CPI Released, 2003
Bangladesh was placed at the bottom of the list in the new Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2003 of Transparency International, out of a total of 133 countries which was released in London on October 7. Bangladesh was rated 1.3 on a scale of 10 while Nigeria was rated as the second most corrupt country scoring 1.4. Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan were placed well above Bangladesh with 3.4, 2.8 and 2.5 index scores. Finland topped the CPI list with 9.7 marks, making it a 'highly clean' country. Iceland, Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden and Singapore all had CPI scores above 9.
"Rich countries must provide practical support to governments of the developing country that demonstrate the political will to curb corruption. In addition, those countries starting with a high degree of corruption should not be penalized, since they are in the most urgent need of support" said Peter Eigen, Chairman of Transparency International (TI), speaking on the launch of the CPI.
The CPI 2003 published, is a poll of polls, reflecting the perceptions of business people, academics and risk analysts, both resident and non-resident. First launched in 1995, this year's CPI draws on 17 surveys from 13 independent institutions. A rolling survey of polls taken between 2001 and 2003, the CPI 2003 includes only those countries that feature in at least three surveys. "It is important to emphasize that the CPI, even with 133 countries, is only a snapshot," said Peter Eigen. "There is not sufficient data on other countries, many of which are likely to be very corrupt."
