Bulgaria’s public sector perceived as among most corrupt in EU, according to Transparency International 2012 index
Bulgaria’s public sector is seen as among the most corrupt in the European Union, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2012, released on December 5.
Bulgaria ranked 75th out of 176 countries worldwide in the index, with a score of 41, putting it in a tie with Liberia, Montenegro and Tunisia.
The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 – 100, where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 100 means it is perceived as very clean. A country’s rank indicates its position relative to the other countries and territories included in the index.
Two-thirds of countries had scores of less than 50.
In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tie for first place with scores of 90, helped by strong access to information systems and rules governing the behaviour of those in public positions, Transparency International said.
Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia once again cling to the bottom rung of the index. In these countries the lack of accountable leadership and effective public institutions underscore the need to take a much stronger stance against corruption.
Underperformers in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 also include the euro zone countries most affected by the financial and economic crisis. Transparency International said that it had consistently warned Europe to address corruption risks in the public sector to tackle the financial crisis, calling for strengthened efforts to corruption-proof public institutions.
Transparency International said that because it was using a different methodology for its calculations in 2012, comparisons to previous years were very difficult.
“Corruption is the world’s most talked about problem,” Cobus de Swardt, managing director of Transparency International said. “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,” De Swardt said.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
