Switzerland slips a place in corruption list

Switzerland slips to 12th position in the corruption perceptions index swissinfo.ch

Switzerland has slipped one place to 12th in this year's table of perception of corruption, according to a list compiled by the international non-governmental organisation Transparency International (TI).

The corruption perceptions index has been compiled annually since 1995 by TI, which is based in Berlin and whose aim is to curb international and national corruption.

The index this year ranked some 90 countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and employees.

It is a composite index, drawing on different polls and surveys from independent institutions carried out among business people, the general public and country analysts.

The Swiss section of Transparency International said on Wednesday that Switzerland had been attributed 8.4 points out of 10 and had fallen one place from 11th in the year 2000. It came in ninth position in 1999.

A score of 10 is equivalent to no corruption perceived, whereas 0 is the equivalent of extreme corruption perceived.

The Swiss section said that the country’s fall could be explained in part by changes in methodology of evaluation and it could not be concluded that there was increasing corruption in Switzerland.

The section said that it was “regrettable” that Switzerland did not feature in the top 10 in the list.

“The Transparency study shows once more that corruption should not be underestimated in Switzerland,” commented Philippe Lévy, president of Transparency Switzerland.

At the top end of the list, where corruption is perceived to be at its least, are Finland, Denmark and New Zealand.

Switzerland’s neighbours Austria, Germany, France and Italy all rank below the Swiss.

Those countries in which corruption is seen to be at its worst include Bangladesh and Nigeria.

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