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Switzerland was ranked tenth in the latest 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published by Transparency International this week.
The index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, with results ranging from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
This year’s index reveals that corruption levels are at a worldwide standstill, said the organisation, with the global average remaining unchanged for the tenth year in a row. One force working against progress has been the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been used in many countries as an excuse to curtail basic freedoms and side-step important checks and balances, said the organisation.
Switzerland’s score dropped one point from 85 to 84 out of 100 in 2021, making it the only nation in the top 10 to move backwards in 2021. Compared to its neighbours: Italy (56), France (71), Germany (80) and Austria (74), Switzerland scored well.
However, as a measure of public sector corruption, the CPI does not capture issues related to financial secrecy and money laundering, or the role of the private sector in allowing the corrupt to hide and enjoy the proceeds of their crimes, explained Transparency International.
The top three countries, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand all scored 88, four points ahead of Switzerland. But even at the top corruption has worsened over the last 6 years. New Zealand showed a three point drop between 2015 (91) and 2021 (88), although it rose one point between 2019 and 2021.
Some of the biggest backsliders include: Australia (73), Canada (74) and the US (67). These first two have declined by 12 and 10 points since 2012, while the US has dropped 9 points since 2015. For the first time in a decade, the US is no longer in the top 25.
At the bottom of the list the score went as low as 11. South Sudan (11), Syria (13) and Somalia (13) were the three worst nations in 2021.
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