Corruption Survey 2010: World Getting More Corrupt

Transparency International is an organization in Germany that monitors corruption and is associated with the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which it publishes every year. And as per the latest survey conducted by them, in a Corruption Survey 2010, the world we live in today has never been more corrupt. More than 50% of people surveyed around the world felt that their respective countries has become more corrupt lately, which speaks a lot in itself. Transparency International Corruption Survey 2010 with the CPI release said, "The surveys and assessments used to compile the index include questions relating to bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds and questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of public sector anti-corruption efforts. These results indicate a serious corruption problem. With governments committing huge sums to tackle the world's most pressing problems, from the instability of financial markets to climate change and poverty, corruption remains an obstacle to achieving much-needed progress." And then according to a poll conducted by the BBC, the most talked about problem in the world right now is also corruption.

The most corrupt countries were in the order of Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq, India, China, Russia and many countries of the Gulf region. Somalia and Myanmar were also put in the top bracket of corrupt nations. Region wise, the sub-Sahara area was considered to be the most corrupt area. These countries scored as low as 3 - 4 points out of 10 on the CPI. Around 25% of the people surveyed have actually paid a bribe in some way or the other in the past one year. Politicians, police, permit officials, judiciary officials, and religious bodies are said to top the list of being most corrupt. Transparency's policy and research director, Robin Hodess said, "Unfortunately people's experience with bribery most often involves the police, and this is really worrying. It's a figure that's grown in the past few years. It's nearly doubled, in fact, since 2006. Nearly one in three people who had contact with the police around the world had to pay a bribe.

Now on the flip side, the cleanest countries are Denmark, Singapore, New Zealand, Finland and Sweden. They all get a comfortable 9+ on the CPI index. Canada, Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland and Norway were all close to the 9 mark, which is quite good so to speak. Around 100,000 people from nearly 90 countries were interviewed in the survey.

The Corruption Survey 2010 just goes to tell us that besides terrorism, wars, development, the problem of rampant corruption worldwide is a major hindrance to a progressing world. And it is an issue respective governments need to take up to ensure that their citizens can lead a better and fairer life.