KARACHI: According to the latest Transparency International (TI) corruption report, Pakistan has become more corrupt as compared to 2008.

The TI announced its report today in which Pakistan had moved up quite a few positions in the list of the most corrupt countries and ranked at number 42 in the list.

Releasing the annual report, the TI chief in Pakistan, Adeel Gilani, had said that anti-corruption efforts in the country had taken a 180 degree turn after Gen Pervez Musharraf issued the National Reconciliation Ordinance on October 5, 2007, 56 days after the ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption.

Somalia, Afghanistan seen most corrupt among 180 nations whereas New Zealand, Denmark have best scores in watchdog ranking

Releasing its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) on Tuesday, the watchdog said Afghanistan had sunk for the second straight year in its ranking of 180 nations based on perceived levels of corruption in the public sector.

The CPI scores countries on a scale of zero to 10, with zero indicating high levels of corruption and 10, low levels. The ranking is based on data from country experts and business leaders at 10 independent institutions, including the World Bank, Economist Intelligence Unit and World Economic Forum.

For the third year running, the conflict-ridden east African nation of Somalia came in last, this time with a score of 1.1.

Afghanistan had the second-worst ranking at 1.3, down from 1.5 in 2008 and 1.8 in 2007. Myanmar followed with a score of 1.4, while Iraq and Sudan were both on 1.5.

New Zealand was the top-ranked country with a score of 9.4, followed by Denmark at 9.3, and Singapore and Sweden, both on 9.2.

Countries which saw their ranking drop included Iran, which fell to 1.8 from 2.3 following a presidential election in June that the opposition said was rigged.

Political turmoil also contributed to a fall in Ukraine’s score to 2.2 from 2.5. Greece saw its score slide to 3.8 from 4.7, reflecting insufficient anti-corruption enforcement, lengthy delays in the judicial process and a string of corporate scandals that TI said pointed to “systemic weaknesses”.

Nations that improved included the United States, which rose to 7.5 from 7.3. TI cited Washington’s swift response to the financial crisis, including reforms demanding greater transparency and accountability.

Poland rose to 5.0 from 4.6 after establishing an anti-corruption office. Russia edged up to 2.2 from 2.1, a rise attributed to anti-corruption legislation introduced by President Dmitry Medvedev. But TI noted that the excessive role of the Russian government in the economy remained a problem.