Croatia Drops 4 Places on Corruption Index

Croatia, which has championed an anti-corruption campaign which has seen a number of high-profile figures arrested, has nevertheless fallen 4 places in the latest edition of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2014…

The 2014 corruption perceptions index, which measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 175 countries, has placed Croatia in 61st position, tied with Ghana with a ranking score of 48. Croatia is ranked in the top five corrupt Central and Western Europe nations, with only Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Romania ranking worse. The least perceived corrupt nation in the region is Slovenia, followed by Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

“Fast-growing economies whose governments refuse to be transparent and tolerate corruption create a culture of impunity in which corruption thrives,” said Transparency International Chair José Ugaz, referring to emerging-market countries in a statement, adding that corruption is a problem in all countries today.

“Countries at the bottom need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favour of their people. Countries at the top of the index should make sure they don’t export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries,” said Mr. Ugaz.

Denmark once again topped list, followed closely by New Zealand, Sweden and a tie between Norway and Switzerland for fifth place. Somalia and North Korea tied for worst overall, with Sudan, Afghanistan and South Sudan making up the bottom five.