Germany climbed five places to 10th in Transparency’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), although the improvement was mainly due to declines in countries such as Australia, Ireland and Uruguay rather than major progress at home, the organization said.

The CPI measures perceived corruption in the public sector based on assessments by experts from international institutions and research groups. Scores range from zero, seen as highly corrupt, to 100, indicating a very clean public sector. The index covers 182 countries and territories.

Denmark topped the ranking for the eighth consecutive year, followed by Finland and Singapore. South Sudan and Somalia were at the bottom.

Transparency said the number of countries scoring above 80 points had fallen to five from 12 a decade ago, while the global average dropped to 42 points, its lowest level in more than 10 years.

Transparency also reported significant setbacks in democratic countries, saying that where far-right and populist parties had come to power, safeguards against corruption were often weakened.

The organization voiced concern about Germany as well, warning that anti-corruption measures could be rolled back as the government pushes to cut red tape and speed up procedures. It said that, given the creation of new special funds, stronger oversight was needed rather than less.

dpa