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 second year in a row, with Finland in second , Sweden in third and Norway in fifth place on the 2015 Corruption Perception Index. Afghanistan, North Korea 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 168 countries were ranked on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Denmark was awarded an overall score of 91.

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 2015 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.

2015 Corruption Perception Index - top ten spots:

 1.           Denmark             91          

2.            Finland 90           89          

3.            Sweden               89          

4.            New Zealand     88          

5.            Netherlands      87          

5.            Norway               87             

7.            Switzerland        86          

8.            Singapore           85          

9.            Canada 83           81          

10.          Germany            81          

10.          Luxembourg      81          

10.          United Kingdom  81

Read the full results of 2015 Corruption Perception Index: www.transparency.org

Source: www.goodnewsfinland.com
Graphics: Transparency International, CPI 2015