Qatar, UAE least corrupt MENA countries Transparency International.

By bne IntelliNews December 6, 2012
Qatar and the UAE are the least corrupt countries in the MENA region, the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of Transparency International, which measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 176 countries and territories around the world, showed. The two countries scored 68 on a on a scale of 0 - 100, where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 100 means that a country is perceived as very clean. Qatar and the UAE ranked 27th in the index. Bahrain followed with its 53rd position and a score of 51, ahead of Jordan placed at 58th place with a score of 48. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia came next both sharing the 66th position. Lebanon was the worst performer in the region scoring only 30 and ranking at 128th place. Tunisia topped the list of North African countries with a score of 41 and ranking 75th worldwide. Morocco and Algeria followed with CPI scores of 37 and 34, respectively. Egypt came next as levels of bribery, abuse of power and secret dealings increased in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising giving the country the CPI score of 32. The hopes for less corruption and more transparency after the toppling of the former President Mubarak did not realize with the newly elected president Mohamed Morsi, who represents the Muslim Brotherhood party. Besides, the country is currently dealing with more escalated political crisis after President Morsi gave himself sweeping powers and set up the controversial constitutional referendum for December 15th. Overall, two thirds of surveyed countries indicated CPI score of below 50, with Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia clinging to the bottom of the index, while Denmark, Finland and New Zealand shared the first place with a score of 90.

Related Articles

Bahrain Middle East Bank fully repays USD 13mn debt.

Bahrain Middle East Bank made a USD 13mn full repayment of a loan obligation including a USD 1.4mn interest payment taking total repayments by the troubled lender to USD 43mn, the bank said in ... more

National Bank of Abu Dhabi launches USD 17mn Uridashi bond, MENAs first ever.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE's largest lender by market value, initiated a USD 17mn fifteen-year Uridashi bond, MENA's first ever, allowing the bank to directly access Japanese ... more

GCC economies resilient to MENA turmoil but constrains persist S&P.

The GCC economies remain insulated from economic and political turbulence in the MENA region and globally but structural challenges continue to constrain sovereign ratings, ratings agency ... more

Dismiss