Ethics Newsline®

Corruption Continues to Intensify, Claims Transparency International

Jun 30th, 2008 • Posted in: News

Of particular concern: Many in poor nations are forced to pay bribes for access to water or other basic services

VARIOUS DATELINES
Corruption is intensifying in two-fifths of the world’s nations, growing in tandem with poverty, political instability, and crime, according to a report from Transparency International (TI).

Graft also is causing disruption of the world’s water supply, the international watchdog claims.

Transparency International annually rates countries on perception of corruption, surveying country specialists, businesspeople, human rights monitors, and other experts. Nations are rated on a scale from 0 to 10, with the lower numbers indicating a higher rate of corruption.

Forbes reports that the corruption ratings generally follow economic fault lines, with 40 percent of the countries rated under 3 classified as low income by the World Bank.

This year’s index rates the least corrupt countries as New Zealand, Denmark, and Finland, each tied at 9.4. The nations perceived as most corrupt are Somalia and Myanmar, each with a ranking of 1.4.

The United States ranked as the fourth least corrupt, and the United Kingdom as the fifth least corrupt. Canada was number 7, according to Forbes.

In its report, Transparency International notes that more than one billion people worldwide do not have reliable access to drinkable water or sanitation, often as a result of corruption. The group predicts that by 2025 more than three billion people may be living in water-stressed countries, reports the CBC.

Graft often increases the cost of connecting a household to a water network by more than 30 percent, TI maintains. Connecting to a water utility can cost about six months of income for the poorest residents of Kenya, reports the Sunday Nation of Nairobi.

In Pakistan, nearly a quarter of the rural population pays bribes to obtain irrigation water, according to the TI report, notes the Daily Times of Lahore.

Corruption also extends to other basic services, claims TI, with one out of three families living below the poverty line in India being forced to pay a bribe in order to admit a family member to the hospital, file a police report, or enroll a child in school, reports CNN.

Sources: Lahore Daily Times, June 28 — Forbes, June 28 — Forbes, tabulation of results of survey, June 28 — CBC, June 28 — CNN, June 28 — Nairobi Sunday Nation, June 27.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, June 6 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 17, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 1, 2007 — Related Newsline story, July 30, 2007 — Related Newsline story, May 29, 2007 — Text of TI report.

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2 Responses »

1. Ethics Newsline® » News » Human Rights Groups Warn of Abuses in Russia-Georgia Conflict on August 11th, 2008 at 8:52 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, June 30 — Related Newsline story, June 23 — Related Newsline story, May 12 [...]

2. Ethics Newsline® » News » Pakistan Elects New President, but Corruption Worries Remain on September 8th, 2008 at 4:44 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, June 30 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 7 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 31, 2007 [...]

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