The UK is getting less corrupt (and, FYI Fifa, it beat Qatar and Russia)
Good news for those Britons who don’t include bribery among our hobbies. The UK is getting less corrupt.
That’s according to the annual Transparency Index, which was published today.
In 2014, the UK was ranked 14th with a corruption score of 78. Last year it got 76 and the year before it was 74.
The UK is, according to Transparency International’s description of the score, getting “cleaner”.
And it beat the US, Ireland, Hong Kong, Belgium, France and – surprising given what the Fifa ethics committee would have us believe – Russia and Qatar.
Germany was even less corrupt, though, and don’t get us started on Denmark. One of these days Scandinavia is going to stop hogging the top position of every index going.
However, even though the UK is edging closer to the top of the list, Transparency Index says there is no room for complacency.
“A poor score is likely a sign of widespread bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs. Countries at the top of the index also need to act. Leading financial centres in the EU and US need to join with fast-growing economies to stop the corrupt from getting away with it,” the group said.
“The G20 needs to prove its global leadership role and prevent money laundering and stop secret companies from masking corruption.”
Check out Transparency International’s awesome interactive map to see how the UK compares to the rest of the world – and where you might want to avoid trading unless you have particularly deep pockets.
