SPAIN has been given a high corruption rating by Transparency International.
The organisation creates a global ranking of countries based on levels of bribery, extortion, access to information and integrity of public officials.
On a scale of 0-100, lower ranked countries are “plagued by untrustworthy and badly functioning public institutions like the police and judiciary.”
It adds that “higher-ranked countries… have higher degrees of press freedom, access to information about public expenditure, stronger standards of integrity and independent judicial systems.”
In its latest Corruption Perceptions Index, Denmark had the highest score of 90 and Somalia the lowest with 10 of 176 countries. Spain came only 58, a decline from its top score of 65 in 2012.
Transparency International said: “The global average score is a paltry 43, indicating endemic corruption in a country’s public sector.”
They added, “more countries declined than improved in this year’s results, showing the urgent need for committed action to thwart corruption.”
Both the United Kingdom and the United States are lagging behind as well, with the former at tenth place with a score of 81, an improvement of its score of just 74 in 2012. The U.S stands at 74, a marginal increase from its 2012 score.
