Scandinavian countries are the least corrupt in the world according to Transparency International's study of corruption perception worldwide.

Denmark took the top spot for the third year in a row, ex aequo New Zealand. Finland in third , Sweden in fourth and Norway in sixth place on the 2016 Corruption Perception Index.North Korea, South Sudan and Somalia were perceived less favourably this year.

Complied by global civil society organisation Transparency International, the index uses expert opinions to measure the perceived levels of public sector corruption worldwide.

Altogether 176 countries were ranked on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Denmark was awarded an overall score of 90.

The top performers on the index were found to share a number of key characteristics including high levels of press freedom and integrity among people in power, access to budget information, and independent judiciaries that don’t differentiate between rich and poor.

About the Corruption Perception Index

The CPI scores and ranks countries based on how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be. It is a composite index, a combination of surveys and assessments of corruption, collected by a variety of reputable institutions.  The CPI 2016 draws on data sources from independent institutions specialising in governance and business climate analysis. The CPI is the most widely used indicator of corruption worldwide.

2016 Corruption Perception Index - top ten spots:

1. Denmark 90

1. New Zealand 90

3. Finland 89

4. Sweden 88

5. Switzerland 86

6. Norway 85

7. Singapore 84

8. Netherlands 83

9. Canada 82

10. Germany 81

10. Luxembourg 81

10. United Kingdom 81

Read the full results of 2016 Corruption Perception Index: www.transparency.org
Source and graphics: transparency.org