Hong Kong (CNN) -- While China has become the world's second largest economy, doing business in China is now perceived to be more corrupt, according to Transparency International.
China dropped five spots to 80th place out of 176 countries surveyed in the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index.
"The world's leading economies should lead by example, making sure that
their institutions are fully transparent and their leaders are held
accountable. This is crucial since their institutions play a significant
role in preventing corruption from flourishing globally," said Cobus de
Swardt, managing director of the Berlin-based corruption watchdog.
Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden and Singapore topped the list as the cleanest countries to do business in the world, according to the survey released Wednesday. Somalia, North Korea, Afghanistan, Sudan and Myanmar ranked at the bottom.
The United States was ranked 19th in the world, below Japan and the UK and ahead of Chile and Uruguay.
China isn't the only
emerging economic giant to perform poorly on the index. India was ranked
94th, a step up from last year's ranking. Russia was 133rd, 10 places
higher than 2011.
In Europe, Greece --
whose ailing economy faces tough austerity measures to meet
international standards to get bailout cash -- plummeted to 94th place
on the list, down from the 80th spot last year.
Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 -- Top 25
1. Denmark
1. (tie) Finland
1. (tie) New Zealand
4. Sweden
5. Singapore
6. Switzerland
7. Australia
7. (tie) Norway
9. Canada
9. (tie) Netherlands
11. Iceland
12. Luxembourg
13. Germany
14. Hong Kong
15. Barbados
16. Belgium
17. Japan
17. (tie) United Kingdom
19. United States
20. Chile
20. (tie) Uruguay
22. Bahamas
22. (tie) France
22. (tie) Saint Lucia
25. Austria
25. (tie) Ireland
Countries are ranked on
"perception" of corruption because statistical collection of illegal
activities "are deliberately hidden and only come to light through
scandals, investigations and prosecutions," the Transparency Index web
site says. "Capturing perceptions of corruption of those in a position
to offer assessments of public sector corruption is the most reliable
method of comparing relative corruption levels across countries."
Countries were assessed on a sliding scale ranging from 0 for "highly corrupt" to 100 for "very clean."
"While no country scored
a perfect score, the majority of countries scored below 50, indicating a
serious corruption problem," said Huguette Labelle, the chair of
Transparency International, in a news release. "This translates into
human suffering with poor families being extorted for bribes to see
doctors or to get access to clean drinking water."
"Equally damaging is the
failure of basic services such as education or public infrastructure
because public money is being skimmed off by corrupt leaders. Corruption
amounts to a 'dirty tax,' one that hits the poorest and the most
vulnerable.
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