Despite falling back over corruption allegations, Qatar remains among the least corrupt Arab states – Transparency International report.
Sadly, 90% of Arab states scored below the 50 point average in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 report, prepared and published by Transparency International in January 2017. However, two Arab states, the UAE and Qatar, managed to stand out as the least corrupt Arab countries.
Not to bash Arab nations alone, the opening line of the report reads: “let’s get straight to the point: no country gets close to a perfect score in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2016,” but some did get pretty close.
Top 10 least corrupt countries – Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 report by Transparency International
On top of the list, as the least corrupt nations in the world, are Denmark and New Zealand, both scoring 91/100. They are followed by Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, but only 54 countries out of 176 were able to score above the average.
Five out of the ten most corrupt countries in the world are Arab states: Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Syria, with Somalia at the bottom of the list. And while all countries in the region witnessed drops in Corruption Perceptions Index scores from 2015, Tunisia was the only Arab country that managed to raise their score – from 38 in 2015 to 41 in 2016.
Most corrupt countries – Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 report by Transparency International.
In 2015, Qatar sported an impressive 71 point score, but fell 10 points off by 2016. However, it remains the second-least corrupt Arab country, and 31st least corrupt country in the world.
The report credits Qatar’s score decline to FIFA corruption allegations and the situation of migrant workers in the country.
However, the government of the State of Qatar has been working tirelessly to improve working and living conditions of expat laborers, and we are positive next year’s report will show a spike in the country’s index score.
