Greece gets low mark in world graft survey
Greece is on a par with Surinam and just above El Salvador in corruption, according to a survey of 146 states made public yesterday. The Transparency International graft watchdog’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. It pools graft-related data and views of international analysts. Greece scored 4.3, with 10 denoting the least corrupt and 3 being the benchmark for «rampant corruption,» and ended up 49th on the list. In the 25-strong EU, only the Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia and Poland had a worse score. The CPI defines corruption as the «abuse of public office for private gain.» Finland was perceived as the least corrupt country, followed by New Zealand and Denmark. Bangladesh and Haiti were ranked the most corrupt.
