ZAGREB, Sept 1 (Hina) - Judged by the level of corruption, Croatia this year has fallen four places and ranks 51st among the world's 102 most corrupt countries, according to a research conducted by Transparency International (TI), an
international anti-corruption association.
ZAGREB, Sept 1 (Hina) - Judged by the level of corruption, Croatia
this year has fallen four places and ranks 51st among the world's
102 most corrupt countries, according to a research conducted by
Transparency International (TI), an international anti-
corruption association. #L#
The Croatian TI branch maintains that even though Croatia's
standing on the list has improved, the level of corruption remains
identical to last year's, which is due to the fact that more
countries have been included on the list.
Starting in 1996, TI has been issuing annual reports as well as a
research of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), one of the most
reliable indicators of the level of corruption in the world.
This year the research included 102 countries, whereas last year,
when Croatia shared the 47th place with Bulgaria and the Czech
Republic, the list covered 91.
Countries are ranked according to the CPI and the eventual list is a
relevant indicator of the corruption issue in a specific country.
Since being included on the list, Croatia has been recording
positive movements, the Croatian TI branch says.
Croatia falls into the middle group of corrupt countries with a
grade of 3.8.
In 2000, Croatia held the 51st place with an average of 3.7.
Croatia is in a group of transition countries, like Bulgaria, the
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Latvia, which record minimal
or insufficient changes despite the governments' obvious efforts
to combat corruption.
The president of the Croatian TI branch, Sinisa Petrovic, maintains
that Croatia's standing has not changed, which he says shows that
the authorities should be more determined in combating
corruption.
The TI research notes that in most countries corruption constitutes
a serious threat to stability and economic progress. Corruption has
been estimated as strong or very strong in 70 countries.
The least corrupt country, the one at the top of the TI list, is
Finland, which has the average grade of 9.7. The most corrupt is
Nigeria, which has taken the place of Bangladesh, with the average
grade of 1.7.
Besides in Ireland, a trend of significant deterioration has been
noted in Argentina and Moldova. Estonia, Slovenia, and Hungary, on
the other hand, are among the most successful in dealing with
corruption among the countries in transition.
Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina have not been included
on the TI list due to scarce research, but it is believed that they
are near the top of the list of the most corrupt countries.
TI is active in 88 countries. Its Croatian branch was opened more
than two years ago.
(hina) ha