UK receives its worst ever global corruption score following ministerial scandals as Denmark is deemed least corrupt nation
31 January 2023, 13:24 | Updated: 31 January 2023, 13:26
The UK has received its worst global corruption score on record according to a new report, with soaring public spending and ministerial misconduct scandals blamed for its low-ranking.
The report, conducted by anti-graft organisation Transparency International, concluded that Denmark has become the least corrupt nation, with Somalia ranking worst on the index of 157 nations.
The index ranks countries from 'highly corrupt' to 'very clean', using a scale of 0 to 100.
Speaking on the findings, Transparency International noted that "even in countries with relatively strong measures against corruption, the defence sector often remains secretive.
They noted that such high levels of secrecy "opened the door for undue influence and other forms of corruption".
The report highlighted the importance of political integrity, with public trust in British politics also worryingly low, it said.
The UK scored 78 out of 100 as part of the index, ranking 18th on the list - a drop from 11th place in 2021.
It means the nation draws level with Belgium and Japan - its lowest score since the index began in 1995.
It follows a string of governmental scandals spanning spending and lobbying, as well as revelations surrounding ministerial misconduct.
Incorporating a period which saw Boris Johnson step down as Prime Minister and LIz Truss resign after a woeful 49 days in office,.
Read more: UK set to have weakest major economy in the world and become only G7 nation to shrink
It arrives off the back of yet more ministerial revelations, including Rishi Sunak's sacking of Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi for breaching the ministerial code over his tax affairs.
Meanwhile, the index registers Ukraine as ranked 122, up six places on the previous year.
Coming in just above Zambia, Kenya and Mexico as part of the list in 95th place overall, Ukraine was among the top countries on Transparency International's 'watch list' alongside the UK and Brazil.
The Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures the perception of public sector corruption from the standpoint of experts and businesspeople, found that public discontent was more likely to turn into violence, affecting figures.
Transparency International added that most of the world's countries were continuing to fail where fighting corruption was concerned, highlighting that 95 percent have made little or no progress since 2017.
Denmark is seen as the least corrupt nation in 2022 with 90 points, followed closely by Finland and New Zealand, both follow with 87.
Somalia scored lowest with a mere 12 points out of 100, while South Sudan and Syria came close behind with 13.
