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Most Arab countries make progress on the 2017 Corruption Perception Index
Arab Region - Friday, February 23, 2018
Transparency International launched on Wednesday the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2017 ranking 180 countries compared to only 176 last year. The index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption based on surveys filled by experts and business persons on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). New Zealand came first with a score of 89 points, while Somalia came last with a score of 9 points. The regional average for the Arab states slightly improved with 33.38 points compared to 32.71 in 2016, whereas the global average remained unchanged at 43 points.
Among 21 Arab countries ranked on the CPI in 2017, 13 have progressed and 6 have regressed, while 2 maintained the same score. The United Arab Emirates emerged as the biggest improver, gaining 5 additional points and ranking 1st regionally and 21st globally, whereas Bahrain was the least performant, losing 7 points but still ranking 9th in the region and 103rd in the world.
In the media, emphasis is often mistakenly put on the rank of countries and not their scores. This can be confusing, because the number of countries surveyed and ranked is in permanent fluctuation, and their placement on the list is relative, affected by the extent of improvement or decline in the performance of other countries and not necessarily their own. For instance, Jordan and Lebanon maintained the same scores this year, but their rankings dropped for the two reasons mentioned above.
In its press release on the occasion, Transparency International stated that "most countries with low degrees of civil liberties have high levels of corruption", urging civil society and governments to pass access to information laws that serve as a mean to enhance transparency and accountability and reduce corruption opportunities emphasizing the importance of not only promulgating the law but also enforcing it.
Below is a table showing the status of the Arab countries in 2017 compared to 2016. For more information on the 2017 CPI, please visit the following link https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017#table
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Country
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2017
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2016
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Comparison with 2015 and 2016
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|
Out of 100
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Regional Ranking (21 countries)
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Global Ranking (180 countries)
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Out of 100
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Regional Ranking (21 countries)
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Global Ranking (176 countries)
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United Arab Emirates
|
71
|
1
|
21
|
66
|
1
|
24
|
Progress
|
|
Qatar
|
63
|
2
|
29
|
61
|
2
|
31
|
Progress
|
|
Saudi Arabia
|
49
|
3
|
57
|
46
|
4
|
62
|
Progress
|
|
Jordan
|
48
|
4
|
59
|
48
|
3
|
57
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Stable
|
|
Oman
|
44
|
5
|
68
|
45
|
5
|
64
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regress
|
|
Tunisia
|
42
|
6
|
74
|
41
|
7
|
75
|
progress
|
|
Morocco
|
40
|
7
|
81
|
37
|
9
|
90
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progress
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Kuwait
|
39
|
8
|
85
|
41
|
7
|
75
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regress
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Bahrain
|
36
|
9
|
103
|
43
|
6
|
70
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regress
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Algeria
|
33
|
10
|
112
|
34
|
10
|
108
|
regress
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Egypt
|
32
|
11
|
117
|
34
|
10
|
108
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regress
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Djibouti
|
31
|
12
|
122
|
30
|
12
|
123
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progress
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Lebanon
|
28
|
13
|
143
|
28
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13
|
136
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Stable
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Mauritania
|
28
|
13
|
143
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27
|
14
|
142
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progress
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State of the Comoros
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27
|
15
|
148
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24
|
15
|
153
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progress
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Iraq
|
18
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16
|
169
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17
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16
|
166
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progress
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Libya
|
17
|
17
|
171
|
14
|
17
|
170
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progress
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Soudan
|
16
|
18
|
175
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14
|
17
|
170
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progress
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Yemen
|
16
|
18
|
175
|
14
|
17
|
170
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progress
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|
Syria
|
14
|
20
|
178
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13
|
20
|
173
|
progress
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Somalia
|
9
|
21
|
180
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10
|
21
|
176
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regress
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Regional average
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33.38
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|
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32.71
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|
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progress
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Global Average
|
43
|
|
|
43
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|
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Stable
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