Corrupt Perceptions Index 2009
November 17, 2009 10:04 PM Subscribe
Since 1995, Transparency International has published an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, ordering the countries of the world according to "the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians." The 2009 report was released today. See the data. Play around with their interactive map. (warning, map will resize your browser window)
Apparently these people don't know that "always blow on the pie" is code for "please bribe the officer."
posted by Sys Rq at 10:24 PM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Sys Rq at 10:24 PM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Wow. Apparently Greenland is so corrupt, they couldn't even fit it on the scale.
And Antarctica is so corrupt, they couldn't even fit it on the map! I'm definitely never doing business there again.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 10:31 PM on November 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
And Antarctica is so corrupt, they couldn't even fit it on the map! I'm definitely never doing business there again.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 10:31 PM on November 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
It's kind of ironic that a group named Transparency International requires Flash to view their data.
posted by Talez at 10:51 PM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Talez at 10:51 PM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
4.2? What the fuck is wrong with Italy?
I guess that's the result of being surrounded by that pernicious corrupting Mediterranean Sea.
Germany is lower than I expected. It would be interesting to see differences within Germany: east vs west, north vs south.
posted by jouke at 11:21 PM on November 17, 2009
I guess that's the result of being surrounded by that pernicious corrupting Mediterranean Sea.
Germany is lower than I expected. It would be interesting to see differences within Germany: east vs west, north vs south.
posted by jouke at 11:21 PM on November 17, 2009
Perhaps the Canadians could behave as corruptly as we do if only they had a little more temptation up there
posted by knoyers at 11:35 PM on November 17, 2009
posted by knoyers at 11:35 PM on November 17, 2009
Hey, it's all about the perception of corruption, not the reality. I would say we have plenty of favours done in a way that I would say is corrupt, but it's more about doing things for your mates than bribes being traded. Foreigners coming to New Zealand to do business will find officials and business people cannot be bribed, but those who settle might start getting resentful that some things seem a lot easier for long time residents with good social networks.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:37 PM on November 17, 2009
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:37 PM on November 17, 2009
ireland is an 8? I guess nobody reads about our political scandals. Ireland is like italy, just not so sunny, and with less olive oil and grappa.
posted by fistynuts at 11:40 PM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by fistynuts at 11:40 PM on November 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
jouke- I'm guessing Berlusconi's leadership played no small part in dragging Italy further down the list. Most recently, he's accused of dodging $45 million in corporate taxes, and offering a lawyer a $600,000 bribe.
Better: The tax trial was resumed after a year's wait on Monday, then adjourned until next year, because Berlusconi's just too busy. Which is fair enough, I guess. It's not like the guy has a history of skirting charges based on statues of limitations, right?
posted by evidenceofabsence at 11:58 PM on November 17, 2009
Better: The tax trial was resumed after a year's wait on Monday, then adjourned until next year, because Berlusconi's just too busy. Which is fair enough, I guess. It's not like the guy has a history of skirting charges based on statues of limitations, right?
posted by evidenceofabsence at 11:58 PM on November 17, 2009
I'm tempted to see Berlusconi as a symption, not a cause. It seems that Italians seem rather happy with him being their leader.
posted by jouke at 12:16 AM on November 18, 2009
posted by jouke at 12:16 AM on November 18, 2009
jouke- His approval rating is around 50%, which is, I guess, pretty high.
That said, there is no better way to make my Italian relatives sigh and groan than to mention the guy's name.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 12:31 AM on November 18, 2009
That said, there is no better way to make my Italian relatives sigh and groan than to mention the guy's name.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 12:31 AM on November 18, 2009
Here I am, scrolling on and on into white space. Where's South America? I didn't know the Pacific was that big?!?
Turns out Transparency International's world isn't spherical.
posted by Badasscommy at 1:37 AM on November 18, 2009
Turns out Transparency International's world isn't spherical.
posted by Badasscommy at 1:37 AM on November 18, 2009
Berlusconi rates 50%?! Wow. That's amazing, considering how much of the media he owns.
posted by Goofyy at 1:59 AM on November 18, 2009
posted by Goofyy at 1:59 AM on November 18, 2009
Yeah, what Goofyy said. Italy is really an outlier in Europe in many ways, and I suspect it's difficult to get reliable data.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:07 AM on November 18, 2009
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:07 AM on November 18, 2009
Italy has been doing appallingly for a number of years, generally the worst in Western Europe. It's the first country I look for when the new table comes out each year.
posted by biffa at 5:30 AM on November 18, 2009
posted by biffa at 5:30 AM on November 18, 2009
To be honest; Greece is even worse at 3.8. It's the same level as Roumania
posted by jouke at 6:20 AM on November 18, 2009
posted by jouke at 6:20 AM on November 18, 2009
Did we learn anything we didn't already know?
posted by jeffamaphone at 9:19 AM on November 18, 2009
posted by jeffamaphone at 9:19 AM on November 18, 2009
Heard an NPR story several years ago saying that there was a correlation between a countries rank on this list and the number of unpaid parking tickets their diplomats had accrued in NYC.
