Hungary is seen as having the worst public sector corruption record in the European Union, according to a recent Transparency International report.
According to a recent Transparency International report, Hungary has the worst public sector corruption record in the European Union, with scores ranging from 42 to 46 out of 100.
Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania rank at the bottom of the European ranking, far behind the top three of the Scandinavian countries, as Denmark was crowned as the best in its class (90), followed by Finland (87) and Sweden (83), in the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index of NGOs to combat corruption. .
Denmark and Finland also top the rankings, the latter tied with New Zealand (87th) thanks to its “strong democratic institutions and respect for human rights” while Syria and South Sudan (13th) and Somalia (12th) are “embroiled in protracted conflicts”, which made them bottom arrangement.
Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Austria have seen their scores decline significantly since 2017, while Ireland remains the only EU member state whose score has improved.
Moldova, which gained EU candidate status last June, also improved its ranking.
With a score of 28, Russia has one of the lowest scores in Eastern Europe, and its invasion of Ukraine in February is “a stark reminder of the threat corruption and lack of government accountability pose to global peace and security,” according to a press release published with the report.
Ukraine’s ranking was slightly higher (33), but the country had been “implementing important reforms and improving steadily” since the start of the war. But the conflict did not end corruption in the country, as evidenced by the recent scandal that forced the resignation of Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, which is clear evidence that “the country’s anti-corruption mechanisms so far hold government officials accountable,” according to the report.
The United Kingdom and Qatar recorded their lowest historical levels in the latest Transparency Organization report, although the report regarding Doha is not directly linked to the so-called “Qatargate” corruption scandal that rocked Brussels.
The index uses survey data based on interviews with experts and business people from various sources (including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum) to rank 180 countries around the world according to their perceived level of corruption, on a scale from 0, which means a high degree of corruption, to 100.
The index also focuses its definition of “corruption” on specific examples that include government officials, from bribery to diversion of public funds, as well as the ability of governments to contain corruption in the public sector.
