Since Oslo Israel's International Corruption Rating Has Worsened By 16 Places

2005-10-19

Israel slips in international corruption rating to 28th place

Einav Ben Yehuda and Haaretz Service

www.haaretz.com/hasen/ spages/635933.html

Israel was relatively more corrupt 2005 than in past years, finishing only 28th in the Corruption Perceptions Index, according to the annual findings of London and Berlin-based watchdog group Transparency International.

Israel's 2005 ranking slipped in comparison to other countries, down five places from 26th place last year and 21st in 2003. Since 1996, Israel has dropped 16 places in the international ranking.

In Israel, Transparency International has a branch within the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Management.

A total of 159 countries were surveyed, and fewer than one-third of them scored above 5 out of 10, according to a news release by the organization.

Israel received a grade of 6.3 out of 10. Four years ago, in 2001, Israel scored a 7.6 out of 10, which tied for 16th in the world, together with the United States. Since 1996, Israel has slid 14 places in the rankings.

The Palestinian Authority, included in the index starting three years ago, finished in 107th place this year for the third time. The PA's grade was 2.6 out of 10.

The watchdog group publishes the rankings every year, according to the level of corruption in public service and politics. Corruption is measured by the amount of abuse of power for personal profit, and the index is determined by 16 different surveys conducted by ten independent institutions for Transparency International.

Iceland, in first place, scored a 9.7. Finland and New Zealand finished second and third, respectively. A number of other countries improved their rankings by lowering their level of perceived corruption in 2005, including France, Qatar, Turkey and Japan.

According to Transparency International, the world's most corrupt countries are Chad and Bangladesh.

Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis