News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Dec. 6, 2013: With over 40 nations in Latin America and the Caribbean, only one has stood out as the least corrupt, according to the 2013 Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
The index, the leading global indicator of public sector corruption which scores 177 countries annually on a scale from 0 to 100, said Barbados, the birthplace of the great grandmother of the incoming First Lady of New York, Chirlane McCray, ranks at number 15 on the scale, right after the U.K., with a score of 75. The higher the score, the least corrupt the nation, TI says.
The Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index offers a warning that the abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery continue to ravage societies around the world.
Uruguay was at 19th on the index with a score of 73, higher than the U.S.
The Bahamas, Saint Lucia and Chile followed at number 22 with a score of 71, respectively.
Lower down the ranks were Puerto Rico and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines at 33 with a score of 33. They were followed by Dominica at 41 with a score of 58 and Costa Rica at 49 with a score of 53.
All other countries in the regions ranked below the 50 mark on the score sheet.
“Despite 2013 being a year in which governments around the world passed new laws and forged fresh commitments to end corruption, people are not seeing the results of these promises,” TI stated.
Cuba was next at 63rd on the list with a score of 46 followed by major BRICS country Brazil at 72 with a score of just 42. El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, Peru and Jamaica tied for the 83rd spot with scores of 38, respectively while Colombia and Suriname were listed at 94th with scores of just 36, each.
Other Caribbean and Latin American nations were ranked lower still.
Peru scored just 35 to land at 102 on the list while Argentina, Bolivia and Mexico came in at 106th on the list with scores of just 34, respectively.
But it got worst. The Dominican Republic and Guatemala landed at 123rd on the index with scores of just 29 each while Guyana, Honduras, Paraguay, Venezuela and Haiti were lower still.
The gold rich South American nation of Guyana ranked at 136 with a score of 27 while Honduras scored 26 to land at 140 on the index.
Paraguay made 150th on the ranks with a score of only 24 while Venezuela and Haiti brought up the rear.
Venezuela scored only 20 and made 160th of the ranking while Haiti was last for the region with a score of 19, which landed it at 163.
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Denmark and New Zealand tie for first place on the index with scores of 91.
The worst nations were Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia this year make up the worst performers, scoring just 8 points each.
“The Corruption Perceptions Index 2013 demonstrates that all countries still face the threat of corruption at all levels of government, from the issuing of local permits to the enforcement of laws and regulations,” said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International.
