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Denmark, New Zealand Least Corrupt

Somalia, North Korea, and Afghanistan tie for worst.

The annual Corruption Perceptions Index has been released, and unsurprisingly northern Europe, with Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway in the top five, dominated the least corrupt countries category. The Middle East and North Africa were the most corrupt, with Afghanistan, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iraq and Syria in the top ten. The index, which is released by Berlin-based Transparency International, ranks how people perceive corruption in each country’s public sector. Greece, which has long been plagued by its reputation for corruption, was one of the biggest improvers from last year. Australia, however, was one of the biggest decliners. The United States came in 19th.