Revealed: The world's most corrupt countries

Somalia is the most corrupt country in the world for the 10th year running, says Transparency International.

It is the list no country wants to be at the bottom of — the most corrupt places in the world. Every year, the anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International publishes a Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking the best to worst countries.

Researchers use a number of different data sources to compile the index, which tries to quantify just how corrupt the public sector is in 176 countries, based on the perceptions of business people and experts on each state.

And in 2016's index, war-torn Somalia in eastern Africa comes bottom of the pile — for the 10th year in a row. Second-worst is South Sudan, also in east-central Africa, and behind it is North Korea, a closed Stalinist state.

Qatar was the biggest faller of the year, dropping to 31st place from 22nd, amid allegations of corruption surrounding its successful bid with Fifa - also mired in scandal - to host the 2022 World Cup.

"In too many countries, people are deprived of their most basic needs and go to bed hungry every night because of corruption, while the powerful and corrupt enjoy lavish lifestyles with impunity," said Jose Ugaz, chairman of Transparency International.

"We do not have the luxury of time. Corruption needs to be fought with urgency, so that the lives of people across the world improve...Only where there is freedom of expression, transparency in all political processes and strong democratic institutions, can civil society and the media hold those in power to account and corruption be fought successfully."

Top of the list, perceived to be the least corrupt place in the world, is Denmark in western Europe. Second-best is New Zealand in Oceania, and third place is Finland, also in western Europe. The UK is 10th place on the list following the former prime minister David Cameron's anti-corruption drive towards the end of his time in government. It also occupied 10th place in the 2015 index.

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 — Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 TI

"The UK has rightly aimed to be amongst the top 10 in the global anti-corruption league table, but there is work to do to keep this ranking," said Robert Barrington, executive director Transparency International UK.

"The government promised to publish a national Anti-Corruption Strategy by the end of 2016, but this has yet to appear, and if the strategy is weak or further delayed, the UK will risk dropping out of the top-10. A strategy is both a signal of intent and a roadmap to fight the menace of corruption.

"Already, the uncertainty posed by Brexit has the potential to encourage a 'business at any cost' trade strategy; such an approach would be a disaster for UK's long-term reputation as a leading anti-corruption player.

"Brexit signalled disillusionment about politics and inequality; this must be addressed by the Anti-Corruption Strategy. The rise of populist strongman figures elsewhere should act as warning sign that we need to confront corruption within the UK and particularly within the political system."

Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 - the full rankings

Rank	Country	CPI 2016
1	New Zealand	90
1	Denmark	90
3	Finland	89
4	Sweden	88
5	Switzerland	86
6	Norway	85
7	Singapore	84
8	Netherlands	83
9	Canada	82
10	Germany	81
10	Luxembourg	81
10	United Kingdom	81
13	Australia	79
14	Iceland	78
15	Hong Kong	77
15	Belgium	77
17	Austria	75
18	The United States of America	74
19	Ireland	73
20	Japan	72
21	Uruguay	71
22	Estonia	70
23	France	69
24	Bahamas	66
24	Chile	66
24	United Arab Emirates	66
27	Bhutan	65
28	Israel	64
29	Poland	62
29	Portugal	62
31	Barbados	61
31	Taiwan	61
31	Qatar	61
31	Slovenia	61
35	Saint Lucia	60
35	Saint Vincent and The Grenadines	60
35	Botswana	60
38	Dominica	59
38	Cape Verde	59
38	Lithuania	59
41	Costa Rica	58
41	Brunei	58
41	Spain	58
44	Georgia	57
44	Latvia	57
46	Grenada	56
47	Cyprus	55
47	Czech Republic	55
47	Malta	55
50	Mauritius	54
50	Rwanda	54
52	Korea (South)	53
53	Namibia	52
54	Slovakia	51
55	Malaysia	49
55	Croatia	49
57	Jordan	48
57	Hungary	48
57	Romania	48
60	Cuba	47
60	Italy	47
62	Saudi Arabia	46
62	Sao Tome and Principe	46
64	Suriname	45
64	Montenegro	45
64	Oman	45
64	Senegal	45
64	South Africa	45
69	Greece	44
70	Bahrain	43
70	Ghana	43
72	Solomon Islands	42
72	Serbia	42
72	Burkina Faso	42
75	Turkey	41
75	Kuwait	41
75	Tunisia	41
75	Bulgaria	41
79	Brazil	40
79	China	40
79	India	40
79	Belarus	40
83	Jamaica	39
83	Albania	39
83	Bosnia and Herzegovina	39
83	Lesotho	39
87	Panama	38
87	Mongolia	38
87	Zambia	38
90	Colombia	37
90	Indonesia	37
90	The FYR of Macedonia	37
90	Morocco	37
90	Liberia	37
95	Argentina	36
95	El Salvador	36
95	Maldives	36
95	Sri Lanka	36
95	Kosovo	36
95	Benin	36
101	Peru	35
101	Trinidad and Tobago	35
101	Philippines	35
101	Thailand	35
101	Timor-Leste	35
101	Gabon	35
101	Niger	35
108	Guyana	34
108	Algeria	34
108	Egypt	34
108	Côte d'Ivoire	34
108	Ethiopia	34
113	Bolivia	33
113	Vietnam	33
113	Armenia	33
116	Pakistan	32
116	Mali	32
116	Tanzania	32
116	Togo	32
120	Dominican Republic	31
120	Ecuador	31
120	Malawi	31
123	Honduras	30
123	Mexico	30
123	Paraguay	30
123	Laos	30
123	Azerbaijan	30
123	Moldova	30
123	Djibouti	30
123	Sierra Leone	30
131	Nepal	29
131	Kazakhstan	29
131	Russia	29
131	Ukraine	29
131	Iran	29
136	Guatemala	28
136	Myanmar	28
136	Papua New Guinea	28
136	Kyrgyzstan	28
136	Lebanon	28
136	Nigeria	28
142	Guinea	27
142	Mauritania	27
142	Mozambique	27
145	Nicaragua	26
145	Bangladesh	26
145	Cameroon	26
145	Gambia	26
145	Kenya	26
145	Madagascar	26
151	Tajikistan	25
151	Uganda	25
153	Comoros	24
154	Turkmenistan	22
154	Zimbabwe	22
156	Cambodia	21
156	Uzbekistan	21
156	The Democratic Republic of Congo	21
159	Haiti	20
159	Burundi	20
159	Central African Republic	20
159	Chad	20
159	Republic of Congo	20
164	Angola	18
164	Eritrea	18
166	Venezuela	17
166	Iraq	17
168	Guinea-Bissau	16
169	Afghanistan	15
170	Libya	14
170	Yemen	14
170	Sudan	14
173	Syria	13
174	Korea (North)	12
175	South Sudan	11
176	Somalia	10