Sweden loses two points and gets 80 out of a maximum of 100 points. This places us still among the top ten least corrupt countries, but two steps back from last year's sixth place.
Denmark tops the list for the seventh year in a row, followed by Finland, Singapore, New Zealand, and Luxembourg.
South Sudan is at the bottom with eight points.
Since 2015, Sweden has lost nine points. Transparency International Sweden sees organized crime as one of the greatest risks for corruption and points to infiltration, extortion, and other unlawful influence on central social functions.
"It provides a breeding ground for increasingly sophisticated corruption that affects welfare and where companies are also used as criminal tools. Welfare crime is often actually corruption," says Ulrik Åshuvud, Secretary-General of Transparency International Sweden, in a press release.
At the international level, Transparency International points out how corruption contributes to exacerbating the climate crisis. Corruption undermines climate measures by misdirecting resources, enabling harmful methods, and blocking progress, the organization emphasizes.
Countries at the top with points:
90 Denmark
88 Finland
84 Singapore
83 New Zealand
81 Luxembourg
81 Norway
81 Switzerland
80 Sweden
78 Netherlands
77 Australia
77 Iceland
77 Ireland
Countries at the bottom with points:
8 South Sudan
9 Somalia
10 Venezuela
12 Syria
13 Yemen
13 Libya
13 Eritrea
13 Equatorial Guinea
14 Nicaragua
15 Sudan
15 North Korea
