Finland wins!

October 20, 2004 11:20 AM

The 2004 Transparency International corruption index is out. Finland wins! Haiti, not so good.
posted by skallas (11 comments total)

Wow, that link is getting slow. Coral mirror here.
posted by skallas at 11:25 AM on October 20, 2004

11th Woo Hoo! In your face Turkmenistan!!
posted by DrDoberman at 11:58 AM on October 20, 2004

Finland really gets into the spirit of fairness, such as this $100k speeding ticket:

True, Vanjoki was doing 46.5 mph in a 30-mph zone. But $103,000?

The reason the penalty was so harsh is that traffic fines in Finland are based not just on the severity of the offense, but on the offender's income. Vanjoki is a senior executive of Nokia, the world's largest cell phone maker, and his fine was assessed on a 1999 income of $5.2 million.

posted by Shane at 1:38 PM on October 20, 2004

God bless TI. Widespread corruption is one of the biggest things keeping much of the developing world in such dire straights. There's a reason Poland is outperforming almost everyone else in the former USSR - lower corruption.
posted by kavasa at 2:08 PM on October 20, 2004

kavasa: I thought for a second you were going to forget Poland.
posted by NewBornHippy at 2:24 PM on October 20, 2004

Bastard Finns. Next year I'll pay the judges to make sure NZ comes in first.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 4:13 PM on October 20, 2004

While corruption in Poland may be lower than some countries in the former USSR, it's still very high (especially by EU standards.) And, according to TI, it's getting worse: Poland received a 3.6 out of 10 last year, a 4.0 the year before, and a 5.0 in 1996. This year it got a 3.5. At this rate it'll be next to Russia (2.8) in a few years.

It's clear that just the right amount of solid corruption and economic reform make for a great transition towards Western standards.
posted by romanb at 4:21 PM on October 20, 2004

Whee NZ - second's good as far as I'm concerned!

Although those grumpy Finns deserve to lose next year.
posted by wilberforce at 4:22 PM on October 20, 2004

How is the united states not even listed?

Chill out, far (insert side) wingers, it's not an attack against your side. There's corruption in all countries, and BOTH parties in this country are full of it. I can't imagine how the US isn't on that list...
posted by twiggy at 4:59 PM on October 20, 2004

twiggy, the US is #17 on the list tied with Belgium and Ireland.
posted by skallas at 5:14 PM on October 20, 2004

Oil-producing countries are among the most corrupt, a new survey by Transparency International shows.
posted by homunculus at 5:57 PM on October 20, 2004