2008 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

With countries such as Somalia and Iraq among those showing the highest levels of perceived corruption, Transparency International’s 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index ( CPI ), launched on September 23, highlights the fatal link between poverty, failed institutions and graft. But other notable backsliders in the 2008 CPI indicate that the strength of oversight mechanisms is also at risk among the wealthiest. The Transparency International CPI measures the perceived levels of public-sector corruption in a given country and is a composite index, drawing on different expert and business surveys. The 2008 CPI scores 180 countries (the same number as the 2007 CPI) on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to ten (highly clean).

http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2008/cpi2008