South Africa has been ranked 55th out of 180 countries in a corruption perceptions index released on Tuesday by Transparency International.
South Africa scored 4,7 out of ten on the index. The highest scorer - and least corrupt country - was New Zealand at 9,4.
Denmark came in second at 9,3, while Singapore and Sweden tied for third place at 9,2 and Switzerland was fourth at 9,0.
In a section on Sub-Saharan Africa, the index found that of the 47 countries reviewed in the region, 31 scored less than three out of 10, indicating that corruption was perceived as rampant, while 13 scored between three and five, indicating that corruption was perceived as a serious challenge by country experts and businessmen.
Continues Below ↓
In 2008, only three countries in the region scored more than five: Botswana, Mauritius and Cape Verde, Transparency International said.
While some countries appeared to improve their scores or ranking in comparison with others, in Sub-Saharan Africa, these changes did not reflect substantial and sustainable improvements in local accountability, the organisation said.
The overall picture remained one of serious corruption challenges across the region.
"As in previous years, the corruption perceptions index results show that corruption has a particularly stark and devastating effect on countries that face ongoing political instability and high levels of poverty.
"Somalia, once again, is at the bottom of the ranking with a score of 1,0 as continued conflict and corruption prevent it from embarking on reforms to overcome economic and political collapse," Transparency International said.
Others scoring 2,0 or less included resource-rich countries such as Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Chad and Sudan.
"Despite their potential for generating huge revenues that could increase social development, these countries have not been able to translate their wealth into sustainable poverty-reduction programmes.
Continues...
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
