Australia slides down global corruption rankings as New Zealand gets glowing report

Australia has declined significantly in terms of corruption in the past year, according to a global watchdog, while New Zealand has powered towards the top of the global rankings.

Australia has slipped significantly in an annual corruption survey, while Denmark and New Zealand have come out on top.

The US was also knocked out of the 20 “cleanest” countries.

The watchdog says Australia is a lot more corrupt compared to the previous year. Picture: Annette Dew

Watchdog group Transparency International said its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018 released this week, showed more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50, on its scale where 100 is very clean and zero is very corrupt.

Since 2012, only 20 nations had significantly improved their scores, including Argentina and Ivory Coast, which scored 40 and 35 respectively, up from 35 and 29.

At the same time, 16 have declined significantly in that time, including Australia, which slipped from a score of 85 to 77, and Chile, which dropped from 72 to 67.

Of all the ranked countries Australia ranked 13 out of 180 while neighbouring New Zealand ranked second.

The UK also missed out on being one of the top ten ‘cleanest countries’ ranking 11th globally.

The US has slipped in the world corruption rankings in response to Donald Trump’s leadership. Here is a fake edition of the Washington Post that was released to the public earlier this month, calling for the president’s impeachment. Picture: Getty

Somalia was rated the most corrupt (180) with a score of 10, followed by Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, North Korea, Sudan, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Afghanistan and Libya.

Saudi Arabia scored far better than other Middle Eastern countries, but still not great, scoring 49.

Saudi Arabia is considered far less corrupt than neighbours Yemen, Iraq and Syria. Picture: AFP

Overall, Denmark led the survey as the least corrupt nation, with a score of 88, followed by New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland. Rounding out the top group were Norway, The Netherlands, Canada, Luxembourg, Germany and Britain.

US HEADED FOR ‘SERIOUS CORRUPTION PROBLEM’

The index suggests America’s corruption issues will worsen. Picture: AFP

With a score of 71, the US lost four points over 2017 and dropped out of the top 20 nations for the first time since 2011.

A vehicle burns after an explosion in front of Premier Bank in Mogadishu. Somalia is considered the most corrupt country in the world. Picture: AFP

“A four point drop in the CPI score is a red flag and comes at a time when the US is experiencing threats to its system of checks and balance, as well as an erosion of ethical norms at the highest levels of power,” the Berlin-based organisation said.

“If this trend continues, it would indicate a serious corruption problem in a country that has taken a lead on the issue globally - this is a bipartisan issue that requires a bipartisan solution.”

In a cross-analysis of its survey with global democracy data, Transparency said a link could be drawn between corruption and the health of a democracy. Full democracies scored an average of 75 on the corruption index, flawed democracies averaged 49, and autocratic regimes averaged 30, the organisation said.

Edda Mueller, chairwoman of Transparency International with the Corruption Perceptions Index 2018. Picture: AP

It noted that Hungary dropped eight points and Turkey nine over the past five years, to scores of 46 and 41, respectively.

At the same time, the report cited Freedom House’s annual democracy survey, noting Turkey was downgraded from “partly free” to “not free,” while Hungary registered its lowest score for political rights since the fall of communism in 1989.

France received a 72 on the corruption score, making it the 21st ‘cleanest country’ despite enduring months of yellow vest protests: Picture: AP

The UK is considered less corrupt than Australia, ranking 11th globally. Picture: AFP

The ratings reflect the “deterioration of rule of law and democratic institutions, as well as a rapidly shrinking space for civil society and independent media,” the organisation said.

“Our research makes a clear link between having a healthy democracy and successfully fighting public sector corruption,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, the head of Transparency.

Zimbabwe scored poorly it’s considered one of the ‘dirtiest’ countries in the world in terms of corruption ranking 160th. Picture: AP

“Corruption is much more likely to flourish where democratic foundations are weak and, as we have seen in many countries, where undemocratic and populist politicians can use it to their advantage.” The index is calculated using 13 different data sources that provide perceptions of public sector corruption from business people and country experts.