Sola Ogundeko's Blog: Transparency International 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index - Nigeria ranked 144 (Download the Complete List)

Nigeria ranked 144 alongside Central African Republic, Cameroon, Iran, Ukraine
Five Arab countries are ranked among the top 10 most corrupt nations
US not among the 10 top ranked nations
Ghana ranked 63
Denmark and New Zealand least corrupt countries in the World

Five Arab countries are ranked among the top 10 most corrupt nations, according to Transparency International's newly released annual Corruption Perceptions Index, as instability in the region has profound effects on governance.

The list, published on Tuesday, ranks countries on an index score that relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by country analysts and business people, and ranges between zero, which is highly corrupt, and 100, which is very clean.

Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Sudan all scored less than 20, as their governments deal with massive instability in the face of civil war and armed groups, or nations where the lead researcher of the study said the regime is not "functioning effectively".

"Corruption is very much linked to countries that fall apart, as you see in Libya, Syria, two of the countries that deteriorated the most," Finn Heinrich told AFP news agency. "These are not countries where the government is functioning effectively, and people have to take all means in order to get by, to get services, to get food, to survive."

The other countries ranked in the bottom 3 include Afghanistan and Somalia, where NATO and US special forces have intervened for several years now.

Afghanistan, Heinrich said, is "a sobering story. We have not seen tangible improvements".

"The West has not only invested in security but also in trying to establish the rule of law. But there have been surveys in the last couple of years showing the share of people paying bribes is still one of the highest in the world."

Widespread worldwide corruption

Meanwhile, the top 10 ranked nations include the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Singapore, and British commonwealth nations Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

But Huguette Labelle, the Chair of Transparency International, said that while "the top performers clearly reveal how transparency supports accountability and can stop corruption, [they] face issues like state capture, campaign finance and the oversight of big public contracts," especially with regards to corporate involvement in economic and governmental affairs.

According to Transparency International's press release, "more than two-thirds of the 177 countries in the 2013 index score below 50", indicating that public institutions in particular require more openness and transparency in the decision-making.

However, while corruption in public sectors like political parties, the police and justice systems remains a massive challenge, according to the watchdog, "efforts to respond to climate change, economic crisis and extreme poverty will face a massive roadblock," unless "international bodies like the G20 crack down on money laundering, make corporations more transparent and pursue the return of stolen assets."

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Bottom 10 Ranked Nations