Transparency International recently released its 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (“CPI”). The CPI ranks countries based on perceived corruption of a country’s public sector. The CPI ranking of a country is often used as a factor in conducting anti-bribery and corruption risk analysis in a given country. It is a valuable tool for assessing risk levels when conducting risk-based third-party due diligence and transactional analysis of potential targets of acquisitions and future joint venture partners.
This year, Transparency International updated its methodology for the CPI to better show changes over time; year to year comparisons will be possible from 2012 onwards. The CPI is now presented on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand were at the top with scores of 90, with Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia at the bottom, all scoring an 8. Forty-three is the average score worldwide, with 70% of countries scoring less than 50.
View full results of the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index.
