Corruption Index
Transparency International has released their annual Corruption Index for 2013, revealing some surprising results (Reuters)

Transparency International, an organisation that acts as a watchdog for political and corporate corruption, has published its annual Corruption Perceptions Index for 2013 revealing some interesting results.

The index ranks countries by the perceived level of corruption within their public sectors, 100 being clean as a whistle and 0 signalling absolute corruption.

Out of 177 countries listed, less than a third surpassed the 50 mark. Eastern Europe and Central Asia was the worst region for corruption with 95% scoring below 50, followed closely by Sub-Saharan Africa (90%) and the Middle East and North Africa (84%).

EU and Western Europe was the region most devoid of corruption with only 23% scoring below 50 in the index.

Surprisingly, both the United Kingdom (14) and the United States (19), the world's largest economy, fail to make the top 10 for least corruption, while Spain drops 10 places to a rank of 40 after the sovereign debt crisis deepened corruption in the country.

Greece (80) remains the EU member state with the highest level of corruption while the highest riser since 2012 was Myanmar which broke free of 49 years of military rule in 2011, rising from 172 to 157.

The major global economies had varied results with China ranked at 80, Russia joint 127<sup>th and Japan at 18.

So, in what countries can you trust public officials and what countries should be avoided at all costs?

Least corrupt countries in the world (according to the index):

10) Canada (tied for 9th)

Canada
Canadian President Stephen Harper (Reuters)

9) Australia

Australia
Tony Abbott was inducted as Australia's new Prime Minister in September (Reuters)

8) Netherlands

Netherlands
A bastion of international law and transparency, the Netherlands finishes high on the Corruption Index (Reuters)

7) Switzerland

Switzerland
Switzerland prides itself on its clean and impartial image (Reuters)

6) Singapore (tied for 5th)

Singapore
In a region beset with corrupt regimes, Singapore is a shining light under Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (Reuters)

5) Norway

Norway
Like most Scandinavian countries, Norway scores well in terms of government openness and effectiveness (Reuters)

4) Sweden (tied for 3rd)

Sweden
The Swedish principle of public access to official documents is one of the oldest established in the world, dating back to 1766 (Reuters)

3) Finland

Finland
Finland has slipped from 1st to 3rd in this year's index but transparency remains high in comparison to other European nations (Reuters)

2) New Zealand (tied for 1st)

New Zealand
The openness of the media in New Zealand has created a culture of political integrity (Reuters)

1) Denmark

Denmark
Denmark, has high GDP per capita, low inequality rates, literacy rates close to 100 %, and prioritises human right issues (Reuters)

Most corrupt countries in the world (according to the index):

10) Syria (tied for 168th)

Syria
The two-year-long Syrian civil war has sent the country's corruption rating tumble (Reuters)

9) Turkmenistan (tied for 168th)

Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan Presidnet Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow allowed no one to run against him in the 2007 election and still only came out with 87% of the vote (Reuters)

8) Uzbekistan (tied for 168th)

Uzbekistan
Wikileaks cables revealed that U.S. diplomats said the former Soviet Republic was riddled with "rampant corruption", "organised crime", and torture (Reuters)

7) Iraq

Iraq
The country is plagued by sectarian violence and its huge bureaucracy is dominated by corruption (Reuters)

6) Libya

Libya
A bribe culture flourished under the Ghaddafi regime but remains prevalent after his fall (Reuters)

5) South Sudan

South Sudan
The world's newest state and one of the least-developed faces growing corruption, it's main challenge among many (Reuters)

4) Sudan

Sudan
Sudan violates press freedom regularly and bribery is rife (Reuters)

3) Afghanistan (tied for 175th)

Afghanistan
Accusations of election fraud and bribery leave Afghanistan languishing in the Corruption Index (Reuters)

2) North Korea (tied for 175th)

North Korea
Draconian punishments imposed by the regime against accessing foreign media are commonly evaded by offering bribes to the police in North Korea (Reuters)

1) Somalia (tied for 175th)

See the complete world map at Transparency International below:

China Afghanistan Iraq United Kingdom