Corruption Part 1

One of our major concerns about doing business in Cambodia is endemic corruption.
Transparency International issued its latest Corruption Perceptions Index in 2008; it makes frightening reading. Transparency International defines corruption as, “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.” A score of 10 indicates a country that is ‘highly clean’ and O as one that is ‘highly corrupt.*

Here are the 10 countries deemed to be the freest of corruption.

Rank Country Score
1= Denmark 9.3
1= Sweden 9.3
1 = New Zealand 9.3
4 = Singapore 9.2
5 = Finland 9.0
5= Switzerland 9.0
7= Iceland 8.9
7= Netherlands 8.9
9= Australia 8.7
9= Canada 8.7

The U.K and U.S come in at number 16 and 18 respectively, whilst Cuba and China sit way down in 55th and 65th place.

Rank Country Score
16 U.K 7.7
18 U.S. 7.3
28 Spain 6.5
55 Italy 4.8
65 Cuba 4.3
72 China 3.6

And Thailand and Cambodia? Thailand sits in joint 80th place along side Saudi Arabia and Brazil, and Cambodia beats just ten of the one hundred and eighty countries measured, and thus sits in the 166th place with a score of a miserable 1.8.

Rank Country Score
80 Thailand 3.5
147 Russia 2.1
166 Zimbabwe 1.8
166 Cambodia 1.8
178 Iraq 1.3
180 Somalia 1.0

Having lived in Thailand for more than 2 years I can tell you that it is highly corrupt; from the traffic police carrying boxes of cash extracted for dodgy reasons, to under-the table payments to immigration officials for visa extensions, right up to ex-prime minister Thaksin's recent conviction and sentence to 2 years imprisonment for corruption, Thailand stinks. Yet its score of 3.5 in the index against the 1.8 of Cambodia should give you an idea of just how bad things could be. We'll see.

* The index comes in for some criticism because it's based upon perceptions rather than fact.