LEAST CORRUPTED COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Although corruption is not very widespread, following the recent

financial crisis several cases of high profile fraud have come to

light and exposed areas that need work. While the government has

shown itself dedicated to reducing corruption, lack of transparency in the 

judicial system along with several other issues have slowed progress.

In spite of this, public services are offered efficiently and in a manner

that has attracted large amounts of foreign investment.

BAHAMAS

While petty corruption with regards to business and daily life is relatively

low, political corruption is much higher. Transparency has been an issue

and public polls tend to show a general distrust of politicians and

political parties.

AUSTRIA

Although in general corruption is low, recent political scandals have

 highlighted corruption in the government. Furthermore, unlike many

other nations on this list, facilitation payments are not

considered illegal.

URUGUAY

Following right on the heels of its South American partner, Uruguay has

made large strides in the past 15 years primarily due to its government’s

consistent commitment to becoming more transparent.

CHILE

In spite of recent political corruption scandals, Chile is still ranked as the

least corrupt nation in South America. As with most of the other

countries on this list, business and daily life are not impacted to

any notable extent by corruption.

UNITED STATES

Following the recent financial crisis, corruption in the financial sector 

has received significant attention and political corruption has been a

long running issue. In spite of these setbacks, the United States

maintains extensive anti-corruption legislation and has a very

decentralized structure with states retaining a good amount of power.

IRELAND

Its corruption index is slightly lower than the average for Western Europe

and it has struggled in the recent past with both politicians and business

leaders being accused of corruption, fraud, and bribery. In recent years,

however, the situation has improved somewhat.

HONG KONG

Although it used to rank higher than Japan, USA, and the UK, the

Question of whether Hong Kong will be able to maintain its current

standards now that it is a part of China still remains.

BARBADOS

Ranked as the least corrupt Caribbean country, there are low levels of

bribery and fraud in the business sector and the government has

maintained commitments to provide efficient social and public services.