And thanks to Google here it is.
posted by nestor_makhno at 10:12 AM on November 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
And thanks to Google here it is.
posted by nestor_makhno at 10:12 AM on November 18, 2009 [2 favorites]
Alright NIGERIA!!!!!! Movin on up!
Somalia is about the best case for foreign intervention ever.
posted by pick_the_flowers at 11:52 AM on November 18, 2009
Somalia is about the best case for foreign intervention ever.
posted by pick_the_flowers at 11:52 AM on November 18, 2009
Since it's an index based on perceptions, omeone needs to deflate these results with the pessimism index. I'm sure Portugal would get a much more honourable ranking.
posted by lucia__is__dada at 2:13 PM on November 18, 2009
posted by lucia__is__dada at 2:13 PM on November 18, 2009
Related: Most Afghans see not Taliban militants but poverty, unemployment [at 40%] and government corruption as the main causes of war in their country, according to a report by a leading aid group released on Wednesday.
posted by HP LaserJet P10006 at 3:07 PM on November 18, 2009
posted by HP LaserJet P10006 at 3:07 PM on November 18, 2009
All this really does is show me how truly ignorant Canadians are of how much is being stolen from them every day by their own government.
posted by klanawa at 11:42 PM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by klanawa at 11:42 PM on November 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
ireland is an 8? I guess nobody reads about our political scandals. Ireland is like italy, just not so sunny, and with less olive oil and grappa.
posted by fistynuts at 11:40 PM on November 17 [1 favorite has favorites +] [!]
All this really does is show me how truly ignorant Canadians are of how much is being stolen from them every day by their own government.
posted by klanawa at 11:42 PM on November 18 [+] [!]
Yes. You know how corrupt your own home countries are. Now imagine everyone below you on the list being worse. Because that's how this works. If you're New Zealand, it means that no country is perceived to be less corrupt than you, it does not mean there is no corruption. Everywhere has corruption but Ireland isn't really comparable to Italy. I mean Berlusconi alone is corrupt enough to put them ahead, but he is just the highly visible tip of the iceberg.
posted by Authorized User at 12:42 AM on November 19, 2009
posted by fistynuts at 11:40 PM on November 17 [1 favorite has favorites +] [!]
All this really does is show me how truly ignorant Canadians are of how much is being stolen from them every day by their own government.
posted by klanawa at 11:42 PM on November 18 [+] [!]
Yes. You know how corrupt your own home countries are. Now imagine everyone below you on the list being worse. Because that's how this works. If you're New Zealand, it means that no country is perceived to be less corrupt than you, it does not mean there is no corruption. Everywhere has corruption but Ireland isn't really comparable to Italy. I mean Berlusconi alone is corrupt enough to put them ahead, but he is just the highly visible tip of the iceberg.
posted by Authorized User at 12:42 AM on November 19, 2009
Yes, Authorized User, but to take Canada as an example: the sheer volume of natural wealth that's being squandered is staggering, more than most countries even have to give away. We don't perceive corruption because we're content and complacent and our government has no need of direct coercion (in most cases). If you measured corruption in terms of actual value stolen from the people, Canada, Russia and the US would probably come out on top (complete speculation on my part, of course).
The corruption that Canadians do perceive, thanks to the media, is the small-time municipal backscratcher type. We get all up in arms about the mishandling of a few million dollars here and there and completely ignore the big fish.
This list is really about marketing, ultimately.
posted by klanawa at 9:52 AM on November 19, 2009
The corruption that Canadians do perceive, thanks to the media, is the small-time municipal backscratcher type. We get all up in arms about the mishandling of a few million dollars here and there and completely ignore the big fish.
This list is really about marketing, ultimately.
posted by klanawa at 9:52 AM on November 19, 2009
The corruption that Canadians do perceive, thanks to the media, is the small-time municipal backscratcher type. We get all up in arms about the mishandling of a few million dollars here and there and completely ignore the big fish.
Care to share with us all what these big fish might be?
posted by Sys Rq at 1:38 PM on November 19, 2009
Care to share with us all what these big fish might be?
posted by Sys Rq at 1:38 PM on November 19, 2009
Not having hours to read this site, I have to ask these obvious questions before this table means anything at all to me: (1) The scale is from what to what? I'm assuming 1 to 10 but how would I really know? They do not say. (2) And which end of the scale indicates more corrupt? They do not say and there's no way to tell.
posted by lphoenix at 11:19 AM on November 24, 2009
posted by lphoenix at 11:19 AM on November 24, 2009
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but seriously, while transparency international do a great job at this, the insidious corruption that infests the Australian political class isn't well represented in this data. Property developer donations, the use of PPPs, I could go on...
posted by wilful at 10:12 PM on November 17, 2009