Top Ten Most Corrupt Nations: CPI Index Ratings
10. Haiti
CPI score: 1.8
Surveys Used: 3
Confidence Range: 1.4-2.3
Haiti comes in at number 10 in the list of the most corrupt countries and notorious for corruption in all levels of its government and society. There are omnipresent scandals, and the government does little to clear this up. It is one of the poorest nations on earth and it often suffers from a food crisis. Foreign investors are dissuaded from trying to help out Haiti because it is such a mess. Garbage is everywhere in this country, all over the beaches and the streets.
9. Iran
CPI score: 1.8
Surveys Used: 3
Confidence Range: 1.7-1.9
Iran is always in the news for corruption. People currently have jobs that don’t pay them and pensions that no longer work. Elections are likely rigged and results are not trusted. There is often civil unrest, and there were intense riots over the election results which resulted in police brutality.
8. Turkmenistan
CPI score: 1.8
Surveys Used: 4
Confidence Range: 1.7 – 1.9
Turkmenistan’s constitution calls for a number of personal rights and liberties, but in actually, most are repressed. There have been many abuses of social equality, sex equality, freedom of movement. There are also issues with freedom of religion. Turkmenistan has one of the worst restrictions of the press in the world. The former president had banned satellite dishes, beards, long hair on men, video games, ballet, opera and recorded music in the country. The new president is gradually relaxing these bans, but there are still many abuses.
7. Uzbekistan
CPI score: 1.7
Surveys Used: 6
Confidence Range: 1.5 – 1.8
Though Uzbekistan has a constitution that states the rights of humans, most human-rights watch organizations (Amnesty International, IHF) consider Uzbekistan to be “an authoritarian state with limited civil rights.” The government restricts the freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly. There have also been many arbitrary arrests and torture throughout the years. They have also been destroying works of the Farsi language.
6. Chad
CPI score: 1.6
Surveys Used: 6
Confidence Range: 1.5-1.7
Chad is one of the poorest, most corrupt nations. There is often civil dissent and ethnic violence. The citizens often try to overthrow the government. There are also many Sudanese refugees living in Chad to escape the genocide in their country. The militant rebel groups often make attacks in dry seasons, from September to July.
5. Iraq
CPI score: 1.5
Surveys Used: 3
Confidence Range: 1.2-1.8
American and British troops have been stationed in Iraq since 2003. Saddam Hussein, the former dictator, was overthrown; sovereignty was transferred to the Iraqi Government in June 2004. However, this has not brought peace at all. Through today, there are still bombings, robberies, shootings and other assaults. The minority groups in Iraq, including Kurds, Assyrians, Roma and Iraqi Turkmen, do not enjoy the same rights and control as Iraqi Arabs. Last year, Iraq was ranked as the world’s fifth most politically unstable country by the Failed States Index.
4. Sudan
CPI score: 1.5
Surveys Used: 5
Confidence Range: 1.4-1.7
Sudan is a very impoverished nation with low human development. In Darfur, pro-government Arab militias are performing a genocide against all non-Arab groups in that region. Its infrastructure is destroyed due to decades of unrest; it has been in different types of civil war ever since its independence in 1956. Many people of Sudan flee to surrounding nations to escape the violence. Also, their broadcasting is highly restricted.
3. Myanmar
CPI score: 1.4
Surveys Used: 3
Confidence Range: 0.9-1.8
Myanmar has been under military rule ever since 1962. There have been coups that just lead to new military rules, and more unrest. It is one of the poorest countries in Asia. It also suffers from natural disasters like cyclones and there is a high rate of HIV.
2. Afghanistan
CPI score: 1.3
Surveys Used: 4
Confidence Range: 1.0-1.5
Afghanistan has suffered a horrible history in the past few decades. Kabul used to be a bustling cultural center where tourists would go. While the Taliban was present, they practiced an authoritarian regime that was oppressive to all aspects of life. Afghanistan had been at Civil War from 1970s-2001, when the US troops entered. But that didn’t clear up the problem, as there is still much violence and corruption. Since the Taliban left, Afghanistan has had intentions to improve on paper, but this is hardly brought out in reality. There is still intense violence daily.
1. Somalia
CPI score: 1.1
Surveys Used: 3
Confidence Range: 0.9-1.4
Somalia has suffered from many years of fighting rival warlords, drought and famine. A third of Somalia’s population is depended on food aid. There has been no effective government since 1991. Today, the country suffers from Islamic insurgents and other radical militant groups. Its media is very fragmented and partisan. Kidnapping, murder, roadblocks and any forms of arbitrary violence are part of life in many regions of Somalia. They have sour relations with the bordering nations in addition to their internal problems.
The above information is based on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The scores indicate the perceived level of corruption in the public sector for each country. The CPI had 13 surveys, but not all of the surveys were used in each country. The confidence range shows the margin of error in these surveys.