More than two-thirds of the 159 nations surveyed in Transparency International's 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scored less than 5 out of a clean score of 10, indicating serious levels of corruption in a majority of the countries surveyed.
The 2005 Index bears witness to the double burden of poverty and corruption borne by the world's least developed countries.
"Corruption is a major cause of poverty as well as a barrier to overcoming it," said Transparency International Chairman Peter Eigen. “The two scourges feed off each other, locking their populations in a cycle of misery. Corruption must be vigorously addressed if aid is to make a real difference in freeing people from poverty.”
Despite progress on many fronts, including the imminent entry into force of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, seventy countries – nearly half of those included in the Index – scored less than 3 on the CPI, indicating a severe corruption problem. Among the countries included in the Index, corruption is perceived as most rampant in Chad,Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Myanmar and Haiti – also among the poorest countries in the world.