are Afghanistan, the Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Jordan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Swaziland. Denmark is in first place with a score of 92/100. 

20. CambodiaScore: 21/100
Since early November, political protests have been under way in Cambodia. The Cambodian government arrested opposition party and social activists, many of whom were convicted in a single day during “summary trials” and sentenced to a year in prison.
19. MyanmarScore: 21/100
Myanmar has long been plagued by internal corruption and bribery. In April 2014 the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $30 million from the International Development Association for Myanmar’s Modernization of Public Finance Management Project. The project aims to “support efficient, accountable and responsive delivery of public services through the modernization of Myanmar’s public financial management systems,” according to a release from the World Bank.
18. ZimbabweScore: 21/100
Transparency International Zimbabwe claimed the country was losing $55 million per day through corruption; that adds up to ten billion dollars over the past five years. In February of 2014, Zimbabwe’s state-controlled newspapers exposed fraud and inflated salaries at government companies.
17. BurundiScore: 20/100
A small group of elites essentially controls Burundi’s economy. “The monopolization of public and private resources risks derailing the peace-building process, based on developments and economic growth, bolstered by efficient state machinery and driven by foreign investment,” according to the International Crisis group.
16. SyriaScore: 20/100
Four years of civil war in Syria have claimed more than two hundred thousand lives, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. In July of 2014, Reuters reported that GlaxoSmithKline was accused of paying bribes to secure business in Syria.
15. Angola19/100
Angola saw a four-point drop from last year’s index. In 2004, Human Rights Watch found that the country’s government could not account for four billion dollars spent between 1997 and 2002. The World Bank estimates that approximately 93% of Africa’s economically sustainable hydropower potential remains unexploited and that much of it is located in Angola.
14. Guinea-BissauScore: 19/100
Guinea-Bissau is known as Africa’s cocaine hub. The country is used as a passageway for drugs smuggled between Latin America and Europe.
13. HaitiScore: 19/100
Haiti has long history of corruption. Last year, more than a hundred businessmen and local officials were arrested on corruption charges. In 2013, anti-corruption lawyer Andre Michel was arrested after he launched a case against the family of President Michel Martelly.
12. VenezuelaScore: 19/100
From February to June of 2014, protests and political demonstrations overtook Venezuela. The protests were a result of the country’s violence, shortages of basic goods, and rise in prices. As a result of the protests, thousands of people were arrested, hundreds injured, and more than forty people died.
11. YemenScore: 19/100
Corruption is hindering Yemen’s economy. In November of 2014, Yemen’s new government was sworn in, but rebels rejected the new cabinet and called to dismiss members they considered corrupt.
10. EritreaScore: 18/100
It is estimated that approximately twenty percent of Eritrea’s population is under conscription in the military, a significant force for corruption in the nation. The military has been accused of illegal spending and using funds for personal reasons.
9. LibyaMuammar al-Qaddafi, who ruled Libya for over forty years, was a major source of corruption, and the country is still feeling the repercussions from his time in power. Bribes are still a big problem in Libya.
8. UzbekistanScore: 18/100
Laws are in place to fight corruption in Uzbekistan, but they are rarely enforced. Corruption is a family affair, with the president’s daughter Gulnara Karimova at the center of controversy. Recently, Norwegian telecom company Telenor was reportedly involved in a scandal with ties to Karimova.
7. TurkmenistanScore: 17/100
Bribery is widespread in Turkmenistan. The country’s president can reportedly spend revenue from hydrocarbon sales as he wishes. No national budget has ever been published in full.
6. IraqScore: 16/100
Iraq’s score has remained the same for the past two years. A survey completed by the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq found half of those questioned said corruption is on the rise and that the average Iraqi civil servant will pay at least four bribes per year.
5. South SudanScore: 15/100
Corruption in South Sudan stems from the country’s oil production. South Sudan produces approximately a half-million barrels of oil per day, but it is reported that of the ten billion collected in revenue, four billion is unaccounted for.
4. AfghanistanScore: 12/100
“Corruption is really the big issue,” John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction said at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, in May of 2014. The US government has been criticized for ignoring anti-corruption efforts in its focus on security.
3. SudanScore: 11/100
An anti-corruption agency was formed in 2012, but corruption still runs rampant in the Sudan. Public servants often demand bribes to provide basic services. There is also a major lack in transparency from government officials.
2. North KoreaScore: 8/100
Like last year, North Korea is the runner-up in the world corruption rankings. One of the world’s last remaining Communist nations, North Korea suffers from food and basic good shortages, public sector bribery, a closed economy, and political malfeasance.
1. SomaliaScore: 8/100
Somalia has held on to its status the most corrupt country in the world for the third year in a row. Somalia is often described as many states within a state. A UN report published in 2013 found that Somalia had become a “slush fund”, and that withdrawals from government organizations were used for private purposes.

Rico says the Greenlanders are pretty clean, it seems...