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It?s Official: Finland is the Least Corrupt Country in the World

Transparency International is a non-governmental watchdog organization that focuses on transparency. Each year it publishes a corruption perception index, which is based on surveys conducted in all the countries on its list. This year, 163 countries were checked by the organization and the results were as follows: Finland came out the cleanest, while Mynamar, Iraq and Haiti shared the ?honor? of being the most corrupt countries in the world.

The report ranks the countries on the list from 0-10, based on perceived corruption levels. A score of zero refers to a highly corrupt country, while 10 is squeaky clean. The report showed that some of the world?s poorest countries were also the most corrupt, undermining international development efforts and pushing their citizens further into the poverty and violence cycle. Finland, number one on the list, ranked 9.6 on the index. Following Finland on the list were Iceland, New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore and Sweden.

Companies who are looking to expand their business operations abroad use the list often. With the security and corruption situation so bad in Iraq, US engineering company, Bechtel Corps has decided to pull out of the country. The list was also used by Barrick Gold Corp. in the 1990?s when it reached its decision to stop mine exploration in Chad. Companies are wary to do business in regions where their employees cannot be protected. 52 of Bechtel?s workers have been killed in Iraq since 2003.