Singapore has come out on top as the least corrupt country in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the 2024 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report released on Tuesday (Feb 11).
This is the first time since 2010 that Singapore has received the accolade, beating out New Zealand which held the position for 14 years.
The report also ranked Singapore as the third least corrupt country in the world.
The CPI ranked 180 countries globally and measured them by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. Each country is given a score between zero, for highly corrupt, and 100, for very clean. 13 expert assessments and business surveys were used for the 2024 index.
Singapore scored 84 points, up by one point from 2022 and 2023. The nation was ranked fifth least corrupt country in the world in the 2023 index.
Denmark, with 90 points, and Finland, with 88 points, took first and second place respectively.
Singapore remains the only Asian country to have been placed in the top 10 since the index was first published in 1995.
In a press release on Tuesday, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said that Singapore’s reputation as one of the least corrupt countries in the world is “hard-earned”.
Singapore also ranked first in the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy’s 2024 report on corruption in Asia, the US and Australia, said CPIB, adding that it is a position the country has held since 1995.
“Our people continue to hold a strong stance against corruption, and will come forward to report wrongdoings to the authorities,” said the anti-corruption agency.
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.
