Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE ranked 26th among the world’s most transparent countries and those fighting corruption, according to Transparency International’s (TI) index for 2018. Among its Arab peers, the UAE came first in the ranking.
According to the TI index report, the UAE gained 70 points prompting a five-spot rise. Qatar came in second among Arab countries and 36th globally with 62 points.
Oman and Saudi Arabia came in third and fourth, respectively, among Arab nations and 52nd and 58th globally, the report showed.
Meanwhile, Morocco ranked 73rd globally, while Kuwait and Bahrain came in at the 78th and 99th spots, respectively in terms of transparency and combating corruption.
“Corruption is much more likely to flourish where democratic foundations are weak and, as we have seen in many countries, where undemocratic and populist politicians can use it to their advantage,” stated Transparency International chair Delia Ferreira Rubio.
Egypt was among the countries which made headway in the index for recognising corruption, which annually measures the level of integrity in various countries across the globe. Egypt ranked 105th on the index in 2018 from a total of 180 countries versus 2017 when it was 117th.
Several Arab countries also made the index for most corrupt, owing to the high levels of violence in these nations. These included: South Sudan at 178, Yemen at 176, and Libya and Iraq at 170 and 168, respectively.
Globally
At the global level, Denmark and New Zealand ranked first and second, respectively, in terms of transparency, while Finland, Singapore, Sweden, and Switzerland were at a tie in third place, TI’s report indicated.
Norway ranked seventh, followed by the Netherlands at eighth place, while Japan ranked 18th and the US nabbed the 22nd spot.
