Global Edge Research Task

Global Edge Research Task Chapter 4 Number 2 Page 148

Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

The level of perceived corruption varies from culture to culture. The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a comparative assessment of a country’s integrity performance based on research done by Transparency International. Provide a description of his index and its ranking. Identify the five countries with the lowest as well as the highest CPI scores. Do you notice any similarities or differences in each group of five countries (Hill, 2011)?

The annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks almost 200 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. Rankings dating from 1995 to present are available (“Transparency International,” 2011).

Transparency International is the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption. Through more than 90 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, they raise awareness of the damaging effects of corruption and work with partners in government, business and civil society to develop and implement effective measures to tackle it.

The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A country/territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 - 10, where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 10 means that a country is perceived as very clean.

5 Countries with the lowest Corruption 5 Countries with the highest Corruption

1. New Zealand 9.5 1. Somalia 1

2. Denmark 9.4 2. North Korea 1

3. Finland 9.4 3. Myanmar 1.5

4. Sweden 9.3 4. Afghanistan 1.5

5. Singapore 9.2 5. Uzbekistan 1.6

Among the countries with the highest and the lowest Index there similarities and differences in each group. Similarities are for example poverty and conflict in highly corrupt...