Economics Report - Corruption Index Released

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Bank	Corruption	December	Development	From	Hodess	I'm	Index	Somalia	Special
States	The	a	bribery	dealings	easy	greater	health	highest	important
in	integrity	limits	needs	of	paid	person	received	says	the	where

VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report in English. Corruption, like bribery, abuse of power and secret are still "very high" in many countries. This week ( 5, 2012) Transparency International released its yearly Corruption Perceptions . The Berlin-based group rates 176 countries and territories with number from 100 to zero. Bigger numbers are better. index measures the perceived, or apparent, level of corruption a country. The group uses information from the African Bank, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. takes many forms. Transparency International calls it "the abuse entrusted power for private gain." One common form is : the use of money or gifts to persuade another to do something wrong or illegal. Corruption is not to measure because it is secretive. But the World has estimated that about $1 trillion in bribes are every year worldwide. Stealing public money is another form corruption. Huguette Labelle is chair of Transparency International. She the problem of corruption affects millions of people and their ability to get essential services like water, education, , and licenses. A group of small, developed nations scored on the new list. Denmark, Finland and New Zealand a rating of 90. Among large nations, the United rated 73 while China rated 39. The countries with greatest perceived level of corruption on the list are , North Korea and Afghanistan with scores of 8. Robin directs research at Transparency International. She says transparency international evidence about how corruption works, and needs to know to target the reforms needed to promote accountability and ." The perceptions held by experts, businesses and organizations are . The World Bank notes that countries showing improvements had foreign investment and economic growth. For VOA Learning English, Carolyn Presutti.

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