First 10 Most and Least Corrupt country

Britain is one of the least corrupt countries in the world, with UK public officials seen as some of the most honest anywhere, according to a comprehensive new report.

The UK ranks in the top 10 nations for officials seen as least likely to take a backhander, watchdog Transparency International has said, in its annual global review of corruption.

This is four places above Britain’s position last year, and marks the first time the country has entered the top 10 in eight years, having been as low as 20th in 2010.

Britain’s higher ranking was attributed by the watchdog’s director Robert Barrington to “good rhetoric” from the government on fighting corruption, though he added that stopping the UK from being used to launder money, cleaning up politics and improving government openness were all areas which needed work.

Transparency International, a global charity with over 100 national chapters, ranked 168 countries’ corruption in the public sector on a scale of 0 to 100, with lower scores reflecting levels of corruption and higher scores being seen as very clean. It canvasses experts views’ of graft among state employees.

The 10 least corrupt:

1. Denmark
2. Finland 
3. Sweden
4. New Zealand
5. Netherlands
6. Norway 
7. Switzerland
8. Singapore
9. Canada
10. Germany, Luxembourg and UK (tied)

The 10 most corrupt:

1. North Korea and Somalia (tied)
2. Afghanistan
3. Sudan
4. Angola and South Sudan (tied)
5. Iraq and Libya (tied)
6. Haiti, Guinea-Bissau and Venezuela (tied)
7. Eritrea, Syria, Turkmenistan and Yemen (tied)
8. Uzbekistan
9. Burundi, Cambodia and Zimbabwe (tied)
10. Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar (tied)