Brazil slips in international corruption ranking

Brazil ranks 79th among 176 countries in a world ranking of perceived corruption released by Transparency International today (Jan 25). The scoring scale used by the corruption watchdog ranged from 0 (“highly corrupt”) to 100 (“very clean”).

Brazil scored 40 in the Corruption Perceptions Index—two points higher than in the previous year—but still slipped three positions down from its 76th place in 2015. Brazil had the same score as Belarus, China, and India. Denmark and New Zealand had the highest scores (90) and lead the ranking as the least corrupt countries, whereas Somalia was the country with the worst corruption score (10). The global average was 43 points, which according to Transparency International indicates “endemic corruption” in the countries' public sector.

Americas

In the regional analysis for the Americas, the survey cited a number of corruption scandals in such countries as Panama, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. But for Transparency International, sometimes there is an upside to the bad news.

“It is not always bad to have headlines about corruption. From the Panama Papers in April to the record US$3.5 billion Odebrecht settlement in Brazil in December, 2016 was a good year in the fight against corruption in the Americas,” the analysis read.

Translated by Mayra Borges