Corruption is on the rise in Romania and it now ranks at the bottom of the list of European Union countries, according to the annual ranking carried out by a global anti-corruption watchdog.
The ranking by the civic group Transparency International measures the levels of perceived corruption in 180 countries on a yearly basis.
Last year, perceived corruption in Romania rose, falling three points to 44 points from the previous year, according to the list published by Transparency International. The score puts Romania at the same level it was in 2012.
The ranking means the business community perceives there is more corruption in the public sector in Romania than last year.
Of EU countries, only Bulgaria ranked worse while Romania’s performance is on a par with Hungary. Both countries got the same score as South Africa and Suriname.
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International shows the levels of corruption perceived among governments on a scale from 0 to 100, with the zero warning that the public sector of a country is extremely corrupt.
“Most post-communist EU member states are struggling to address corruption effectively. Several countries, including Hungary, Poland and Romania, have taken steps to undermine judicial independence, which weakens their ability to prosecute cases of high-level corruption,” the report said.
Overall, there are no significant changes compared to the previous year, the study said. The. The average dropped from 66 to 64 points in Europe, while the countries with the least corruption remained the same: Denmark (87 points, down one point from 2018), Finland (86 points, up one point from 2018) and Sweden (85 points, as in 2018).
Worldwide, the index showed New Zealand and Denmark tied for the top spot, with a score of 87 out of 100. The most corrupt countries on the list are Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria.
