Finland world’s 3rd least corrupt country: TI

Finland ranked third on the index of least corrupt countries published by Transparency International (TI) on Thursday.

Another Nordic country, Denmark, together with New Zealand topped the list with 88 points out of 100 points.

Finland secured 85 points to retain the third place, together with Switzerland, Singapore, and Sweden, followed by Norway, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, and Germany.

Somalia is at the bottom of the list of 180 countries, followed by South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Venezuela.

Finland scored high on the CPI but isn’t spared from corruption, said the report.

Gaps in the country’s anti-money laundering supervisory framework could make Finland, along with other Nordic countries, very attractive to corrupt individuals and money launderers, said the report, adding that, in addition, Finland demonstrates little to no enforcement of law against foreign bribery.

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public-sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

The 2020 CPI released on Thursday revealed that persistent corruption is undermining healthcare systems and contributing to democratic backsliding amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said the TI.

Countries that perform well on the index invest more in healthcare, are better able to provide universal health coverage, and are less likely to violate democratic norms and institutions or the rule of law.

“COVID-19 is not just a health and economic crisis. It is a corruption crisis. And one that we are currently failing to manage,” said TI Chairperson Delia Ferreira Rubio.

“The past year has tested governments like no other in memory, and those with higher levels of corruption have been less able to meet the challenge. But even those at the top of the CPI must urgently address their role in perpetuating corruption at home and abroad,” observed Rubio.